Blog Entry
Sep 27

Ultimate Explorer 2.0

Posted in Gadgets, Ultimate Explorer

After a fairly long time (couple of months including the development for System Control), we are releasing a little update for the Ultimate Explorer.  Why the 2.0?  Cause this bad boy has been completely redesigned from the ground up.  I’ll get to the specifics in a moment, I just want to point out that this thing is a monster and in the right hands will be a nearly unstoppable information gobbler capable of fetching the Internet straight to you.  Okay, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but this gadget can search up to 50 different websites.

That’s right.  50.  50 Different websites brought to you on your Desktop.  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Features:

  • Search 50 Different Websites
  • In Gadget Results For:  Amazon, eBay, PriceRunner, Drugstore, YouTube, and Digg
  • Web Searches For:  Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, And More
  • Introducing The Home Engine:  Weather, Date & Time, and Shutdown, Fully Customizable
  • 4 Sizes:  Mini, Small, Large, and Super
  • 4 Themes:  Dark Vista (Default), Brushed, Crystal, and Teak (All Redesigned)
  • Calendar & Events:  Event Reminders Plus Calendars!
  • Web Search Groups:  Perform Searches In Flyout Or Browser
  • New Pseudo-Web Browser Flyout:  It’s Sweet.
  • Expanded Flyout Functionality:  And You Thought Amazon Looked Good Before…
  • 16 Engines Overall
  • Improved Snap Search:  Graphical, 8 Buttons Instead of 6
  • In-Gadget Help Flyout If You Get Stuck
  • Improved Persistent Settings
  • Improved Update System
  • Brand New Vista Oriented Style

Catch your eye yet or have your eyes just kind of glazed over?

Download:

Download @ Live Gallery

Download @ BuildAGadget.com

Download @ Widgipedia.com

Note: Super Size is fairly stable but can on occasion cause the gadget to crash.  We’re working on it, but if anything happens, just re-add the gadget to the sidebar and that should fix it.

P.S.:  This gadget is still very much a work in progress.  We do appreciate bug reports and suggestions.  In addition, we are going to make some engine upgrades as time goes on to help accommodate more international sites.  Thanks for your patience.

P.P.S:  We will update the manual soon, but it’s probably going to be completely re-written.


This entry was posted on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
and is filed under Gadgets, Ultimate Explorer.



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23 Responses to “Ultimate Explorer 2.0”

  1. sam f Says:
    September 30th, 2007 at 12:14 pm

    i like it a lot but two suggestions. one is why dont you make it so you can change resize by dragging a corner? much easier that way. also the weather is failing to load after a dsy of running and freezing the clock on me.

  2. admin Says:
    September 30th, 2007 at 1:10 pm

    Thanks for the feedback Sam. The corner thing is related to the theme system. I’ll see what I can do, but it’s not going to be a smooth resize if you drag a corner. Again, I’d have to work out some kinks. The weather and clock have been known to be unstable at various points. We’re still trying to figure out exactly why this is, but I think it has to do more with the computer on an individual basis versus the gadget. But we are working on it. Any error we can replicate is something we look into fixing. Again, thanks for the feedback!

  3. LA-Robert Says:
    October 4th, 2007 at 3:58 pm

    Love this upgrade! I am having the same problem as Sam though: The weather keeps displaying Loading… when the day changes. I like the drag and drop sizing too, as I find the menu-driven one cumbersome. If you have to get rid of themes to do it that is a small price to pay. Otherwise this thing rocks!!!

  4. admin Says:
    October 4th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

    Thanks! Yeah, the weather does seem to be a bit buggy. We’re working on a couple of different things right now, but I’m starting to plan out the next upgrades to this gadget, maybe see if we can’t patch up the holes. Number one on the list is fixing the weather bug (bad pun intended) and hopefully upgrading it to something a little bit more XML based like Accuweather or similar. I’m still looking into it.

    Hmm… Size changes… Well, best I would be able to do is add a tiny corner button to be able to cycle through some of the sizes, maybe see if I can detect the drag direction or something to cycle up or down. Didn’t really occur to me that people would end up changing the sizes all that much, but hey, who knows? Lol. We’ll see what we can do. :)

    Thanks again for the feedback.

  5. DeXtmL Says:
    October 12th, 2007 at 5:46 am

    The weather temperature format cannot be changed to Celsius.

