KlipFolio might be the only desktop widget you ever need
KlipFolio is a desktop application that lets you access online content like RSS feeds, weather forecasts, Flickr slideshows, YouTube videos, and other web content. We first checked out KlipFolio more than two years ago when it was little more than a widgetized RSS reader. But the application has come a long way since then.
You can now use KlipFolio to subscribe to all sorts of content. Pretty much anything with an RSS feed is fair game, but you can also browse the KlipFolio web site for specialized "klip sets," including email notifiers, social network updates, or content from webcams. There are also klip sets that let you monitor shoutcast streams or see the latest updates to the iTunes music store.
KlipFolio 5 beta D also has a slick new interface. You can dock the application to the top, bottom, left, or right side of your screen or let it float free. You can rearrange your klips by dragging and dropping. And you can choose from a variety of customizable skins.
The Windows application is also pretty lightweight compared with other desktop widget engines, eating just under 10MB of RAM during my test.
[via MakeUseOf]
You can now use KlipFolio to subscribe to all sorts of content. Pretty much anything with an RSS feed is fair game, but you can also browse the KlipFolio web site for specialized "klip sets," including email notifiers, social network updates, or content from webcams. There are also klip sets that let you monitor shoutcast streams or see the latest updates to the iTunes music store.
KlipFolio 5 beta D also has a slick new interface. You can dock the application to the top, bottom, left, or right side of your screen or let it float free. You can rearrange your klips by dragging and dropping. And you can choose from a variety of customizable skins.
The Windows application is also pretty lightweight compared with other desktop widget engines, eating just under 10MB of RAM during my test.
[via MakeUseOf]













Comments
8
Subscribe to commentsJasonAug 12th 2008 6:35PM
Wow! These guys are still around? I used klipfolio back when "widget" wasn't a word!
Kudos to them! It's a great app.
ronakAug 13th 2008 7:51AM
looks like netvibes (pageflakes, igoogle, my yahoo etc) for the desktop
kerolicAug 13th 2008 7:52AM
KlipFolio was my first love story with RSS. And unfortunately, it ended the day is discovered it was impossible to export OPML file from KlipFolio... it was several years ago (at least 4).
But at that time klipFolio was absolutely remarkable - they were the first to explore the RSS dashboard concept. I loved it at that time.
IMHO - Once you've tried RSS services such as Netvibes or GoogleReader (with Feedly add on on Firefox), it's pretty hard to go back on a RSS client ...
ZiaAug 13th 2008 7:52AM
Yes, after 2 years, it would be good to re-visit this tool. My primary objective is to have a quick overview of critical news before I fire up my browser.
Ruby WorkmanAug 13th 2008 7:52AM
Just foun this site as I browsed,wouder what it is for and what it does?
murphAug 13th 2008 10:59AM
too funny, i found klipfolio on my own yesterday while rebuilding a computer, then read about it here.
it's not bad. very lightweight compared to Vista Sidebar (awful), Yahoo (meh!), and Google (my previous choice, but bloated as hell).
but i'd almost say it's TOO lightweight - 80% of the "klips" are just RSS feeds and i have an RSS reader for that. i like to use my sidebar for stuff like calendar, weather, stocks, etc...the biggest thing missing for me is some kind of media controls for iTunes/Winamp/WMP which they say is not the intended purpose of Klipfolio.
i think i might keep Klipfolio on my work PC (less of a need for media controls) but Google Sidebar (and GD Tunes) will remain on my home PC.
ShanAug 13th 2008 12:02PM
I had never heard of KlipFolio until I saw this post yesterday. After installing it - It actually seems pretty cool. I had previously used Konfabulator (Now Yahoo Widgets) for my desktop stuff but after an OS reinstall - never felt the need to put it back.
I have to agree with what others have said in that - the downside to KlipFolio is that there really isn't much. Browsing their Klips (widgets) I saw only one World Time Klip and after installing that - it looked pretty boring and I was hoping for something more visual. I was hoping to replace Qlock which I use with several world clocks open. I noticed even that this world time klip had not been updated since 2005. The more I browsed, the more I discovered that most Klips have hardly been updated. It seems that the developer community for this application is very small and even after making something, most never follow through with updates.
I would have liked to have seen a single Klip for multiple webmail sites such as Gmail, Yahoo mail etc - that could tell me how many emails are unread and allow me to click and go read them. I would like to see Klips for other flash based video sites such as Vimeo, Live Leak etc - not everything is on YouTube!!
The developers also need to bring support for dual monitors as the dock options (top of screen, left side etc) don't have any effect on the secondary monitor and on my secondary monitor I can't stretch it right across the top part of the screen like I can on my primary monitor.
Overall it seems good and I will stick with it for the time being - but the developers or the community really need to kick it up a notch in terms of what types of Klips are available and also updating the klips with suggested improvements and features.
BrianAug 14th 2008 10:23AM
Awesome feedback. I work with these guys and getting objective insights from blogs like this is priceless.
Murph, there are both weather and Winamp klips available somewhere because I've used them. I'll try to dig them up for you.
The klips I like most are their Google Analytics klips. You can add visitors, keywords etc right to your desktop. If you're an analytics junkie it's way cool. There's screen shots and a 2 minute video here if yer in'erested.
http://www.serence.com/site.php?action=ser_products,klipfolio_enterprise_google_analytics_dashboard