<s>
AveDesk	B-Application
is	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
(	O
although	O
it	O
is	O
touted	O
as	O
"	O
Donationware	B-License
"	O
,	O
which	O
means	O
the	O
software	O
is	O
solely	O
donation-supported	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
financing	O
)	O
widget	O
engine	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
that	O
runs	O
small	O
,	O
self-contained	O
widgets	O
called	O
"	O
desklets	O
"	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
"	O
docklets	O
"	O
(	O
small	O
plugins	B-Application
intended	O
for	O
use	O
by	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
and	O
other	O
similar	O
programs	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
created	O
by	O
Andreas	O
Verhoeven	O
,	O
a	O
freelance	O
software	B-Application
programmer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
most	O
other	O
software	O
programs	O
of	O
its	O
kind	O
,	O
AveDesk	B-Application
is	O
heavily	O
community	O
driven	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
dedicated	O
section	O
of	O
the	O
forums	O
on	O
Aqua-Soft	O
,	O
an	O
online	O
community	O
of	O
skinning	O
enthusiasts	O
dedicated	O
to	O
emulating	O
the	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
of	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
Leopard	I-Application
,	O
is	O
used	O
by	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
to	O
report	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
or	O
request	O
for	O
new	O
software	O
features	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
programmer	B-Application
,	O
cutting	O
any	O
red	O
tape	O
in	O
the	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
features	O
are	O
also	O
better	O
discussed	O
among	O
the	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
program	O
and	O
the	O
programmer	B-Application
himself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Ave	O
"	O
in	O
"	O
AveDesk	B-Application
"	O
is	O
a	O
shortened	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
author	O
's	O
name	O
,	O
Andreas	O
Verhoeven	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AveDesk	B-Application
desklets	O
are	O
skinnable	B-Application
plugins	B-Application
developed	O
in	O
Visual	B-Application
C++	I-Application
that	O
can	O
display	O
themselves	O
as	O
widgets	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
just	O
simply	O
script	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
reason	O
,	O
users	O
cannot	O
easily	O
create	O
custom-made	O
desklets	O
for	O
AveDesk	B-Application
as	O
other	O
similar	O
programs	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Konfabulator	B-Application
and	O
DesktopX	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
work	O
around	O
this	O
,	O
AveDesk	B-Application
users	O
usually	O
use	O
a	O
plugin	B-Application
called	O
SysStats	O
,	O
which	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
easily	O
create	O
and	O
run	O
desklets	O
for	O
AveDesk	B-Application
using	O
scripts	B-Language
(	O
such	O
as	O
JavaScript	B-Language
and	O
VBScript	B-Application
)	O
,	O
coupled	O
with	O
specially	O
structured	O
INI	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
and	O
computer	O
image	O
files	O
that	O
make	O
up	O
the	O
look	O
and	O
functionality	O
of	O
the	O
widget	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
version	O
1.3	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
,	O
a	O
new	O
scripting	B-Language
engine	I-Language
,	O
called	O
AveScripter	O
,	O
will	O
be	O
developed	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
updated	O
internal	O
architecture	O
of	O
desklets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
engine	O
is	O
more	O
closely	O
integrated	O
with	O
AveDesk	B-Application
,	O
and	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
internal	O
features	O
that	O
come	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
version	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
visual	O
effects	O
included	O
with	O
AveDesk	B-Application
and	O
a	O
special	O
library	O
of	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
controls	O
intended	O
for	O
AveDesk	B-Application
desklets	O
,	O
called	O
AveControls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AveDesk	B-Application
is	O
mainly	O
used	O
by	O
Windows	O
users	O
emulating	O
the	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
of	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
PidlShortcut	O
"	O
desklet	O
(	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
among	O
the	O
default	O
set	O
of	O
desklets	O
in	O
AveDesk	B-Application
)	O
,	O
a	O
skinnable	B-Application
shortcut	O
desklet	O
that	O
can	O
point	O
to	O
a	O
computer	O
file	O
or	O
folder	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
customisable	O
looks	O
and	O
functions	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
high-resolution	O
PNG	O
image	O
as	O
an	O
icon	O
for	O
the	O
shortcut	O
(	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
usual	O
low-resolution	O
Windows	O
icon	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
to	O
provide	O
additional	O
information	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
files	O
in	O
the	O
folder	O
or	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
the	O
disk	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
StickyNotes	O
"	O
desklet	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
hold	O
simple	O
notes	O
and	O
is	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Stickies	O
widget	O
in	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
's	O
Dashboard	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
desklet	O
is	O
an	O
updated	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
"	O
Notes	O
"	O
desklet	O
found	O
in	O
earlier	O
versions	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
Translator	O
"	O
desklet	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
an	O
online	O
language	O
translator	O
to	O
