O'Reilly writes about CSM Widget
Category: Widgets,
Oh we are official already, baby. But a write up in any of the geek omnibus publisher O’Reilly’s books is sweet icing on our cake.
The target of the great review in O’Reilly’s new book, Google Maps Hacks, is the CSM GasWatch Widget that connects to the OPIS database on gas pricing across the U.S through MSN.
Basically, when you want to find the best prices on gasoline in your area you simply enter your zip code and BAM you get results relevant to your location on the nifty GasWatch widget.
Says O’Reilly of the GasWatch Widget: “This is a great example of the value to be gained from connecting different sources of data in new ways.”
The stand out nature of GasWatch comes from the way the Widget overcomes platform barriers by offering Google Maps for Macintosh users to map out gas stations. Where Mac users would have been otherwise received a crippled service from the Widget, some quick thinking on the part of Adrian Gonzales, CSM’s preeminent Widgeter, brought maps to both platforms.
CSM has been creating awesome Widgets for public and private use. CSM’s public Widgets are among the most popular widgets today. A visit to Yahoo widgets will show you that some quarter of a million people have downloaded a CSM Widget of one form or another. This makes Clear Span Media one of the world’s most prolific and accomplished creators of Widgets.
According to O’Reilly’s website the media company “spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazine, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly has been a chronicler and catalyst of leading-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.” CSM is pretty proud to be noted in that group. And we like the animals on their covers, too.
Asked what the focus is all about, Adrian Gonzales, says it is all about the creative combination of design and innovation in gathering data. “Widgets are a growing force in data acquisition and distribution for a corporation’s internal use or for marketing to a target audience,” says Gonzales.
CSM’s Widget clients must agree. Radio stations, major film companies and Fortune 500 corporations have called on CSM to create solutions for their needs.
“…connecting different sources of data in new ways.” That is a part of the power of Widgets and what Clear Span Media is excelling at. It is true. They are writing about it in books.