Yahoo Bringing Tiger Widgets To Web By David Utter Expert Author Article Date: 2005-07-25 Sunnyvale-based Yahoo has purchased Konfabulator, which introduced the "widget" concept on the Mac in 2002. Users of Mac OS X know about the Dashboard, and the array of useful and whimsical widgets available for it. Those widgets were first introduced by a small Palo Alto-based company called Konfabulator. The company created a Windows version of its software later. The Konfabulator software is a JavaScript runtime engine, similar to the engine behind Flash ActionScript and Adobe's Photoshop scripting engine. After introducing the concept for the Mac, the company added a third employee who developed the Microsoft compatible Konfabulator. According to Reuters, Yahoo will give away the software that empowers the widgets. Konfabulator had been selling the software for $20, but its CEO has promised refunds for anyone purchasing the software since mid-May. Yahoo derives the vast majority of its revenue from online advertising, and sees the widgets as another way of driving users to its site. The widgets will pull information from Yahoo that normally requires a web browser to see it. Yahoo hopes that information will encourage users to visit the site for more in-depth results. Konfabulator says weather and stock price widgets have been the most popular. Third-party developers have expanded the concept further. A "Widget Gallery" contains such examples as one called Mosquito, which displays mosquito conditions for a given zip code. About the Author: David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.