Apple's Dashboard, included in Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) utilizes mini-applications, easily customized, and hidden away for viewing at user's preference, without taking up valuable real estate. Though some thought Apple ripped off Konfabulator (now Yahoo! widgets), Apple has managed to engage the developer community well, which has seen terrific innovation. Some of my favorites, which I use with some frequency, are below.

1. Stocks
2. tremorSkimmer
3. RadarInMotion
4. Scoreboard
5. SimpsonBot
6. Gas
7. Reversi
8. Buzztracker
9. Translation
10.Technorati Ping

Listening to ''After Love (New Short Cut)'', by Piet Blank & Jaspa Jones (Play Count: 1)

The side benefits of having partial Oakland A's season tickets never cease. At the beginning of the season, I looked at the three-game home series against the Giants as only another option to see the green and gold defeat their Bay Area rival up close and personal. In fact, when a friend and Giants fan called at the beginning of the year to offer to attend all three of this weekend's games, I didn't hesitate. Sure! What could possibly make the game more interesting? It turns out, a lot more. Barry Bonds has managed to have such a slow start that his inevitable passing of Babe Ruth into second place on the all-time home run list has brought him to Oakland sitting on 713.

Tonight, we saw him thwarted by the A's, who kept him 0 for 3 with a walk, including a 2 outs in the 9th strike out against Huston Street to win the game by the final score of 1-0. In front a sellout crowd at the Coliseum of 35,000+, filled with partisan A's and Giants fans alike, the substory of Barry taking on the world was definitely there. Flashbulbs popped at every pitch with him at the plate, whether he swung or not, and everybody stood for the duration of his at bats, hoping to be there and see something for the record books, even if it was aligned with a man who has tainted his own story and the game as a whole, through evading the rules, lying and being a generally sultry character with occasional flashes of camaraderie.

As an A's fan, the story is the A's taking sole possession of first place, albeit a slight lead, over the Texas Rangers. But seeing a very well pitched game with stellar defense against the hated Giants and seeing Barry turn unhappily toward the visitors' dugout once again was a fantastic turn of events. One couldn't ask for much more - unless I really want to see him hit the home run... and I don't. Let's hope the guy goes 0 for 12 on the series and limps around the bases in someone else's park in the coming weeks instead.

It all begins anew Saturday at 1:05, and we'll be back there in our assigned seats.

Listening to ''Desire (Short Cut)'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 1)

More in an irregularly occurring series...

We're back on the West Coast, where we belong... just in time to see Barroid and the Giants take on the A's at the Coliseum this weekend. Should be fun!

Speaking of which, the A's, one quarter of the season through, have amassed a bevy of statistics, some good some bad. Blez from Athletics Nation passes out first quarter grades. Add your own, or read up to gain insight.

Al Gore may graduate from having been a recent losing presidential candidate (to Bush, no less) to being the star of one of the most-important films this summer - An Inconvenient Truth, focused on the greenhouse effect, what's happening to our planet because of it, and what we can do about it. The trailer alone makes it a must-see.

The United Nations struck against the US today, saying we should close Guantanamo Bay, due to rampant reports of torture and prisoner abuse. What's one of the major disappointments in this administration's rule is the idea that we don't have to pay heed to the UN, and can act unilaterally. I don't expect that Bush and Co. are going to listen this time either.

Listening to ''Realizer'', by The Crystal Method (Play Count: 34)

Our three-plus day stint in Chicago wraps up tomorrow. The trade show ended this evening, and we fly back to the West coast, where we belong, tomorrow afternoon. But even though we're a few thousand miles away from home, there are some things I just don't like leaving behind, and Oakland A's baseball is one of them. It's one thing to have the Athletics Nation community for live game threads, and Yahoo! or ESPN for near real-time box scores, but far surpassing them in convenience is MLB.com's live streaming radio. Now, here in my hotel room in Chicago, I am listening to the A's taking on the Seattle Mariners as if I were listening to the radio at home or in the car.

MLB.com has a plan set up that for $14.95, you can listen to any major league game live through the Web - for any team - all season long. So, when I'm traveling, whether I'm in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Orlando, Chicago, Boston, New York or Seattle, I can take one of the home comforts with me.

On the flip side, we don't have TV access. MLB TV simply doesn't cater well to fans who live near their team. Foolishly, MLB TV will let me watch every team except for those near me, assuming it's probably on somewhere I can see it. Wrong. Stupidly wrong. So, instead of paying $79.95 a year, I get better service for $14.95, and don't ask for video. But that's a different issue. Baseball is one of the few games that really lends itself well for radio, and MLB.com does it very well and at a good price.

Listening to ''Heaven Scent'', by Sasha (Play Count: 4)