Netvibes Announces Universal API For Widgets

9 03 2007

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Netvibes just announced the release of their universal API that will allow widget builders to use the API for Netvibes, Google IG, Apple Dashboard and many more…

The Universal Widget API (UWA for short) is the name of the 1.0 release of the Netvibes API. With it come major changes and possibilities.

While previous version of the API only let you build modules for Netvibes, UWA makes it possible for you to see your widget be used not only on Netvibes or on personnal websites, but also on many other platforms, both online or on the desktop. For instance, it is already possible to install a UWA widget on Google IG, in Apple Dashboard, soon the Opera browser, and many more to come…

Thanks to its open-source JavaScript runtime, the Netvibes UWA can be easily ported to other platforms. As a developer, you can leverage your existing code on a large number of platforms. As a user, you can use all your favorite UWA widget on your favorite platform – it doesn’t have to be on Netvibes only.

The reliance on open content pushes for the availability of more and more web services, leading to a “Wall of APIs”. Netvibes UWA promotes the use of legal or personnal web APIs, thus leading to a blossoming of web services, all available to UWA widgets users and developers.