Gadgets in another dimension

Tuesday, July 08, 2008 at 4:20 PM



Google is always looking to enhance the browser, and a new release called Lively aims to add a bit of fun and playfulness to the online experience.

Lively adds virtual reality to web pages, so you can have more fun with your friends online and can create your own spaces on the web. You can learn more about it in this blog post.

You might be wondering why we're talking about Lively on this blog. Well, Lively uses Desktop gadgets to provide rich media and interaction capabilities to users. This means you can create gadgets that run in both Lively and Google Desktop. Here is a screenshot showing a television gadget that plays YouTube videos:



If you'd like to start developing and testing gadgets for Lively, read this getting started guide. Note that you'll need to be recognized as a Lively content developer, so please request Lively gadget developer access.

UPDATE (July 10): The request form is new. It replaces the old procedure of sending an email.

If you need help or are new to Desktop gadget development, visit the Desktop developer group.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello, will the widgets be able to interact with the avatars- either to do things like animations or know their identity?

Danny Parks said...

The gadgets can do things like animate themselves. One gadget already has swimming fish.
However, there is currently no connection between the gadget and the rest of the room. So a gadget can't do things like know who clicked on an object.
Thanks for you question. Cheers,
-Danny