A Review Of Application Launcher Dashboard Widgets - Part 3

Well, so far I've checked out DashDock and AppButton. Both widgets are pretty good at what they are designed to do, that is to give you an alternative and less obtrusive method of opening applications. DashDock does it in typical Apple graphical style while AppButton does it in a very minimal text based way. Now we come to Mondo Dock.

Mondo Dock is also a dock formed widget, but does a lot more than DashDock when it comes to functions. When you first open Mondo Dock you find your Home Folder, Documents Folder, Desktop Folder, and your System Harddrive. Obviously, you can open more than just applications with this widget. On the far right there is a button (thing) whereyou can drag not just applications but just about anything; text documents, folders, harddrives, images, even your iPod. When it comes to simplicity this beats the other two widgets. When you drag an icon over the "accepting button" it glows blue to let you know that the item has been accepted and it instantly appears in the dock. You can drag in multiple items at the same time as well.

Below each symbol is an arrow and an X. This is for opening the selection or for deleting it from the dock. You can also drag documents into applications you have in the dock to launch them the same way you would do with the normal dock. You cannot however drag a document into a folder or harddrive you have on the dock.

Now, Mondo Dock comes with a lot of options. Which is always nice. Obviously the developer put a lot of thought into the functionality behind this widget. (He is apparently the guy behind Widgetarium. Which is a widget building program that does wonders for simplifying the testing and debugging stages.) On the back of the widget you find a number of different preferences; you can modify the size of the icons, change the orientation to vertical as opposed to horizontal, change to one of ten different colors, and probably most impressive of all, you can save different sets. This means that you could have one group with just Adobe applications, another for all the iLife applications, one for games, and so on. You give each set a specific name and save it. When you want to access it you press the little heart on the front of the widget and select it from a drop down menu and it displays that specific group of items. This means you can conveniently access just about all your applications categorically and not use up more screen real estate with additional docks. Quite smart really.

This is by far the most advanced widget I think I've seen. If you're really serious about removing items from your dock and getting access to files and folders without having to delve into other areas of your Mac than this is what you want. The ability to save sets makes it unbeatable when it comes to functionality. The design is nice, and with all the options you can easily put it anywhere on your Dashboard without it obstructing other widgets. When it comes to application launching widgets this is the king since it does so much more. Without any noticeable flaws and highly recommendable.

Design: 5
Functionality: 5
Dock Problem Solving: 5

We have a winner.

K. Panda