Apple Computer last evening seeded its developers with Mac OS X 10.4 Server “Tiger” build A8297. The 1.6GB DVD image distribution marks the first time that Apple has offered Tiger. Elsewhere, With Apple Computer threatening to push his product aside, longtime Mac developer Arlo Rose has moved his Konfabulator over to Windows.
Apple seeds Tiger Server A8297, Mac OS X 10.3.6 7R28
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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23 Comments
2004-11-06 1:52 am
Anonymous
There is one big point being missed here.
Longhorn.
Apple needed something to compete with Longhorn’s sidebar. The sidebar on Longhorn allows you to put components (or wigits or gadgets or what have you) – on there, like a clock, stock tickers and so forth… Just the kinds of things Konfobulator does.
Konfobulator and Desktop Accessories kinda fill that need with one glaring omission. The wigets are all over the place.
I used Konfobulator for a while, loved the look of it and so on, even showed it off to my PC friends (till they found equivilents for the PC which looked just as good). The one thing I didn’t like about it was that these things were all over the place. If I needed to get to a calculator, I had o hunt for it. It stayed on my machine for about a month I think.
Dashboard puts these wigets back in one easy to get to place. IMHO I think this design is better than Longhorns, the Sidebar takes up valuable space (and I hate when sidebars (and the dock for that matter) are set to pop out when needed).
Konfobulator on the PC will die a horrible death. There are all ready things out there that do what it does, and Longhorns Sidebar is already waiting in the wings even if it does get going…
Maybe Arlo should create a great set of wigets for Dashboard, make money where there is money to be made.
I honestly believe this decision to put Dashboard on the Mac was one made to counter Longhorn, not to hurt Arlo. If you look at the way Tiger was presented to the world, it was to suggest it has the functionality of Longhorn.
Apple users out there should be happy about this I would have thought.
Do I think Arlo should have been paid out for his product, maybe, maybe not, I honestly don’t have all the facts, and I’m guessing most people posting here don’t either…
Konfabulator dudes, you rproduct was great, but apple made it better.
here is an idea….
SELL WIDGETS!!!! no more do you have to worry about a utility code base, just come up with cool widgets for people to buy for like 2-5 bucks a piece. get in to the market before some one else does while you have a name for yourself still.
there is no reason to get pissy about it and do some political thing. this is an opportunity to sell to the ENTIRE mac user base, not just the small number of people who buy your utility.
Konfabulator just impove your existing product instead of hating Apple, looks like Microsoft is doing the samething. What will u do when MS comes out with similar technology? Run to Linux…
iirc, Longhorn will contain something like Dashboard/Konfabulator – judging the screenshots that are floating around.
I think, if they create the platform framework and it will success better. I doubt Apple, Microsoft and other OS will creating the platform framework, so here’s your chance.
You guys created a great product, unfortunately it got phased out. It’s time for something better, though I will enjoy having konfabulator for work(windows) The concept isn’t new, and there are lot’s of other prodcuts that are similar.
Don’t even look at the linux market as there is at least one per Desktop design.
Konfabulator is not news, compared to OS X Server.
Discuss what is in the new server build please.
Konfabulator was/is great and Rose should just suck it up and keep developing for both platforms. As has been pointed out ad nauseum, although they share similiar features Dashnoard and Konfab are NOT the same thing.
I stopped using Konfab because even though there are some handy widgets for it, it is also a HUGE resource hog. I can’t use my machine for video and 3D production if there are no resources left.
Konfad for windows is not going out till the end of 2006. Longhorn users will not even want to use it then. Maybe if they stop complaining and get beck to developing they can have it before Longhorn
Maybe Arlo and Dan Wood should start a support group. At lease Dan has some cash from selling Watson to Sun Microsystems. I wonder if a an OWO, OpenWatson.org, can be right around the corner.
“longtime Mac developer Arlo Rose has moved his Konfabulator over to Windows.”
As stated in the article, this isn’t a directly quote. Mac OS (before OS X ) had widgets. It’s just that OS X didn’t have them yet. Plus Next has wedgets too. Apple just got around to making them again for Tiger.
I bought Konfabulator with the express goal of putting it on my Windows box at work (in fact, I said something to that effect when I registered). So, from my point of view, this is great news.
Apple will never admit they copied this guy’s work. They’ll bring up some ancient shit code from some old Apple OS that looks nothing like Konfab or even worked like Konfab and try to play it off like they were doing it all along.
Anyone with half a brain can look at Dashboard, read about what it does and connect the dots. Apple saw Konfabulator and fell in love with it. So they wrote their own.
Its no big deal except if the shoe were on the other foot and Apple released dashboard first, and then Rose released Konfab you can bet the poor guy would have gotten a cease and desist from apple computer.
What a bunch of schmucks.
Now every Apple app will have its own widget set, HIG, etc.
You thought pinstripe/metal/platinum on one desktop was bad? Try a giant clock and a weathe applet that takes up half the screen.
