Syncing widgets

[narniaexpert]

If the iPhone allowed mac users to sync their mac widgets onto it it would be a great feature. This would get more develipors to make more widgets on the mac, and would be a great mac only feature.

[cobalt24]

You mean like whatever widgets you have on your desktop would sync and install on your iphone? Or are there widgets that use and change data within your desktop that would have to be synced with the iphone? *confused* lol

[narniaexpert]

You mean like whatever widgets you have on your desktop would sync and install on your iphone? Or are there widgets that use and change data within your desktop that would have to be synced with the iphone? *confused* lol

Given that the iPhone realy has a riped down version of mac, but mac none the less if apple made the iPhone coding able to display any Mac Widget then you could have all of your dashbord widgets instaled in dash bord sync and instal on the phone. Allowing 3rd party developers to write code for the iPhone, and also widing the amount of iPhone widgets. This would only work for mac users with tiger though.

[Bootlessjam]

I think there isn't too much stopping this from happening although PC users won't be very happy. You can have your dashboard synced with .Mac so that any mac you use will have the same Dashboard.

[jesse_thomas]

It seems to me that Apple had iPhone in mind when they came out with the widgets. Tiny little applications that sync with the internet to provide a huge array of services seem like the perfect fit for a portable communication device like the iPhone.

[thewuster777]

Well, it might be hihgly possible for us to custom select widgets for the iPhone in the future, I don't think they will do it in the first gens.. but WWDC seems to have given us a little glimpse of the future of widgets as apps. Leopard, and Dashcode, and the new safari option for creating your own widgets from sites not to mention Apple's move to allow some leverage in programming web apps for iPhone. It seems like Apple is pushing information in little screens to be a part of the computing lifestyle, so maybe in a year or less we might expect widget syncing through iTunes.

I know Microsoft Devs are working on the future of widgets in Windows Mobile devices as I saw it in and interview with a dev working with Windows Mobile 2006, so I'm sure Apple will rise to meet the Micosoft's attempt with widgets on mobile devices.

[iphoneuser82]

I actually am a mac user and I lately downloaded Installer.app on my mac then it sync with my iphone.
now I have the icon INSTALLER on my iphone desktop but not able to sync any application with the iphone!!!
am I missing any step here? or is there any other solution to download apps on my iphone includings games?

[jkevinwolfe]

iPhone user 82:

Sounds like you've installed one of the apps of the unsanctioned cracking suite. There's a lot of stuff involved to do this. Don't know if that's the route you really wanted to go.

This link will connect you to some of the free Web apps you can use directl from Safari. There's also a link there to Apple's list of Web apps, which totals about a hundred.


Jesse: I agree on the widgets. I got the distinct impression from Apple before the iPhone was released that it would support standard Mac widgets. Desktop widgets are usually small one-act apps written in Java. The iPhone widgets seem pretty much that. The Weather widget on the iPhone even has the "i" and flippable back.

Despite the comments of a lack of full java support, the iPhone Safari does support java bookmarklets, so it seems compatibility with widgets is already there. Apple just hasn't allowed us to install them.

I'm suspecting Apple's soon-to-be-announced programming-for-iPhone announcement is that standard widgets that meet certain criteria can be used.

Apple has also noted that some C programming files work as well on the iPhone. This is obviously not as nice as running the full version of Leopard on your iPhone, but Leopard will include a widget-builder. For developers it can greatly speed up the widget-making process. Those with no development skills will even be able to make some simple widgets. So if the iPhone could do standard widgets, that gives us over 1000 free mini-apps already available.