Rainmeter is a free program for Windows that lets people customize their desktop with small on-screen panels called skins, such as clocks, system stats and music displays. It is made for everyday Windows users who want to personalize how their screen looks and what information it shows.
Has 1 of 5 · Runs on Mac ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
Boring Notch is a free app for Mac computers that turns the notch at the top of the screen into a small control area for music, calendar, and a file shelf. It is aimed at everyday Mac users who want quick controls and information near the top of their screen.
Has 2 of 5 · Runs on Windows ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
Übersicht is a free Mac program that shows small custom panels, called widgets, on your desktop with live information like system status or data from the web. It is for people who want to build or customize their own desktop displays, and it needs some programming skill to write widgets.
Has 1 of 5 · Runs on Windows ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Nobody has changed its code in over a year. It may still work well, but help is less likely.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
None of these match. Try another device.
Help me choose
I want to pick an open-source replacement for NotchNook. Below is a list from Open Source Everything (CC BY-SA 4.0), in the order its website shows it. The order is a starting point, not a verdict.
- Rainmeter: Rainmeter is a free program for Windows that lets people customize their desktop with small on-screen panels called skins, such as clocks, system stats and music displays. It is made for everyday Windows users who want to personalize how their screen looks and what information it shows. [Easy setup; Windows; replaces partly; GPL-2.0; https://github.com/rainmeter/rainmeter]
- boring.notch: Boring Notch is a free app for Mac computers that turns the notch at the top of the screen into a small control area for music, calendar, and a file shelf. It is aimed at everyday Mac users who want quick controls and information near the top of their screen. [Easy setup; Mac; replaces partly; GPL-3.0; https://github.com/TheBoredTeam/boring.notch]
- Übersicht: Übersicht is a free Mac program that shows small custom panels, called widgets, on your desktop with live information like system status or data from the web. It is for people who want to build or customize their own desktop displays, and it needs some programming skill to write widgets. [Easy setup; Mac; replaces partly; GPL-3.0; no changes in over a year; https://github.com/felixhageloh/uebersicht]
Setup rating: "Easy setup" means you can install it like a normal app, use it in a browser. "Advanced setup" means you must run it on your own server or use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Full details: https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/desktop-widgets.json
Before recommending anything, ask me these three questions (one at a time, in plain words): 1) Which device or devices will I use it on (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone)? 2) How comfortable am I with technical setup: only installing apps from a store, happy to follow a step-by-step guide, or comfortable with servers and the command line? 3) What is my budget: free only, or willing to pay for hosting or support? Then recommend one to three projects from this list only, and for each say why, using how fully it replaces the app, its setup rating, and the devices it runs on. If nothing on the list fits me, say so plainly instead of stretching.
Want an open NotchNook?
Before you build
Read the list of open-source projects at https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/desktop-widgets.json. Compare it with my project or idea below. Tell me which projects overlap, what I could reuse instead of rewriting, and what mine does that none of them do.
My project or idea: