Google Gadgets have leapt from their former home on end-users' Google homepages and Google Desktops and can now be added to regular Web pages. Google's announcement of these Web page-friendly mini-applications means enterprise Web developers can now leverage a widely available set of standardized JavaScript-based tools to enhance site functionality.
Google now classifies its gadgets in two broad categories
- Desktop Gadgets are usable only with Google Desktop.
- Universal Gadgets work on any Web page, and can be written in HTML and/or JavaScript.
Universal Gadgets allow developers to more easily integrate advanced and automated features (e.g. live-updated RSS feeds and dynamic maps) into existing Web pages. Google has released the APIs for both gadget types, but Info-Tech concludes that the Universal type will be of greatest interest to enterprise developers.
