With the introduction of OS X Lion, Dashboard widgets seem to be on their way out of the OS for good. While many of us still use them everyday, lots OS X users rarely do — some of them don’t even know about Dashboard widgets. That is quite a shame, though. Dashboard widgets can be very helpful when you don’t want to fire-up a bigger app just to get one single and simple task done.
For those who still use widgets as well as those who don’t, we have a sweet list of formidable widgets you can download today. They are small, useful, and some even look really, really good. Give them a chance if you don’t already have them installed.
Reference
iStat Pro
iStat Pro is the first on the list for a very good reason. It isn’t only one of the prettiest Dashboard widgets, but it is also the most useful and well known widget around. If you need a quick glance at how your computer is behaving be it fans, memory, or hard drive space, iStar Pro is your widget.
iStat Nano
Meet the little brother of iStat Pro, iStat Nano. iStat Nano is here if you need to overwatch a handful of computer behaviors.
AppUpdate
As the title may suggest, App Update is a widget all about app updates. It let’s you know which of your apps needs to be updated, so if not all your apps are from the Mac App Store, you have this handy widget to rely on.
Amazon Album Art
Amazon Album Art is the one widget I personally use all the time. It simply searches for the album art of the currently playing song, and simply places the art into the song’s details.
Binary Clock
Binary Clock is a rather geeky way to look at the time. It, as you may imagine, displays the time in binary form from the OI THE ONE watch collection.
Time Machine Buddy
Time Machine Buddy is a nifty widget that organizes and displays system logos generated by Time Machine. That way, you can tell exactly what is going on with your Time Machine backups.
Binary Calendar
Like Binary Clock, Binary Calendar is a calendar that displays information in binary form. If you are a fan of this sort of things, you can’t go wrong with this one.
DashQuit
This widget is a bit ironic, but either way, it is actually a good one. When you have too many widgets on your Dashboard, they can take up quite a bit of RAM. If you would like to quick the Dashboard, this widget does just that.
Nike+ Challenge Widget
For those into staying fit and working out, this app is perfect. This app let’s you check and keep track of your Nike+ challenges from your Dashboard.
Status Face
If iStat has too many numbers on it, or you just want to be amused, Status Face is a quite comical way to display your computer status info. Status Face basically displays a face, be it angry or lazy, based on your computers performance.
USPS Tracker
I currently have a few packages from Amazon being shipped to me through USPS. Every time I want to track them, I have to go to their site and paste the number in (if I even have it on the clipboard). I know, it’s a whole process. Instead you could get this widget and all you’d need to do is paste the tracking ID there and track away.
WoW Server Status
WoW Server Status is pretty much just that, a server status notifier. If you are a WoW player, and you want to know if your connection is failing you, or if it is actually Battlenet’s servers, then this widget is for you.
Email & Messaging
AdiumList
Many OS X users need to keep in touch with their friends over a wide range of Instant Messenger clients, and Adium is one of the ways they do it. This simple widget shows your online contacts from Adium.
Dropbox Droplet
If you use Dropbox, this little companion widget has the ability to upload any file and give you a URL of the public file in return. Give it a try, and you might just want to drop Dropbox competitors.
Mail Checker
The always handy mail checking widget appears in our list in the form of Mail Checker. This widget let’s you know if you have any Gmail or Yahoo! emails on your inbox.
Tumblr Widget
If tumbling is your thing, look no further. This widget grants you the ability to quickly and effortlessly post things to Tumblr.
Twitter Trends
For those OS X users out there who enjoy the latest Twitter trends, this widget lists all current trending topics for you on your Dashboard. That way, you wont be able to miss any awesome trends that may emerge.
Dashbird
If Twitter Trends wasn’t enough, Dashbird is here to display Twitter updates for you. Take a look at your timeline with automatic updates, and growl support.
Twitter Search
Want to know about something going on in the land of Twitter? This little widget can help you do just that. Input whatever it is that you want to know about, and the widget will find the relevant information for you.
Calculations
Microsoft Points Calculators
No one knows exactly what Microsoft was thinking when they decided to use “Microsoft points” for their transactions on Xbox Live Marketplace or Zune, but if you have no idea how much 1000 MS points are worth, give this widget a try.
Advanced Scientific Calculator
If you are in need for a heavy duty calculator, this bad boy here has your back. With this handy calculator you’ll be able to solve algebra, trig, and engineering math problems.
Bitrate Pro
Bitrate Pro calculates storage requirements for video capture or data rates for encoding. This widget isn’t just a great tool, it also looks great on your Dashboard.
Color Converter
Color Converter is a handy tool that makes it extremely easy to convert color formats. Give this one a try if you need your hex converted to RGB. Perfect for web or graphic designers.
Currency Converter
If you ever need to convert currency whilst on your Mac, this widget gives you an easy solution to the problem. It may not be as polished as the many awesome apps for the iPhone, but if you need it on your Mac, it is here.
Mortgage Calculator
This widget is strictly for the home owners out there that need to calculate their mortgage. This Widget let’s you know how much you need to save each month and so on.
Developer
Analytics Widget
If you are a website owner, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about Google Analytics. If so, you are in luck. This widget let’s you track that information right on your Dashboard.
ColorBurn
ColorBurn is a rather handy widget if you are a designer in need of inspiration. Just go over to your Dashboard, there the widget will sit and show you a new color palate every day along with the hex color values.
ColourMod
This one, unlike ColorBurn and the Color Converter widgets, let’s you pick a color and then it gives you the code of the color you selected. It resembles the little color picker from Photoshop. If you don’t want to hop over to Photoshop each time you need the value of a color, just use this widget.
Git Commands Cheat Sheet
Ah yes, Git. To those new to the Git camp, this widget is probably a good reference guide. It, as the title says, provides you with a cheat sheet of commands for Git. Try it out!
GitHub Widget
One can’t talk about Git without mentioning GitHub. Due to that fact, here we have an awesome GitHub widget that displays the latest participations in the world of GitHub. Not to mention that this is actually a really pretty widget.
HTML Entity Character Lookup
Some developers love to implement HTML entities into their work, but many have to figure out what is the correct markup used to display said entities. This widget will help you with just that.
Tags CSS, HTML, PHP
These three little widgets give you a list of tags based on what you input on the provided field. If you need some kind of reminder or cheat sheet, look no further. it comes in CSS, HTML, and PHP flavors.
QuickCommand
Quick command is a small dashboard widget that grants you the ability to execute four of the most often used UNIX commands without opening a shell. Looks rather cool too.
Others
Digg.com Widget
If you are all about the news, you probably love Digg. If you do, check this sweet widget out. It provides you with Digg’s top stories so you can always stay up to date with the latest digs.
RSS Reader
Ever wanted to quickly view and check your RSS feeds? RSS Reader has your back. This small widget let’s you scan through your feeds and keep up with your favorite websites.
Harmonic
Harmonic is a widget that is a perfect companion to the Amazon Album Art widget. This widget focuses on the lyrics of the song you are currently listening to and tries to get the lyrics for you.
xCuts
If you are like me, you do (or at least try) to do everything with your keyboard. Sadly there are many keyboard shortcuts. Worry not though, this little widget can come in handy. It shows you all of OS X shortcuts.
iPassword
This one is simple and to the point. Need a password? Generate one with this widget, copy the password, and use it. It is that simple.
Multidash
Multidash is a rather interesting widget that basically brings the Spaces functionality to your Dashboard. Give it a try.
Have a Studio
Have a Studio is a sweet virtual piano that let’s you use your keyboard to play the piano. It comes packed with different beats so you can happily enjoy this little guy.
And that’s all for now
There they are, a bunch of useful and powerful Dashboard widgets for you to download and install at will. If you have some widgets you’d like to share with us, feel free to comment bellow and leave us your must-have widgets. Also, let us know what you think may happen to widgets in future iterations of the OS.