Has anyone tried to widgetize the footer (with columns)?

I found a link: http://www.themelab.com/2009/04/25/add-a-widgetized-footer-to-your-wordpress-theme/

It seems pretty straight-forward *except* when I get to the part where it says to “Widgetize It” and register the “sidebars” via the functions.php and sidebar.php file I got lost…

If there are any easier solutions I’m all ears! Thanks