Take control of your computer with the tips of your fingers using these powerful GNOME Do plugins that will change the way you use your computer forever.
Introduction
Gnome Do is a quicksilver-like application for Linux. By itself, it is only a simple application launcher, and seriously speaking, I find that there is nothing great about it on its own. However, if you make good use of the plugins in the repository, there are tons of things you can do with it. Some of them are great time-savers and can make your life easier.
To install the following plugins, load up Gnome Do by pressing "Super + Space" keys. The Super key is equivalent to the Windows key on Windows keyboards. Click the arrow at the top right hand corner and select Preferences. Go to Plugins and check the plugins you want.
In case you don't have Gnome Do you can install it by opening the Terminal and following the instructions:
First you need to edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
add the following lines:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/do-core/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/do-core/ubuntu hardy main
save and exit the file.
Update the source list file using the following command:
sudo aptitude update
Install Gnome Do using the following command from terminal:
sudo aptitude install gnome-do
So here it are my recommendations of the 8 most useful plugins for Gnome Do.
Locate Files
I am definitely not the type who likes to dig several levels down the filesystem to locate a particular file. That is where the "Locate file" plugin is useful. Load up Gnome Do, type the first few characters of the filename and it will fetch the required files for you, no matter how secluded it is.
Twitter
Send tweets from Gnome Do without opening your Twitter client. An easy and quick way to update your twitter without having to much distraction.
Rythmbox
If you are like me, and enjoy playing music in the background while working, then this plugin is particularly useful. You can control your Rhythmbox and play your favorite track, pause, mute, unmute, volume up/down, change to next/previous track or to display current track info, all within the small Gnome Do box.
Terminal
Gnome Terminal is useful because it eliminates the need for you to launch the Terminal. Being someone who love the command line interface more than the GUI, I simply love this plugin that allows me to type and run in the command line from Gnome Do. I used to have a Terminal shortcut icon on my panel so that I can launch the Terminal quickly. Ever since, I installed this plugin, I have removed the shortcut icon as I have no longer any use of it).
Apturl
Rather than typing sudo apt-get install package-name everytime you wanted to install a package, now you just need to type the package name and Gnome Do will do the installation for you. The only caveat: this works only if you know the full name of the package and spell it correctly.
Opensearch
Opensearch allows you to search from your desktop using a variety of search engines. From Google, Yahoo, eBay, CreativeCommon, Answer.com, Amazon.com to Wikipedia, depending on what you want to find, you can easily get the information you want from Gnome Do.
Flickr
Quickly upload photos to Flickr without opening your Flickr account in the browser. You can choose to upload one photo or a bunch of photos from a particular folder. It works quietly in the background and does not provide any distraction.
Tomboy Notes
Do you feel disoriented without your Tomboy notes? Well, I do. I use Tomboy notes to keep reference to articles that I have read online. That’s why I find this plugin particularly useful. It provides you with a quick and neat way to create a new note or to dig up material from your existing Tomboy notes. It is very handy when you have all the information at your fingertips.