iLoveMacApps.com

I like working in Terminal. The output data always seems to cut right to the chase and it doesn’t make to much of a fuss. Although I like having eye candy and good looking applications, some straight talking text always seems to cut the mustard. The program (or preference pane if you must be picky) I am going to write about today is called GeekTool. It is designed to take the Terminal output text and put it on your desktop. This make it easy to see and work with, and more of a geek.

Lets Geek Out

The idea behind GeekTool is very simple. You install the program, set up a couple of Terminal commands to display on your desktop and then watch the text flow in. The program is set up so you can only insert Terminal commands, console outputs and the odd image. Very simple, but very informative. For example you can end up with something similar to the image below. The text size is adjustable, so you can alter how it looks.

Actually using GeekTool is very easy. It runs from a preference pane so there is no program to really install. To actually get some text onto your desktop, you create a “setting”, if you need to name it. You then pick either a shell command, console command or image. Then you configure your options. For example you type in what command you want to run, how big the text will be, and where it will be placed. You chose the location of the text by going to your desktop (F11 Expose) then moving each of the panes around. Once as you are done, close GeekTool and the text will be set in place.

Conclusion

GeekTool, I think, is awesome. It is one of those cool little programs that enable you to make your Mac just that little bit different. The updating text is very fun to watch. There are a couple of drawbacks, for example you need to know Terminal quite well in order to get something decent out of the program. As well as this the Terminal commands don’t update that frequently even if you have the right settings applied. Overall though it is a good application and I enjoy using it.