translate	O
text	O
from	O
one	O
language	O
to	O
another	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
its	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
's	O
Dashboard	B-Application
's	O
counterpart	O
,	O
but	O
can	O
have	O
its	O
appearance	O
changed	O
through	O
skins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
1.3	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
adds	O
several	O
new	O
internal	O
features	O
as	O
mentioned	O
earlier	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
few	O
new	O
desklets	O
were	O
made	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Essentially	O
a	O
simple	O
electronic	O
drawing	O
pad	O
,	O
a	O
user	O
can	O
use	O
a	O
mouse	B-Device
to	O
write	O
or	O
draw	O
on	O
the	O
pad	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
WordSearcher	O
"	O
desklet	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
search	O
either	O
an	O
online	O
dictionary	B-Operating_System
or	O
thesaurus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
that	O
this	O
is	O
not	O
an	O
exhaustive	O
list	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
desklets	O
included	O
with	O
AveDesk	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
not	O
usually	O
found	O
in	O
other	O
widget	O
engines	O
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
work	O
around	O
this	O
,	O
desklet	O
creators	O
can	O
create	O
specially	O
pre-packaged	O
desklets	O
(	O
which	O
are	O
actually	O
ZIP	B-General_Concept
files	I-General_Concept
with	O
the	O
correct	O
directory	B-Application
structure	O
and	O
instructions	O
for	O
the	O
software	O
program	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
need	O
only	O
to	O
open	O
the	O
package	O
with	O
AveDesk	B-Application
,	O
which	O
will	O
then	O
automatically	O
and	O
correctly	O
install	O
the	O
desklets	O
for	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
modules	O
act	O
as	O
plugins	B-Application
to	O
the	O
AveDesk	B-Application
program	O
itself	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
not	O
desklets	O
or	O
widgets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
provide	O
additional	O
functionality	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
show	O
or	O
hide	O
"	O
PidlShortcut	O
"	O
desklets	O
that	O
point	O
to	O
specific	O
disk	B-Device
drives	I-Device
as	O
they	O
are	O
mounted	O
or	O
dismounted	O
,	O
or	O
to	O
automatically	O
hide	O
all	O
normal	O
desktop	B-Application
icons	O
when	O
the	O
program	O
is	O
started	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	O
allows	O
a	O
user	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
to	O
save	O
the	O
configurations	O
and	O
positions	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
desklets	O
he	O
or	O
she	O
has	O
running	O
on	O
the	O
desktop	B-Application
,	O
so	O
if	O
the	O
user	O
wishes	O
to	O
go	O
back	O
to	O
that	O
configuration	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
,	O
he	O
or	O
she	O
only	O
needs	O
to	O
load	O
that	O
theme	O
into	O
AveDesk	B-Application
,	O
saving	O
the	O
hassle	O
of	O
rearranging	O
and	O
reconfiguring	O
the	O
desklets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	O
came	O
about	O
after	O
some	O
users	O
of	O
earlier	O
versions	O
voiced	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
use	O
multiple	O
configurations	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
desklets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
Konfabulator	B-Application
's	O
Konsposé	O
,	O
and	O
patterned	O
after	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
's	O
Dashboard	B-Application
and	O
Exposé	O
,	O
this	O
feature	O
quickly	O
brings	O
AveDesk	B-Application
desklets	O
to	O
the	O
foreground	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
background	O
dimmed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
add	O
custom	O
visual	O
effects	O
to	O
desklets	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
create	O
new	O
ones	O
using	O
specially	O
crafted	O
scripts	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
widget	O
engines	O
,	O
where	O
visual	O
effects	O
are	O
limited	O
to	O
the	O
scope	O
of	O
the	O
widgets	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
add	O
their	O
own	O
visual	O
effects	O
onto	O
AveDesk	B-Application
desklets	O
,	O
separate	O
from	O
the	O
desklet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
effects	O
mimic	O
the	O
animations	O
present	O
on	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
few	O
effects	O
were	O
unique	O
to	O
AveDesk	B-Application
,	O
which	O
some	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
users	O
using	O
the	O
software	O
application	O
feel	O
are	O
better	O
than	O
their	O
counterparts	O
on	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
a	O
context	O
menu	O
listing	O
all	O
open	O
widgets	O
(	O
as	O
in	O
most	O
other	O
widget	O
engines	O
)	O
,	O
AveDesk	B-Application
uses	O
a	O
control	O
panel	O
for	O
centralised	O
desklet	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
there	O
,	O
a	O
user	O
can	O
open	O
and	O
close	O
desklets	O
,	O
configure	O
AveDesk	B-Application
's	O
options	O
,	O
set	O
the	O
defaults	O
for	O
new	O
AveDesk	B-Application
desklets	O
,	O
switch	O
or	O
create	O
new	O
AveDesk	B-Application
themes	O
,	O
or	O
install	O
and	O
manage	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
other	O
widget	O
engines	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
AveDesk	B-Application
does	O
place	O
an	O
icon	O
in	O
the	O
taskbar	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
contain	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
running	O
desklets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ObjectDock	B-Application
docklet	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Highly	O
unusual	O
for	O
widget	O
engines	O
,	O
AveDesk	B-Application
not	O
only	O
support	O
its	O
own	O
plugin	B-Application
formats	O
,	O
but	O
plugin	B-Application
formats	O
of	O
other	O
