Rainlendar : Desktop Calendar on Linux

When I was using Windows XP, I had Webshots manage my Wallpaper. One of the features of Webshots was to display the calendar on the Desktop. Additionally, I also displayed my to-do list (and a short phone list) on my desktop using Windows’ Active Desktop Feature. Read about it here and here

When I moved to Linux (Ubuntu specifically) I needed similar functionality.  I came across kdesktopweb, but I use gnome, so it was not an option. I also looked at conky, but doesn’t look as polished, as Windows’ equivalent. Enter Rainlendar

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Access your todo list from multiple locations

Here is a clever method to access your todo list from multiple locations.

Ingredients

• todo.sh – This is a command line shell scripts which allows to manage your TO DO list
• DropBox Account : Free, Syncs various computers, Cross Platform (at least works on Windows as well as Linux)

Recipe

• Make Sure you have installed Dropbox clients on all of your machines (Mainly Work and Home)
• Download and install todo.sh in your Dropbox folder. This is main trick to make your TODO list portable.
• You need to modify the .todo file (or todo.py script itself) to set the TODO_DIR variable. I’ve created a folder called “tododir” in my Dropbox folder, and set the TODO_DIR variable as “tododir”. This helps avoiding path problems on various machines.
• (Optional) Read the tutorial available at LifeHacker
• Open command Prompt, and take charge of your TODO lists.

Why This Idea Rocks

• Since the todo list is maintained as simple text file, any machine/platform allows you to directly view and edit your todo list.
• While one would install Dropbox clients on all of their regularly used machines, You can always view and edit your todo.txt even from a cyber cafe, using Dropbox’s web interface.

Are you on Windows ?

• If you are on Windows, you will require cygwin which provides unix utilities on windows. (I was unable to get todo.sh working with mSys, which I got as part of mSys Git (More about it later, in another post))
• There is a variation of todo.sh written in Python (which is what I’m using these days). If which case, you need Python instead of Cygwin. Python version supports color coding of the items based on priority even on Windows.

Can I not just use USB Drive instead ?

• Sure you can.  But some employers do not allow the employees to connect their personal USB devices to office computers. (Security, Virus threats) in which case Dropbox is better alternative.
• Even Cyber cafe won’t allow to plug in your USB drive, but you sure can access your files from Web Front end of Dropbox.

Debugging Python Scripts

Found a great way to debug python scripts interactively using pdb aka Python Debugger. It is similar to gdb used on *nix.
Essentially you import pdb in the beginning of the script, and wherever you need to start debugging, add following statement :
pdb.set_trace()
Now you execute the script from command line, and execution will stop where you have added set_trace() call. You are presented with pdb prompt. There after it is similar to gdb commands.

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