Apple is about EYE CANDY folks. But guess what, EYE CANDY and CONSISTENCY live on different sides of the street and don’t talk to each other.
Any notion of UI sanity from Apple is dead the moment this crap hits the screen. OSX will turn in to the Cartoon Network.
Apple will never admit they copied this guy’s work. They’ll bring up some ancient shit code from some old Apple OS that looks nothing like Konfab or even worked like Konfab and try to play it off like they were doing it all along.
Anyone with half a brain can look at Dashboard, read about what it does and connect the dots. Apple saw Konfabulator and fell in love with it. So they wrote their own.
Its no big deal except if the shoe were on the other foot and Apple released dashboard first, and then Rose released Konfab you can bet the poor guy would have gotten a cease and desist from apple computer.
What a bunch of schmucks.
Thinking Apple hasn’t had this type of code from NeXT for years now is why you are misinformed.
Hell before I left Apple(ex-NeXT) I made sure I had a copy of a certain pre-release Openstep 4.0 (MECCA) that has much more interesting shit in it than this widget crap.
How is that for mudslinging?
NOTE: When Apple releases something called SOUPS(Or some other curious name) then you’ll all be glad Apple continues to innovate. It’s up to them if it ever sees the light of day. Apple got a ton of unseen source code from NeXT when we merged with Apple. Most people just don’t know that Tiger is just getting closer to where we wanted it to be back in 1999, with the obvious advances in technologies (web services, etc) that were inevitable. Infighting from Apple zealots and third party software giants just delayed it.
I’m really looking forward to 10.4 and future releases.
It amazes me how minimal the amount of bitching from Windows users gets press whenever they incorporate new technologies–it must be that big payoff they continue to do that keeps the devs from whining.
Of course this guy didn’t get it bought so he whines. Then he whines some more and then whines even after announcing he is switching to Windows which he already claims it will take him over 12 months to release this stuff.
Heads-up: If that takes him 12 months to port to Windows that either doesn’t say much for Windows APIs or much for his confidence in programming for Windows.
For those people who like to talk about irrelevant things, like the Konfabulator problem which has been largely discussed when Apple announced Dashboard, i would like to say that if you don’t understand things, don’t discuss them. Widgets are not new, Dashboard implemetation is radically different compared to Konfabulator.
Arlo Rose is simply a loser, because we all know that they planned and announced to port Konfabulator on windows before Apple has even announced Dashbord. So why is he coming to the media, by pretending to be a victim? That’s simply ridiculous!!!
Arlo Rose can not just accept that Apple has made a much better implementation of the use of widgets in an operating system than they did with Konfabulator, that’s it. He did not invent the idea of widgets, so why is he crying now, he just behaves as a child.
For those who want to understand the diffrence of implementation between Konfabulator/Dashboard, i suggest to read this, which is a very good explanation:
http://daringfireball.net/2004/06/dashboard_vs_konfabulator
It will maybe allow some people’s comments to appear less stupid….Really….
umm, dude, they are widgets that get called up by a hot key. tehy are not windows. widgets should have their own look at feel just like the little usful tools you have on your desk that you use. they are tehre to make your work flow better, not be outfitted in a full blown aqua or Metal UI.
Learn to read. The windows konfabulator is due out monday.
It says the new *windows* (ie longhorn) isnt due out until 2006, so he has more time to reap the profits before ms put their own thing in
someone has info on the server version? what will be different from 10.3?
I hope that DNS config will be better.
Why is it that, these days most news posts on this site and /. turn into a argument / flamewar about how Windows and Linux is or isnt better than OS X.
instead of trimming down os-x, it gets loaded with multiple layers of digital horseshit… hmm, marketing kills the core progress…
instead of trimming down os-x, it gets loaded with multiple layers of digital horseshit… hmm, marketing kills the core progress…
hmm do you even know about OS X, Apple is way ahead of MS in OS developement. Core Audio, Core Video, Epose only things linux and windows emulate…and the mac has keyboard shortcuts that really save time and makes a productive workflow.
For those people who like to talk about irrelevant things, like the Konfabulator problem which has been largely discussed when Apple announced Dashboard, i would like to say that if you don’t understand things, don’t discuss them. Widgets are not new, Dashboard implemetation is radically different compared to Konfabulator.
I think a lot of us understand it quite fine. It is irrelevant largely because technology moves forward and what was an interesting app yesterday finds its way into the operating systems of today and tomorrow. I’ll agree with that all day long.
Widgets by definition are not new, if your definition is a small applet. The designs behind Konfab and Dashboard are very similiar with each company using underlying technologies that they felt would work best.
My point is that if you think Apple didn’t look at Konfab and say “wow, lets do something like that but use Webcore and underlying MacOS internet technologies!” – then the obvious eludes you.
For those who want to understand the diffrence of implementation between Konfabulator/Dashboard, i suggest to read this, which is a very good explanation: