Google gives Gadgets to everyone

Mini-applications to be available to use on any website

4 October 2006 11:26 GMT / By Amber Maitland

Google has taken the unprecedented step of offering its gadgets – mini-applications – for use on personal websites and blogs.

Previously, gadgets had been restricted to the Google Desktop, Google Pages, and Google Personalized Homepage, but now users can simply copy and paste the HTML code for the application into their own websites.

Google so far has a gallery of more than 1200 Google Gadgets, which are dynamic applications that let users check the weather, get news headlines, or even play games. There’s no end to the sorts of things that developers dream up for the mini-apps.

Google’s rivals include Yahoo, which numbers over 3000 Widgets in its repository, and Apple, who has built in support for widgets in its OS.

Hopefully when the mini-apps become more mainstream, and when Google’s rivals realise that the company’s move to make them more accessible and available is a good one, users will be able to combine them from Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, and more to create mashups.