•  

Vendio Launches Widgipedia.com - The Ultimate Widgets Resource

Encourages Development and Distribution of Thousands of Web and Desktop Widgets Enabling Myriad Applications

SAN MATEO, Calif. February 1, 2007 — Vendio™, Services, Inc. today announced the official launch of Widgipedia.com, a new website devoted to accelerating the development and distribution of Web and desktop "widgets" across a growing number of widget development platforms.

Widgets have exploded over the last several years as the Web 2.0 ecosystem has enabled developers to use open interfaces to extend website functionality to the desktop and to embed features of one website into another. A YouTube™ video seen on a site other than YouTube.com is a widget. Widgets also enable you to get the local weather forecast on your computer without going to a web page.

Also know as gadgets, gizmos, or desklets, there are two main classes of widgets: Desktop widgets and Web widgets. Desktop widgets are small applications that run on a desktop and usually (but not always) require the user to download and install an "engine" in order to run them. Yahoo™, Google™, Apple™ and Microsoft™ all have developed widget "engines." Web widgets are "sections" that can be inserted in any Web page, such as a personal blog, a MySpace™ page, an eBay™ auction, or an online store. Each of these two types of widgets can be built using multiple platforms, which can make for a confusing development environment.

After 3 months of beta testing, Widgipedia now provides a central resource for those creating widgets across all development environments for both the desktop and the Web, and includes developer forums, code samples, "engine" information, and a variety of helpful hints. At launch, widget development is supported at www.widgipedia.com for the following platforms:

Web Widgets
  • Flash Widgets
  • DHTML Widgets
  • Java Widgets
Desktop Platforms
  • Yahoo! Widgets (Windows)
  • Yahoo! Widgets (Mac)
  • Dashboard (Mac)
  • Standalone Widgets (Windows)
  • Standalone Widgets (Mac)
  • Microsoft Vista Sidebar (Windows)
  • Opera (Windows, Mac, Linux)
  • DesktopX (Windows)
  • Kapsules (Windows)
  • Samurize (Windows)
  • KlipFolio (Windows)
  • AveDesk (Windows)
Developers can also submit their widgets to the Widgipedia gallery for download by others. Widgets can be found in the Widgipedia gallery by browsing, identifying items in the "tag cloud", or by searching, including a smart search that enables widget discovery by keyword, user and development platform. Widgipedia also makes it easy to promote your own widgets or any widgets you like by placing small pieces of code that embeds summaries of downloadable widgets in other pages.

In addition, Widgipedia uniquely offers developers and publishers a place to host web widgets free of charge. To avoid Flash errors from cross-domain data access, developers can use cross-domain.xml or take advantage of Widgipedia's redirect feature for a smooth end-user experience. Developers can add several parameters for their widgets that users can select to customize their web widget prior to copying the small bit of code needed to add it to their web pages (blogs, MySpace, etc.).

"Widgipedia.com has quickly become a valuable resource for anyone who deals with widgets, from the professional coder to those using widgets in a blog, MySpace page, or website," said Rodrigo Sales, CEO and co-founder of Vendio. "The need for a single, comprehensive online presence for the development and distribution of widgets is significant and growing rapidly. After many months of testing, user feedback and ongoing development, Widgipedia.com now is poised to become the ultimate cross-platform widget development and download resource."

Widgipedia.com was conceived and constructed by a team of widget enthusiasts at Vendio who got their start in the area by developing one of the world's first and most popular web widgets, Vendio Gallery, a Flash widget currently found in millions of eBay auction and storefront listings.



For media inquiries only:

Helen Fang
Vendio Services Inc.
650-293-3538
Contact Public Relations

About Vendio

Founded in 1999, Vendio Services, Inc. (www.vendio.com) helps small- to medium-sized merchants (SMM's) succeed by offering them an integrated solution to manage their sales seamlessly and cost-effectively across multiple online sales channels including their online store, Amazon.com, eBay, Google, Shopzilla, and more. Each year over 100,000 merchants use Vendio’s award winning multi-channel Platform and Applications to sell over $2 billion in merchandise. The company also operates Dealio (www.dealio.com), a shopping and coupons site for consumers. Vendio is a venture backed, privately-held company headquartered in San Mateo, California with offices in Romania and India.
# # #
Widgipedia, Vendio, Dealio, and Andale, are trademarks of Vendio Services, Inc. eBay is a registered trademark of eBay, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners, without intent to infringe.