Yahoo! and Intel to extend world of widgets to TV

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 21 August 2008 09:44

Business IT - Technology

Yahoo! and Intel have announced a plan to bring computer-style widgets to TV screens. The idea behind the Widget Channel is to take familiar software technologies to an emerging platform.

The two companies have teamed up because Intel's Media Processor CE 3100 is a system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed for use in consumer electronics products including Internet-connected set-top boxes and digital TVs, while Yahoo! already has the software that actually runs widgets, including the software libraries that support them.

(What's a widget? In this context, think in terms of a relatively simple application with a single purpose that typically involves displaying information collected from the web.)

The idea is that people will be able to access additional content while watching a program, or continue to monitor information such as sports news or the progress of eBay auctions. Multiple widgets could be displayed simultaneously.

Widget Channel widgets will be written using JavaScript, XML. HTML and Flash, so the technical barriers to entry will be low, yet skilled developers will be able to create sophisticated functions. The Widget Channel software stack is built on top of Linux, but that will be invisible to most people.

While practically anyone could theoretically create a widget, the Widget Gallery application within the Widget Channel software will only allow devices to load widgets that have been signed by the service provider or hardware manufacturer. It further restricts the selection of widgets to those suitable for use on the specific device.

How will widgets appear on the TV screen? Please read on.