Ubuntu Unleashed

Via cnet:
Google Desktop has been available for some time now on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms. However, Google Gadgets — mini-applications that can be placed anywhere on the desktop — have, until now, only been available on Windows and Mac. Jim Zhuang, of Google's software engineering team, announced the first Linux version on Tuesday.

"Since releasing Google Desktop for Linux, we've added almost all of our most requested features, like 64-bit support and the ability to search applications and documents. All [but for] one major exception: Desktop Gadgets," wrote Zhuang on the company's open-source blog. "Gadget support is not just a single feature, but rather an entire platform for miniature applications. It's a complex undertaking, but we're now putting the finishing touches on the product."


Zhuang invited developers to view the source code for the entire project. "For Gadgets for Linux, we don't just want to simply release the final offering, but we also want to give everyone a chance to tinker with the code powering the gadgets," Zhuang wrote. "For this project, fostering a transparent and lively developer community is just as important as serving our users."

Google Gadgets for Linux are compatible with those written for Google Desktop for Windows and the "Universal Gadgets" on iGoogle. Therefore, according to the company, "a large library of existing gadgets [is] immediately available to Linux users, [and] gadget developers will benefit from a much larger potential user base without having to learn a new API".

The downloadable application includes the gadget library and a host program to allow users to run the gadgets on the desktop. Hosts are available for both GTK+ and Qt. The project is open sourced under the Apache License.

Howto Install:
Open System->Administration->Software Sources->Third Party repo's
Add these repo's:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/googlegadgets/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/googlegadgets/ubuntu hardy main

Now lets finally install shall we?
Click here after adding and refreshing the repository to install via one click or via the command line:
sudo apt-get install google-gadgets

Press Alt-F2 and type in ggl-gtk

You autostart Google Gadgets for Linux by opening sessions via System->Preferences->Sessions
Then click +Add and input the fields like this:
Name:Google Gadgets
Command Line:sleep 10 ; ggl-gtk
Click ok and then make sure its check marked to startup