Übersicht
Started by Hugh
on 8/24/2015
Hugh
8/24/2015 11:01 am
Of niche interest, but anyone with a Mac who wishes to ornament their desktop with changing information may want to look at Übersicht, a (free) alternative to GeekTool and NerdTool in the business of displaying key data on the desktop (as its name suggests). I've never used GeekTool or NerdTool, but I believe that Übersicht's "widget-windows" can be positioned more precisely and reproducibly than GeekTool's.
Übersicht has a growing number of sometimes quirky widgets. With existing widgets you can view information ranging from the state of your CPU to the state of the solar system; I use Übersicht to put an old-fashioned analogue clock and a list of my daily Omnifocus tasks on my desktop (Cmd-clicking on an item on the desktop list takes me back to the task in Omnifocus 2). Of course, with the right skills you can also roll your own.
Übersicht: http://tracesof.net/übersicht/
Übersicht widgets: http://tracesof.net/ubersicht-widgets/
For those without "geeky" or "nerdy" skills: I'm fairly technically illiterate, but by following the (English) instructions accompanying Übersicht and its widgets, using common sense and with a little bit of experimentation, I had little difficulty in installing the widgets I mentioned above, where I wanted them.
Übersicht has a growing number of sometimes quirky widgets. With existing widgets you can view information ranging from the state of your CPU to the state of the solar system; I use Übersicht to put an old-fashioned analogue clock and a list of my daily Omnifocus tasks on my desktop (Cmd-clicking on an item on the desktop list takes me back to the task in Omnifocus 2). Of course, with the right skills you can also roll your own.
Übersicht: http://tracesof.net/übersicht/
Übersicht widgets: http://tracesof.net/ubersicht-widgets/
For those without "geeky" or "nerdy" skills: I'm fairly technically illiterate, but by following the (English) instructions accompanying Übersicht and its widgets, using common sense and with a little bit of experimentation, I had little difficulty in installing the widgets I mentioned above, where I wanted them.
Franz Grieser
8/24/2015 11:44 am
Thanks, Hugh.
However, both links resulted in 404 pages.
The correct links are
http://tracesof.net/uebersicht/
https://github.com/felixhageloh/uebersicht-widgets
However, both links resulted in 404 pages.
The correct links are
http://tracesof.net/uebersicht/
https://github.com/felixhageloh/uebersicht-widgets
Hugh
8/24/2015 11:46 am
Many thanks, Franz - that will teach me not to put in umlauts where they don't need putting in!
Franz Grieser
8/24/2015 5:27 pm
I wonder where you found the Ü on your keyboard ;-)
Hugh
8/27/2015 9:23 am
I hold down the caps key and the "u" key together, and a little pane with various different kinds of accented "U" appears, from which I can choose the "U" I want - is that not what you do? :)
Incidentally, I believe that there are Trello users on this forum. Übersicht has a Trello widget.
Incidentally, I believe that there are Trello users on this forum. Übersicht has a Trello widget.
Franz Grieser
8/27/2015 10:30 am
Ah, you're on your iPad/iPhone. There I do it the same way as you.
But on my keyboard I have an Ü and an Ä and an Ü and ß :-)
But on my keyboard I have an Ü and an Ä and an Ü and ß :-)
MadaboutDana
8/29/2015 12:37 pm
Good old Macs can do the multiple accented character thing, too: just hold down a key and a little box pops up with various numbered options. It's how I write to all my German clients (rather than swapping keyboards, which is a pain).
Übersicht is rather good, I must say. But perhaps a bit of a gimmick (or maybe I'm just grumpy because I couldn't get the Wunderlist widget to work on my desktop, because horrid Microsoft have gone and changed the API calls).
Übersicht is rather good, I must say. But perhaps a bit of a gimmick (or maybe I'm just grumpy because I couldn't get the Wunderlist widget to work on my desktop, because horrid Microsoft have gone and changed the API calls).
