The reverse dictionary concept is very useful indeed. I have often wished for such a thing when struggling to find the right word. The reverse dictionary mentioned in this article also works quite well. For example, I keyed in the following description: 'agreement without opposition.' And the dictionary came up with several words including 'unanimous', which is the word I was looking for. The fact that it does not expect eloquent descriptions makes it very handy. Thanks for posting this article. Geetha
----- Original Message ----- From: "Vikas Kapoor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Access India" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 14, 2006 9:55 AM Subject: [AI] Desktop and web-based widgets > Desktop and web-based widgets > > Many on-line services provide widget codes to directly access their > services from other web pages. > > Developers around the world keep on churning out widgets for a variety of > functions daily > > THIS EDITION of NetSpeak explores the world of desktop and web-based > widgets. > > While engrossed in a computing job you may wish to have a few useful > alerts automatically with the help of some background programs. Checking > the e-mail > box periodically, alerting weather status of a specified city, regular > updates on one's stocks/funds could be some of the necessary alerts. > > The distinct feature of such a task lies in seamlessly communicating with > an on-line service, collecting relevant information from it and displaying > them > on a proper window without disturbing the user's workflow. Besides such > Net based tasks, we may often need to do several mundane tasks regularly > (like > unit conversion and simple arithmetic). > > Tiny programs meant for accomplishing the above said tasks are known as > widgets. Software that lets you execute a widget is called a widget > engine. The > widget creator Yahoo Widget (http://widgets.yahoo.com/) is a well-known > tool in this realm. This freely downloadable software enables you to run > and develop > widgets based on Javascript. The `Yahoo! Widget Engine,' carries with it a > set of popular widgets. Developers around the world keep on churning out > widgets > for a variety of functions daily. And as a consequence, the ever-growing > widget gallery ( > http://www.widgetgallery.com/ ) > is currently packed with tens of thousands of widgets. Widgets for varied > tasks such as real-time display of stock quotes, currency conversion and > dictionary > assistance are available in this repository for free download. > > Kapsules (http://kwidgets. com/) is another free widget engine worth a > test. This software allows you to compose widgets in eight scripting > languages that > include PHP, Perl and Python. > > Apart from widgets that work from desktops, web-based widgets are > available. A small web application embedded into a web page is called a > web-based widget. > Like its desktop counterpart, a web-based widget too performs certain > specified functions such as displaying weather conditions, news-feeds and > the like. > Many on-line services provide widget codes to directly access their > services from other web pages (like the cartoon widget, hosted here: > http://www.gapingvoid.com/widget/ ). > > Though widgets enhance a web page's dynamic and interactive potential, > embedding too many applications on a web page can clutter it and probably > discourage > the user of your web site. Nonetheless, the web-based widget trend is > gaining momentum and some innovative ones are available. The `Meebo Me' ( > http://www.meebome.com/ ) > widget, from the web based IM client service Meebo ( > http://www.meebo.com/ ), > is an excellent instance of such a product. > > Those of you who are not familiar with web based IM clients may note that > such a service helps us conduct instant messenger (IM) conversations > without having > to install an IM client. In the past, NetSpeak featured the web based IM > client Meebo, meant for accessing popular IM services such as Yahoo and > MSN, directly > from your browser. Kool IM (koolim.com/) is another similar service. From > its interface, you can access several popular IM services that include > AIM, MSN, > Google Talk and so on. > > Let us get back to the discussion on 'Meebo Me' widget. Once installed on > your web page, this widget automatically makes each of your site visitors > a member > of your Meebo buddy list. That is, the widget enables you to > track/communicate with your visitors in real-time. > > To get the widget code and activate its service you need to have an > account with Meebo. Now, whenever you are on-line and logged-in to your > Meebo account, > anyone visiting your blog/site can contact you directly through the 'Meebo > Me' widget installed on your blog. As soon as a visitor lands up on your > page, > her identity will appear in your Meebo buddy list. Besides helping you > track the visitors in real-time, this tool could come handy to accomplish > many collaborative > endeavours. > > For instance, a teacher can introduce this widget into her blog and use it > to chat with her students. > > To get a feel of the product, check out the demo page created by this > author here: http://links.m56kbps.com/. > > Reverse dictionary > > Several on-line dictionary services are available for finding out the > meaning of a word or its synonyms (like Dictionary.com - > http://dictionary.reference.com > /, Onelook - > http://www.onelook.com/ > etc). However, at times we may need to find an appropriate word for a > concept. That is, here we need to locate the word whose meaning is known. > > To deal with such instances, you may try out the OneLook's reverse > dictionary service ( > http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml ). > In response to your description of a thought this service displays a set > of words that may closely match the described concept. > > Instant domain search > > Domain search services help you find whether a domain name already exists. > The `Real-time Domain Search' (http://instantdomainsearch.com/) is one > such service. > The ability to display the result as soon as you start typing is the > notable advantage of this service. > > Though geographical sense is quite essential in this highly globalised > world, many find it difficult to comprehend physical locations of various > countries > across the globe. > > If you are one of those geography challenged, try out the free geography > software Seterra ( > http://www.wartoft.nu/software/seterra/ ), > developed to inform you on geographical locations of different countries, > capitals and cities. > > Job board > > Those of you looking for hot IT jobs may find the new job board service > `CrunchBoard' ( > www.crunchboard.com /), > built by the people behind the famous technology blog TechCrunch, really > rewarding. > > J. MURALI > > http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/14/stories/2006081401291600.htm > > Vikas Kapoor, > MSN ID: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo ID: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Skype ID: dl_vikas > Mobile: (+91) 9891098137. > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
