Yeah, that's the idea. I'm hoping that Google adopts a full widget architecture for Gmail so that I can replace "Chat" and "Invite" with "Google Calendar".
By the looks of Gmail Labs, that's where we are headed! Then again, iGoogle won't let you remove chat either.
You can click to hide "chat" and "invite" so they just appear as a single line item. They have two new lab features which may help you.
Google Calendar gadget - Adds a box in the left column which shows your Google Calendar.
Navbar drag and drop - Allows you to reorder the items in your navbar using drag and drop. With this you may even move chat and invite way to the bottom.
Yeah, that's what I was getting at in my post. My point is that Google is ramming this chat stuff down our throats and nobody seems to complain. If it was true "widget architecture", I would be able to remove "Chat" and "Invite" completely, not just collapse it.
By the looks of Gmail Labs, that's where we are headed! Then again, iGoogle won't let you remove chat either.
Bastards.