What’s the best thing about this move? You may already know that Twitter users can access their tweets AND update their tweets through Yahoo’s plethora of products. In effect, we can say that Yahoo has made itself a Twitter client. Obviously, this allows for more flexibility and accessibility on the part of the user – which is always a good thing.

On the widgets end, I will not be surprised to see widgets at the center of this flexibility and accessibility campaign. Perhaps in a few months – maybe less – we will be hearing of Yahoo-Twitter widgets that will make tweeting an even easier and more fun activity.

There aren’t a lot of specific details as of now, but it seems that both parties are very excited about the merger. According to Bryan Lamkin, the senior vice president of Yahoo’s consumer products group, they’re “turning the key to the online social universe — you will find the most personally relevant experiences through Yahoo! We’re also simplifying people’s lives by bringing their social worlds — and the world —- together for easy access.”

Twitter is just as happy with this statement: “The information in one single tweet can travel light-years farther with this Yahoo! integration. Tweets in more places brings relevance where and when you need it most.”

I suppose it’s a win-win for them, but my question is: will we (the users) also come out as winners? I hope so!

Twitter was quick to respond to this issue and promptly disabled the widget. Gaj-It tells us more:

“We’ve been notified about a vulnerability in our Flash widget and out of an abundance of caution we’ve disabled access as we assess the situation,” Twitter’s staff said in a status update.

Despite this action, the configuration error reportedly stems from a basic programming mistake back in 2006. Mike Bailey, a senior security analyst with US-based company Foreground Security, said that the problem exploits a widely known vulnerability in the Adobe Systems Flash programming language.

Bailey emphasizes however, that the problem is not Adobe’s fault. He says that it is actually the programmers who make the mistake and that Adobe has already issued guidelines on how to avoid this flaw when creating Flash programs. Indeed, he says that there are a lot of other widgets with the same vulnerability – thanks to “bad programming.” That is, the programmers do not follow the recommendations of Adobe, hence exposing widgets users to the risk of having their login details hacked.

The recently concluded CES is no different in that there were gadgets everywhere, but it seems that there is one hot topic in the realm of software: widgets for TVs. As an aside: I can’t believe how advanced TV sets are these days. I still remember that big old television set that my grandma used to have. It was encased in a wooden frame that took up almost the whole wall in the living room. Now, we have (almost) paper thin TVs that can do practically anything!

Anyway, with this new generation of television sets, other companies are taking advantage of their features – the ability to use widgets one of them. The idea is for the TV to be connected to the web so that anytime you want to check something out without having to use another device (such as your computer or your phone), you can simply call up a widget and you will get the information you need.

Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, eBay, Yahoo – these are merely a handful of the most recognizable names online today, and they are all offering widgets for various TVs. For now, there are probably around 50 widgets that one can choose from. Manufacturers say, however, that by the end of this year, we can expect that figure to double.

From what I see in the FDA web site, the widget is pretty enough. It is narrow – the width of a small side bar – and long, perhaps a little more than 2 inches long. The code is provided, but it doesn’t seem as if there is a user interface to tweak the parameters of the widget. You can try to change the values for height and width, though – I think that will work.

The widget is mainly color blue, with various shades thrown in. There are two tabs – TIPS and UPDATES. There is also a small image which takes up most of the space of the widget, and there is a title (presumably for the article) at the bottom of the image. You can scroll left or right for more tips. I tried it out and there are only two topics available – purchasing pet drugs online and how to report pet food complaints. As to the frequency of updating, I have no idea.

Give it a try, grab the code from the FDA web site.

Anyhow, Twitter has just released a new widget on its Goodies page. If you log on to the platform, you can find the link to this page at the bottom of the home page. The new widget basically allows Twitter users to display their tweets on another web site or blog. It also is compatible with the more popular social networking web sites such as Facebook and MySpace. With this widget, you do not need to copy paste your tweets to change your status!

There are currently four different kinds of widgets which you can from. These are Profile, Search, Faves, and List. Naturally, to make it easy on the users, Twitter provides the codes that you will need to embed in your site of choice. Everything will be done automatically, so you just need to do whatever it is you do with Twitter and the changes will be reflected on the web site.

