As many of you already know, JoeUser.com is a site owned by Stardock, a company that makes a product called DesktopX, which is a program for costumizing the desktop with objects. Its closest competition, Konfabulator, does pretty much the same thing, except that it's for the Mac. They're actually not in competition since they're for different operating systems, but I thought it might be interesting to compare the two head-to-head.

Ease of Use
For somebody who just wants to place clocks and calendars and other objects on the desktop, Konfabulator is definitely much easier to use. It's easier to load, delete, and configure the widgets, since the widgets are all kept individually packaged. On DesktopX, there are many components to widgets, and it could be a pain finding the object to configure that will keep its other parts in check. For example, I wanted to change the drive on which a meter monitors, but I couldn't find it just by clicking on the text itself. I had to go into the List Objects dialog and find it on my own. On Konfabulator, I'd just have to go to the options of the widget and the option to change drives would be right there. Also, when not connected to an Internet, an Internet widget in Konfabulator will simply close, while DesktopX will produce a dialog mentioning script errors, which will just be confusing to people who aren't in tune with it.

Customization
Although Konfabulator is easier for the individual user who'll use widgets as they are, it's much easier to tweak objects to one's liking in DesktopX. The tools needed to configure a DesktopX object are right in DesktopX, and one can do many things to objects without knowing much about the program. I haven't read anything on how to make Konfabulator widgets, but the fact that one can't customize widgets right in Konfabulator does make it a hassle when I want to change how a component looks, feels, or acts.

Features
I think it's clear that DesktopX has many more features than Konfabulator. It has security features, IconX, and themes. Konfabulator is just made for desktop objects, and one can't save one's setting into themes for different moods. In fact, if we were to compare the products on all aspects besides just desktop objects, DesktopX would be a clear winner, but I want to focus on comparing just that aspect of it to Konfabulator's.

Objects and Widgets
This category really isn't about the actual programs as it is about the objects available for the program. Although there are many more objects available for DesktopX, I've found a bigger variety of objects for Konfabulator. Most of the objects available for DesktopX have the same functions as many of the other objects, but with Konfabulator, I've found many that are unique and not just one that's a different looking clock. There's also many more games made with Konfabulator then made with DesktopX. I'm still waiting to see more objects in DesktopX take advantage of its features.

Final Verdict
Although both are great programs and comparing the two might be like comparing apples and oranges, I do think that I prefer Konfabulator at the moment. Besides having a better variety in widgets, it's easier to mess with in a casual way. I also don't see my desktop often in Windows XP, since I tend to keep windows maximized. Still though, if I'm ever in the mood to create my own objects, I'll definitely stick to DesktopX.

In summary, Konfabulator's easier for those who want meters, clocks, games, etc. on their screen and keep the look of their system rather conservative (i.e. sticking with Aqua), but DesktopX is better if you want it to fit your look down to the last pixel and are willing to take a bit more time to learn how.