Did you ever think – I’d love to know what’s going on in New York at the moment but my newspaper is all the way in the other room? No, me neither. I’m all about reading the news online these days. Chances are you are too. If not, why not? So much easier, faster and more up to day. You don’t even have to go the news websites anymore. They will come to you. All the major news outlets have widgets you can download and embed on our desktops, facebooks, blogs… It couldn’t be any easier.

• The New York Post has a free new widget you can download embed in your blog, facebook, myspace, etc that will keep you updated automatically. They’ve just launched the widget and are celebrating by offering those who download the widget, a free Ashanti tune to download as well. Don’t we all love something for nothing? Well this is two somethings for nothing.
• The New Yorks Times not only has a selection of widgets for you to choose from, they have a way for you to build your own! (registration required)

Want a “widgetized view of New York? Try one of these:

• Transportation? The MTA Trip Planner widget
• Weather? Pop over to Weather.com and grab a desktop widget that gives you not only current local weather but instant weather alerts and local traffic reports
• Sports? The ESPN Widget Center offers desktop widgets by sport and by team. So you can grab widgets for
  • the Mets and Yankees
  • the Nets and Knicks
  • the Jets and Giants
  • the Islanders and Rangers
  • even college football and basketball.
• Views? Try the Manhattan Live! A New York City Webcam. Yes, it’s from Apple let’s you check out what’s going on in the heart of Greenwich Village
• Feeling Arty? Widgetbox has a Playbill widget as well as an official widget from Applause covering broadway theater and ticket news . The MCC Theater has a widget that delivers the latest casting, sale or booking news as well as alerts for special events.
• Feeling Touristy? Check out the “What’s New in New York City” widget from the New York blog at orbitz.com

Anyway – it’s just another way to look at the ever changing place that is New York.If you know of others you’d like to suggest – I’d love to hear about them. Enjoy!