making change @will

One of the things I appreciate about Linux and especially Ubuntu is the @will command. You won't find it on your keyboard, it is a mental thing. Because so many resources are either built-in or available online and or in the software repositories, you can try out stuff @will.

Let's say you want to use the terminal to start applications because you are a dyed in the wool keyboard jockey. You could pop an icon with a mouse click, search and deploy through the main menu or install "Guake Terminal". What the heck is Guake Terminal?? World of wonders man, where have you been? No, I just discovered it myself. This Guake Terminal sits invisible in the background and comes forward with one keystroke (F12). No touchy the mouse for this! Type your command, fire away and hit F12 again to send it back into it's invisibility cloak. An icon appears in the panel to let you know it's there waiting and there are tweak preferences, if you must.

Like I said the @will thing is cool. When I use Synaptic to install stuff and if not satisfied, I can gently removed them leaving behind config file residue or remove all traces. I have scrunched my changing down to here and there. A change of scenery is fine tuned with the help of Desktop Drapes. This app lets you change wallpaper from a directory by clicking on the tray icon or at a timed interval. Change is good, but not too much change. You can over do desktop dynamics to where your senses are overloaded. Excitement and adventure, a Jedi does not seek! Just think if Skywalker were sliding down the chute at Bespin and said "man I got ta do that again!"

Heads up display, I want a heads up display!! If you ever messed with Conky, you'd want one too. In the Crunchbang Linux distro, Conky is standard. Conky is a system monitor with the ability to list a text file and other stuff. In Crunchbang it had the system info on top and on the bottom a list of keyboard shortcuts. If you have a short memory like me you'd see how wonderful this is not to have a sheet of paper. It is on the screen as I train myself. And like all heads up display you can make the background transparent so as not to obscure the desktop. I am wanting two things. To be able to put Conky on a side panel that auto hides or disappears with a key stroke like Guake does. Then a resource file display thing so that when I am using Blender I get the Blender shortcut list and when in Gimp, I get the Gimp shortcut list. Of course if the Gnome panel could display a text file then Conky would be an optional thing.