Of Widgets and Applets

Some of the things that make KDE and GNOME awesome are the widgets and applets that they have. As well as some related applications. I’ve been using KDE almost exclusively on my older laptop at work and I’ve become pretty much accustomed to KDE there. In fact, I miss using KDE from time to time.

So which KDE widgets do I like a lot?

• Picture frame. Yes, a simple looking picture frame makes my days happier. Why? Because those pictures I see from time to time keep me sane. That or they remind me of some good things when I am feeling stressed out.
• Twitter widget. I don’t have Tweetdeck because I think that that will keep me from working at all. Meanwhile, the Twitter widget only shows a certain number of tweets every so often. In that case, I know that those tweets will be replaced with yet another set of tweets. Not a bad thing, really. And it keeps me from getting too obssessed about tweets.
• Lock screen widget. Yes. I love it simply because one click makes me lock my computer. No one should be able to play a prank on me by pretending I am tweeting or posting Facebook updates. My co-workers have a weird sense of humor so… I would rather be safe than sorry.

As for GNOME…

• I love GNOME-Do. As a launcher, it’s really one of the best things ever. I could launch a whole lot of things from there. Whether it’s me wanting Rhythmbox to play songs by a particular artist or start a conversation with a friend, GNOME-Do makes it happen.
• Network manager. It’s really great and I find it easier to use than the one on KDE.

Come to think of it, I don’t use much applets on GNOME except for those that are already available on the GNOME panel when I installed Ubuntu.

What applets and widgets do you have on KDE or GNOME? Why do you like having them? Do you have any recommendations?