applications	O
that	O
uses	O
plugins	B-Application
(	O
in	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
could	O
run	O
an	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
docklet	O
inside	O
AveDesk	B-Application
as	O
if	O
it	O
were	O
an	O
AveDesk	B-Application
desklet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
AveDesk	B-Application
desklet	O
can	O
have	O
its	O
own	O
label	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
user	O
can	O
change	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	O
exists	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
place	O
because	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
docklets	O
(	O
which	O
AveDesk	B-Application
can	O
support	O
,	O
as	O
described	O
above	O
)	O
usually	O
emanate	O
information	O
through	O
labels	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
icon	O
representing	O
the	O
docklet	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AveDesk	B-Application
was	O
actually	O
a	O
spinoff	O
of	O
another	O
different	O
software	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
Andreas	O
Verhoeven	O
(	O
who	O
was	O
then	O
a	O
creator	O
of	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
docklets	O
)	O
was	O
developing	O
a	O
program	O
that	O
could	O
run	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
docklets	O
in	O
Y'z	O
Dock	O
(	O
a	O
now-defunct	O
program	O
that	O
was	O
similar	O
to	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
)	O
and	O
vice	O
versa	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
resolve	O
incompatibilities	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
he	O
managed	O
to	O
have	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
docklets	O
running	O
on	O
the	O
desktop	B-Application
,	O
independent	O
of	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
(	O
hence	O
the	O
support	O
for	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
docklets	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
there	O
,	O
he	O
began	O
further	O
developing	O
the	O
idea	O
that	O
eventually	O
led	O
to	O
AveDesk	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
its	O
development	O
,	O
he	O
coined	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
desklets	O
"	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
widgets	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
(	O
as	O
desklets	O
are	O
to	O
computer	O
desktops	O
as	O
docklets	O
are	O
to	O
dock	O
programs	O
such	O
as	O
ObjectDock	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2003	O
,	O
Andreas	O
released	O
AveDesk	B-Application
1.0	O
on	O
the	O
Aqua-Soft	O
online	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soon	O
after	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
desklets	O
intended	O
just	O
for	O
AveDesk	B-Application
appeared	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
more	O
notable	O
desklets	O
that	O
helped	O
propel	O
AveDesk	B-Application
's	O
popularity	O
was	O
a	O
simple	O
but	O
skinnable	B-Application
shortcut	O
desklet	O
(	O
the	O
predecessor	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
PidlShortcut	O
"	O
desklet	O
)	O
,	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
easily	O
customised	O
to	O
take	O
on	O
the	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
of	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
desktop	B-Application
shortcuts	O
but	O
complete	O
with	O
functioning	O
Windows	O
context	O
menus	O
,	O
a	O
disk	B-Device
drive	I-Device
desklet	O
(	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
shortcut	O
desklet	O
)	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
set	O
to	O
appear	O
only	O
when	O
that	O
particular	O
disk	B-Device
drive	I-Device
has	O
been	O
mounted	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
Trash	O
can	O
desklet	O
that	O
has	O
the	O
additional	O
functions	O
of	O
ejecting	O
a	O
CD	B-Device
or	O
DVD	O
disk	B-Device
drive	I-Device
when	O
its	O
icon	O
has	O
been	O
dragged	O
onto	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
desklets	O
helped	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
appeal	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
to	O
skinning	O
enthusiasts	O
who	O
wanted	O
to	O
emulate	O
the	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
of	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2004	O
,	O
Andreas	O
released	O
version	O
1.1	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
to	O
an	O
eager	O
audience	O
of	O
skinning	O
enthusiasts	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
previously	O
been	O
teased	O
with	O
screenshots	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
while	O
it	O
was	O
in	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
visual	O
effects	O
further	O
increased	O
the	O
appeal	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
,	O
and	O
version	O
1.1	O
was	O
embraced	O
heartily	O
by	O
skinning	O
enthusiasts	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
more	O
popular	O
widget	O
engines	O
for	O
Windows	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
already	O
popular	O
widget	O
engines	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
DesktopX	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2005	O
,	O
version	O
1.2	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
1.2	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
biggest	O
(	O
if	O
not	O
the	O
biggest	O
)	O
update	O
to	O
AveDesk	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
26	O
,	O
2005	O
,	O
Avedesk	B-Application
version	O
1.3	O
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
was	O
originally	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
minor	O
update	O
to	O
iron	O
out	O
some	O
quirks	O
in	O
previous	O
versions	O
of	O
AveDesk	B-Application
,	O
but	O
it	O
eventually	O
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
biggest	O
update	O
to	O
be	O
rolled	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
