TechBook

Link: http://do.davebsd.com/

This week I tested GnomeDo 0.8.0. It is "an intelligent launcher tool that makes performing common tasks on your computer simple and efficient," or thats the line anyway.

First off, this is not in the default repositories, so installing it is a bit difficult. If you're using Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex, you can use my instructions, otherwise there are instructions here.

In order to add the correct repositories, run these lines as root:

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Next, add their PGP key so APT doesn't complain about untrusted sources:

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Finally, install it as normal:

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Now that its installed, run it:

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The first thing you want to do is set go into preferences. Check the box labeled "Start GNOME Do at login." Next go to the plugins tab and select all the ones you want. If you don't select some, GnomeDo will do very little. You can play around with the other settings but those are essential.

Now its all set up and you're ready to go. It took some work to get here, but it's ready. I started out with one of the regular interfaces.

To call it up I used the default combination of Super+Space, but more often than not I forgot about it and in any case, found it easier just to use the applications menu and a terminal to start whatever I wanted. After a couple of days of trying and failing to use it, I switched to the Docky interface.

And a bit closer:

It's cool to look at, and if you're used to a mac then maybe its the way to go. Personally, the novelty wore off really fast. So here's how it seems to work - things that are in use go on the right side of the bar, and things that have been used recently go on the left side. But that's not actually how it works - Firefox nearly always is on the left even when its in use. Under each icon for a program in use there is a light, blue for running programs and red for programs that need attention.

Here Pidgin is telling me I have a message and Evolution is just running:

Something that rubbed me the wrong way about Docky was the way it dealt with maximized windows. With a few exceptions, I run almost everything maximized. Docky made me give up part of my screen permanently.

One of Docky's features was a cool little wave effect when you move the mouse over it. This is cool when there's nothing else around, but when you're trying to work at the bottom of a window and it decides it needs to expand to cover up your work, its pretty annoying.

Overall, I was not impressed with GnomeDo. Yes, its not even version 1.0 yet, but I think even once they've worked out some of the issues, it still wouldn't be my kind of program. It sounded like a good idea, but trying to use it I found it rather annoying. And thats when I remembered it was even there. If you're use to a mac style dock, you might want to give it a try, but don't expect the same quality, at least not yet. If you're like me and launch most things via keyboard shortcuts or the terminal, save the effort and stick to what you're already doing.