Yahoo Buy Konfabulator

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Paving a new path to their web site, Yahoo! have acquired Konfabulator, a 'widget' platform for monitoring the weather, stock prices, and a wealth of other customised information - without opening a web browser.

The deal gives Yahoo access to a toolbox of mini applications known as widgets that have built a cult following since Palo Alto based Konfabulator first introduced them for OS X in 2002.

'We're lowering the bar and letting people do a lot more with our material', said Toni Schneider, vice president of the Yahoo! developer network.

Konfabulator's widgets, which work on both Apple's OS X and Microsoft Windows, will be exposed to a much wider audience under the new ownership. Apple have 15 million users of OS X; Yahoo ended second quarter 2005 with 181 million registered users.

Yahoo are giving Konfabulator away; anyone who bought Konfabulator since mid May will be given a refund.

Said Konfabulator CEO Arlo Rose: 'This gives us whole new buckets of content to grab stuff from.'

See Also
Yahoo! Widgets
The Widget Gallery
Konfabulator Workshop