This is a remake of some tools provided with a unix framework called gDesklets. I found that these utilities are visually appealing and deserve to have a Java equivalent.

This application is 100% java. Requires jdk 1.4.2 or later.

Download

As always there is a Licence. This is a beta version.

jDesklets 0.2.2 (sources and binaries)

This version still has some problems such as freezing. Because of that theres also a Logger (Loglet) which can show debug info.

Use

Right now, each module can be launched in 3 different modes:

1 Single application self configured by sessions

This mode will recreate (if exists) the configuration saved by using right click/save session, including options and positions on the screen.

java -jar desklets.jar

This command can be executed from a windows Shortcut, to start the jdesklets from the Startup folder.

The first execution of this command will present a small window asking for a jdesklet to run. Command lines for the different desklets available are further down this document. An example to start with a clock could be to type: Clocklet and accept the box. It will start a clock at the upper right corner of the desktop. Other jdesklets can be added/removed later using right click/Start another....

Note: The session is normally stored at $user_home/desklets.properties and all the options are stored in plain text (including passwords in Mailet)

Existing jdesklets

Clocklet: An analog clock configurable in face and timezone. based in Clocks.

Clocklet [options] [<time zone> [<clock face>]]
   -s : use small icons
   <time zone>: can be in the form GMT-XX or America,Pacific
   <clock face>: can be one of:
                std.png
                yin.png
                clock.png
                osXclock.png
                rafclock.png

Digilet: My very simple first digital clock

DigiClock 

Weatherlet: Weather forecast based in Goodweather uses the XML feed from www.Weather.com to show a forecast on the desktop.

Weatherlet [options] <city Code> <number days to forecast>
   -s : use emall icons

City codes for Weatherlet can be found at http://www.weather.com and have the form CAXX0518 or ENXX0100.

Mailet: shows emails arrived

Mailet <protocol> <server> <port> <folder> <user> <password>
   <protocol>: can be on of:pop3, pop3s or imap
   <folder>: can be either INBOX for pop3 and pop3s or a folder name for imap protocols

Quotelet: Shows a quote (refreshes every 30 min)

Quotelet

Egglet: Timer allows to set a time and then get a sound or splash screen when the time is up ( in progress )

Egglet

Framelet: Photo frame, displays pictures from a user folder on a small transparent window. I never thought that I would like to have something like this.

Framelet [options] <image folder>
   -t factor : transparency from 0.0 - 1.0>
   -p period : period to display each image (minutes)

Schelet: Calendar displays dates from the current month. Is not finished yet, but it should allow to post notes for days.

Schelet

The ones that I liked the most are Weather forecast and the Clock. But the mail checker (that i am pointing to my gmail account) is incredibly usefull and I really enjoy the photo frame is nice.

Sessions

A session of desklets can be saved into a local file ($user_home/desklets.properties) allowing the rebuild the current configuration in a future time, including currently visible winlets and the options of each one of them.

Other options to start jdesklets

Option 2: Single process with launcher (optional)

Allows to lauch more than one winlet on the same command line (separed by a dash).

java -jar desklets.jar Clocklet - Weatherlet CAXX0518 4

Option 3: Standalone application (optional)

Just execute each winlet separedly:

javaw -cp desklets.jar com.csa.winlets.Clocklet
javaw -cp jdesklets.jar com.csa.winlet.Weatherlet CAXX0518 4
javaw -cp jdesklets.jar com.csa.winlet.Clock America,Santiago yin.png

The starter

When called using the -jar mode, the jar provides a starter (com.csa.winlet.Start) to bootup more than one jdesklet on the same java process. But when theres need of more libraries, this should be replaced by an explicit call to the Starter class using a -cp option. The following example shows the command line if you want to use the Mailet that requires downloading of the java mail API libraries: *mail.jar* and activation.jar.

javaw  -cp jdesklets.jar;activation.jar;mail.jar com.csa.winlet.Start 
    Weatherlet CAXX0518 4
 -  Clocklet
 -  Mailet pop3s pop.gmail.com 995 inbox usr@gmail.com pass
 -  Quotelet

Everything should be on the same line. The starter will execute winlets separed by a dash (-). Of course, the jdesklets can be initiated separedly, without the starter using with a command line like:

javaw  -cp jdesklets.jar com.csa.winlet.Weatherlet CAXX0518 4

Then each would have it's own process and window.

Future work

In future work I will add :

• Week todolist or calendar
• Tail files

and maybe some other small tools.

PS1: I'm very happy because I wanted to have this in windows and linux, but didn't wanted to write a C++ or delphi application.

PS2: I been thinking bout having just one window and use all the deskets together... or force the windows to be in the background and never to be on top of other windows...

PS3: I think the clock should go into foreground for a couple of seconds and every 15 minutes or so, so it helps to keep the track of time.

Java works!