The Reader gadget

Google Reader has finally come to Google Desktop, as announced on the Google Reader blog. This gadget is a convenient way to check your subscriptions and fits right in with the Gmail, Calendar, and Docs gadgets. Please give it a try and tell us what you think. And a big thanks to Arindam Sharma, who created this gadget during his internship at Google Bangalore.



James Yum, Developer Programs Engineer

Featured gadget: Task List and Timer

Name: Task List and Timer
Author: Adam Hotz
Description: Allows you to track tasks and the time spent on them.

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Economic Forecast Meter

Name: Economic Forecast Meter
Author: The Idea Support Laboratory Hirameki Juku
Description: The sun shows next boom! When the number of sunspots increases, the economy gets powerful. This gadget shows the number of sunspots to predict the next boom.

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

The Calendar gadget

We hope everyone had a great holiday season and enjoyed exchanging gifts with loved ones. The lucky ones among us may have been bestowed a 2009 wall calendar for the new year.

If not, don't feel bad — you can always use the brand new Calendar gadget to keep track of your Google Calendar events. This new gadget works on the Linux, Windows, and Mac versions of Desktop gadgets, and it supports all Google Accounts, including Google Apps accounts. Check out the official announcement on the Gmail blog.

The Calendar gadget doesn't come with scenic shots of exotic locations, but it does have a day view mode so you can see what day it is at a glance.



Please try it out and let us know what you think.

Happy new year from the Google Desktop team!

Posted by James Yum, Developer Programs Engineer

The Docs gadget

We just released a neat little gadget that helps you find and open your Google Docs documents. And if you want to upload files to Google Docs, just drag them into the gadget. Please check out the announcement on the Google Docs blog.



This gadget has been well received among Googlers, and we hope you'll like it too. It runs on Linux and Windows and supports Google Apps accounts. Please try it out and let us know what you think.

We've released quite a few gadgets lately (Gmail, Google Docs, YouTube), but my favorite one is coming in January. Mark your calendar!

Posted by James Yum, Developer Programs Engineer

The YouTube gadget

The Google Desktop team is pleased to release a YouTube gadget for Google Desktop. It plays YouTube videos right inside the gadget and shows a feed of the day's most popular videos. Please check out the official announcement on the YouTube blog.



Watching YouTube videos is a favorite pastime of mine while waiting for code to compile or team meetings to conclude. Now with this gadget, I am able to waste time more productively, as I can bring up the gadget in an instant and search for videos (hint: pressing the shift key twice brings up all your hidden Desktop gadgets).

Please give it a try and stay tuned for more new gadgets ...

Posted by James Yum, Developer Programs Engineer (Google Desktop Team)

The Gmail gadget

Google offers a free, search-based webmail service called Gmail. Yes it's completely free, vanquishes spam, and includes over 7 GB (and growing) of space so you'll never have to delete another message. Not convinced? Just search Google for "i love gmail" and behold the many positive testimonials and reviews.

We like this Gmail so much, we developed and released a Desktop gadget that you can use to monitor your Inbox, read messages, and compose new emails. Check out the announcement on the Gmail blog.



Please give Gmail and the gadget a try, spread the word to all your friends, and let us know what you think about the gadget.

More information | Download gadget | Gmail

Posted by James Yum, Developer Programs Engineer

Featured gadget: On-Screen Ruler

Name: On-Screen Ruler
Author: Edwin Lee
Description: Ruler on your desktop to help you align your on-screen elements, and measure the number of pixels betwden them.

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed. 

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: VTM Wheater Map

Name: VTM Wheater Map
Author: Stefan vd
Description: Show the VTM Wheater Map from Belgium.

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Photo Frame

Name: Photo Frame
Author: Google
Description: Keep your favorite photos, nicely framed, on your desktop. You can choose from several frames and themes.

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Radio Energy Zürich

Name: Radio Energy Zürich
Author: Andreas Horlacher
Description: Listen to online radio from Energy Zürich

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Precious Metals Spot Prices

Name: Precious Metals Spot Prices
Author: Rosie Ojo
Description: Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium Spot Prices, with live 24 Hour Spot Charts. New York - London - Hong Kong - Sydney - Zurich.

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Persian Calendar

Name: Persian Calendar
Author: Mehdy Bohlool
Description: Persian Plus Georgian Calendar

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Communicator

Name: Communicator
Author: Andreas Horlacher
Description: Communicator translates from and to a few languages using Google translation services. It comes with the popular 'communicator' design, as seen in Star Trek.

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Slideshow for Facebook

This week, we're excited to release the Slideshow for Facebook gadget.

Designed for Facebook users, this gadget connects to your Facebook account and finds a wide variety of photos from your friends' collections. These photos then appear, one-`t-a-time, in the gadget's frame. It's an automated slideshow — an easy, great way to stay in touch with old friends!

Posted by Larry Gadea, Software Engineer

Featured gadget: Periodic Table

Name: Periodic Table for Google Desktop
Author: Paul Alan Freshney
Description: Detailed information on every element

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Pipes

Name: Pipes
Author: Paul Unger
Description: A join-the-pipes time waster

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Desktop Calendar

Name: Desktop Calendar
Author: rivus.jp
Description: Simple desktop calendar

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: U.S. Senator Search and Contact

Name: U.S. Senator Search and Contact
Author: Rosie Ojo
Description: Search for U.S. senator information

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Featured gadget: Cat Clock

Name: Cat Clock
Author: nectar1964
Description:  Analog clock of cat design

More information | Download gadget

Each week this blog features a recently added Google Desktop gadget that looks promising. If you'd like to see all new Desktop gadgets as they're published, subscribe to the RSS feed. 

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer