Indianizing Google Desktop

Google Desktop is proving to be an ubiquitous tool that I see on most laptops and desktops these days. The open API structure that Google has thrown open for developers to create customized gadgets that stay put on your desktop is proving highly efficient. These nifty little utilities are hidden till recall them by hitting the "Shift" button twice. Lo !!! You are immediately shown the entire gamut of gadgets you have installed and you just go about using them. No application launch required. Once done, just hide them by pressing "Esc" key.

When I was recently searching for a laundry timer gadget, I was surprised to find 3 Indian gadgets that made me wonder how I could have done without them all these days.

Desktop Yoga: A gadget by Ravi Ranjan that targets the computer geek who spends long hours at the console. Uniquely crafted, a Yoga Guru starts waving and dancing to attract your attention at the end of every 30 minutes (customizable). He then goes on to teach you a simple Yoga based exercise that helps stretch and relax those immobile limbs of yours. After you are done, the Yoga guru goes back to meditation for the next 30 minutes. I just fell in love with this gadget.

Indian Stock Price: Developed by K Gopalakrishna, this simple but much sought after gadget fetched stock/script prices of Indian stocks from Yahoo onto your desktop.
This does away with the need to log on to financial websites. You need not be a Yahoo member to get the data. Clicking on the stock to get some details like previous close, current day trading details and so on.

Live Cricket Scores: Another of those much needed gadgets when you are away from the TV screen. Developed by Bijoy Thangaraj, this gadget has been designed to fetch live cricket scores from officially matches across the world right onto your desktop. A must have for every cricket buff.

Google has really done a wonderful job by providing a platform on which individual developers can engineer nifty applications that are not just useful, but cater to regional interests too.

By the way, for those still wondering what happened to the laundry timer... I did get my laundry timer and now I just dump my clothes, start the timer and get back to some other work. The timer alerts me when done.

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