By default, the Address Book Dashboard widget uses MapQuest to look up and display a map for the location of your contacts.

Rob Griffiths (of macOSXHints fame) provides a script and walk-through on MacWorld that will replace the MapQuest look-up with Google Maps, giving you pop-up balloons and all the other Google Map goodness.

I am not much of a widget man myself. I prefer to use the plug-ins for Address Book itself — Brian Toth’s Google Maps plug-in and UK Streetmaps.

But widget nuts will love Rob’s tip.

miniMail, a Dashboard widget for sending simple text emails, has been updated. The new version has improved graphics and a better update engine.

In an earlier entry on miniMail, I reported comments that it might be used to harvest email addresses or for some other unsavoury purpose.

The developer emails to say:

I can assure you that miniMail is not malicious in any way. Since the code is open source by nature, you are free to verify this yourself. However, it does make use of the PHP mail() function, and can be misused in unethical and damaging ways. We absolutely do not condone such usage. There?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s?Ǭ† a disclaimer in the widget package if you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re curious

P.S. ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú This does have some interesting and legal uses, though?¢‚Ǩ‚Äúperfect for getting around web mail servers and stuff like that.

You could get it from the developer’s web site, although the link there is currently pointing to another product.