You may also tweak the widget. For example, you can choose the settings for the frequency of refreshing. You can also choose the specific information that you want to show on your web site. Another important tweak is the ability to resize the widget so as to fit your site properly. Go get the widget now!

Some music streaming services that have been named as Google’s partners in this venture are Lala, iLike, Pandora, Imeem, and Rhapsody. This is where widgets come into the picture – to manage the streaming of the music. You’d think that Google would have created a universal widget that will manage the streaming of the files regardless of the streaming service used, right? Well, you thought wrong.

This is actually one issue that people are already bringing up. From what I have been hearing, the widgets that will come up when you listen to a song will depend on the service providing the streaming. Even worse, they say that you will have no choice as to which widget will come up. Basically, you are at the mercy of whatever rules govern the service. I suppose that if you are not particular about the widgets, then Music Onebox should do well enough. The ability to stream music simply by doing a Google search is definitely buzz worthy. Still, I really hope that Google create its own widget – the one widget to rule them all. Now THAT would be cool.

Photo courtesy of Geek.com

If you have the tendency to be like this, even at work, then here are widgets that will make keeping track of the time a much more fun experience. Clock Widgets is a web site that specializes in – you got it – clocks of all sorts and sizes. The widgets are specially designed to keep the user entertained while at the same time, keeping functionality a top priority. These widgets can be embedded in your blog or any other web site for that matter.

They have a variety of designs, many of them “cute.” One of my favorites is the Donut & Candy clock widget – no need to explain what it looks like. You can take a look for yourself here. Another nice looking “time piece” is the Blue Diamond, which is very simple yet will match a site with a blue theme. The former widget is analog while the latter is digital. One wish I have with regard to the site is the number of widgets that they offer – maybe they can come up with more clocks in the future!

Did you know that there are widgets out there that can help you in this regard? I have been looking up some of these widgets and found that there are quite a lot to choose from. Here are some of the best widgets that you can use to save energy.

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard is doing its share in saving the earth by providing a host of free widgets on the site https://h30470.www3.hp.com/. The widget runs on most any PC, and does not interfere with the regular functions. So how does it help? When you leave your computer unused for a while, it will show you a pop up reminding you to turn it off. It also computes how much energy you have saved over time.

Another widget that you can use to save energy is Verdiem’s Edison application. Just like HP’s widget, this baby’s free to use. The great thing about this widget is that you simply enter data such as the hours you use your computer the most and how much energy you want to save – the program does everything else for you. And to encourage you to save more, you can see how much energy you are saving at any point.

Try these out and do your part!

In any case, it is quite common for people to create their own poker leagues these days. Bars hold their own tournaments even. If you have a poker league or tournament of your own, you might want to check out the widget from PokerDIY, which is a web site that connects poker players from all over the world. The people behind PokerDIY describe their baby as a “lovechild of the union between a social network for poker players and online poker league software.” Basically, through the web site, poker enthusiasts can find likeminded people and join existing home games or tourneys or invite others to join their home game or tourney. Of course, there are other tools available on the web site, such as forums and poker-related software.

This brings us to the poker widget that they are currently promoting. The widget basically allows a user to show off poker tournament statuses and scores on any web site and Facebook. Other information such as statistics can also be shown through the widget. The best thing about the widget is that it is FREE for use!

If you are already using PokerDIY, go ahead and grab the widget code. If you’re still looking for a good poker league management tool, go visit PokerDIY now and see how it can work for you.

Use widget to offer content.
There are so many widgets out there – which one to choose and use? I think the bottom line is that you should choose widgets that will add to the experience of your visitors. Choose widgets that will enhance their visit and that will give them new information. Eye candy is all very nice to look at but it doesn’t last. Widgets that provide information, however, will keep drawing visitors back to your site.

Choose widgets that are related to your site.
Many widgets offer information, but is the information all related to your main content? While information is always good, you would be better off choosing widgets that link to what your site or blog has to offer. This way, your visitors will truly appreciate your widgets – and not just for their looks!

Avoid widget overload.
Have you ever visited a site which loaded up sooooo slowly? The chances are there are way too many widgets. More than slowing down your site, trying to cram as many widgets as possible also has a cluttering effect on your site. Now who would want a cluttered experience?

Photo courtesy of giladlotan