    Also, i’d like to see this gadget provide us an option to display only hour and min(NO seconds).

  6. admin Says:
    October 12th, 2007 at 11:07 am

    Weather bug noted. We’re working on it. As for the time option, try the Home Options->Date / Time Format and select “No Seconds.”

  7. Jamie Says:
    October 12th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

    I think this is a great gadget but I think it would be good if you could change the date format to UK (day/month/year)

  8. admin Says:
    October 12th, 2007 at 3:32 pm

    We’ll keep it in mind for the next patch. :)

  9. Ryan Says:
    October 23rd, 2007 at 3:18 pm

    I know it might be a bit of a stretch, but is there any way to allow the calendar to sync with Outlook? (I’m sure it’ too much of a pain, but thought I’d ask) Also, under the “change search” menu, what is the “Groups” section for? And how do you have access to 50 websites? I’m not seeing where to access them. Sorry, too many questions probably. Thanks.

  10. admin Says:
    October 23rd, 2007 at 3:36 pm

    No, no, it’s fine. :)

    1. Unfortunately, we don’t have the ability to sync up with Outlook yet. We’ll keep it in mind for future updates and see if it’s possible to do.

    2. Groups are the majority of the 50 sites. When you select a group, you can then select and view / search a particular site in that group.

    So Change Search->Group Of your Choice->Select A Site->Search (Looks more complicated than it is)

  11. erwin_kureka Says:
    November 27th, 2007 at 9:09 pm

    File I/O error
    Why? how to repair it?

  12. admin Says:
    November 28th, 2007 at 3:12 pm

    Sounds like a persistent settings issue. It can occasionally cause issues like this.

    Go to: Computer -> C: -> Users -> [Your User Name] -> AppData -> Local -> Microsoft -> Windows Sidebar -> Gadgets

    Delete: UE2Data.xml, UE2Events.xml

    Re-Install the gadget.

    Hopefully that helps.

  13. Law James Says:
    February 24th, 2008 at 11:16 am

    When doing an amazon search there is a type mismatch error at line 370:

    System.Gadget.Flyout.onShow = ShowFlyoutDisplay();

  14. The Staff Says:
    February 25th, 2008 at 9:30 am

    Thanks, We’ll take a look at it and see what we can do for the next release. :)

  15. Seu Says:
    February 28th, 2008 at 10:39 pm

    This is a great gadget what I want. but there is a small missing. Why don’t you offer add/remove website? if it had… then it would be perfect.
    I love this.

  16. Joshua Says:
    April 5th, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    I get File I/O Error to when I try to follow “admim’s” advice there is no folder called “AppData” in Computer -> C: -> Users -> [My User Name]

    Please Help!!

  17. Joshua Says:
    April 5th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

    Nevermind I had to show Hidden Folders

  18. Joshua Says:
    April 5th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

    Never mind Had to show hidden folders/files

  19. Brett Says:
    May 26th, 2008 at 8:50 am

    I wished that you could configure the three buttons that show up when you hit the home button in the snap search mode. I like Shutdown, Restart, and Task Manager. As is, I have your other gadget installed that allows this customization. I wished I could get both features in one gadget. Good work on both though.

  20. The Staff Says:
    May 26th, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Brett, its something we’re planning on implementing when we get back to the UE. Believe it or not, the System Control gadget was built out of the UE controls, we just didn’t have the full control set done at the time.

    Don’t worry though, it’s on the list. :)

  21. Johnson Says:
    September 4th, 2008 at 11:41 am

    nice gadget.
    the best i have ever seen.

    suggestion:
    could use some transparency/ glassy skin.
    choose browser to open with.
    some small corner to place some notes.

  22. SCREENSHOT Says:
    December 29th, 2008 at 11:39 am

    You have promoted the heck out of this,
    now,
    Provide SCREENSHOTS
    otherwise I am not downloading.

  23. The Staff Says:
    December 31st, 2008 at 6:21 pm

    Understandable and maybe someday we’ll get the screenshots for this, though at this point the gadget needs major updates. Guess you’ll have to be slightly curious and download it if you want to see what it looks like for the interrim though. In the future, we appreciate suggestions, but holding your own experience hostage in return for our compliance with your demands isn’t going to make things go any faster. In the end, you’re just threatening yourself.

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