Conky - The Ultimate System Monitor

Conky is my new favorite thing about linux. I used to be all about the flash compiz desktop effects but that wore off. I still turn it on to impress people about linux, hopefully converting a few. Conky, allows me to know a plethora of information just on my desktop, without the bells and whistles. An added bonus is that you can display outputs from scripts. The screen shot above shows weather and also if I have new gmail. I am currently working on a script that will tell me about my friends' twitter updates

sudo apt-get install conky

Utilities

With all the social networking, instant messaging protocols, internet applications, email accounts, et cetera, anything that helps me consolidate is always advantageous. Listed here are a few sites I've found really useful over the last few months.

meebo.com - It's been around for a while, but its simplicity always brings me back. Great for multi-protocol (aim, gtalk, yahoo, all at once) instant messaging while not at your own computer.

pidgin.im or adiumx.com - Great open source multi-protocol instant messaging clients for pc/linux and mac. Totally customizable, change the colors, the sounds, whatever. Add-free awesomeness.

twitter.com - Just got into this yesterday. Manage your status from IM or phone via sms and your status update can be relayed to all your IM accounts, facebook, myspace, blogs, and such.

senduit.com - Upload a file up to 100 mb and you'll get a private link to share with whomever you wish. You say how long the file is hosted, from 30 minutes to 24 hours.

socialthing.com - Still in beta, haven't been able to test yet, but looks amazing. Consolidate all the feeds from any social communities you may belong to.