 |
DESCRIPTION
NerdTool
NerdTool is a GeekTool-like application that displays information directly on your desktop. It can display shell outputs, such as system vitals, todo lists, and weather conditions. It has the capability of displaying text in any color, size, and font on any background of any color, and NerdTool supports the use of ANSI escape sequences to color text, so you can embellish your text with an additional 8 forground and background colors. Additionally, NerdTool allows displaying images, websites, and even Quartz composer files directly on the desktop.
Main features:
- Shell support
- Image support (both local and online)
- Constant file monitoring
- Quartz file support
- Website support
- Customizeable font, color, and size
- Magnetic logs and other tools for layout perfection
- Accepts colored (ANSI escaped) shell output
- Full import/export
- Auto-updating with Sparkle
- Open source
- 100% free
WHAT'S NEW
Version 0.7:
- [New] Both NerdTool and NerdToolRO will try to clean up stray processes when they are quit.
- [New] Handles screen resolution changes.
- [New] Added "Fit to screen" option for log window size.
- [New] NTShell logs can act as if they were an NTFile, which means to say, they display information as
it comes, instead of waiting until all information has been recieved. So you coud run tail -F as a Shell c
ommand now (though, if you get deeper into pipes, you need to make the commands line buffered, or else the
y won't work).
- [New] String encoding can be changed.
- [New] Images can be scaled proportionally up now.
- [Fix] Fixed error where some logs would be the wrong font size and face on startup.
- [Fix] Fixed error where File logs would not append data correctly.
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS 10.5 Leopard or later.
| SCREENSHOT
|
|
 |
|  |
 | |  |
| NerdTool User Reviews (7 posts) | Write A Review |
 | Aug 27 2009 |
ITISTODAY Great job! Just one request: Can you make it so that "Stay On Top" places the tool above the menubar?
(Version 0.7) | |
| [ 2 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Aug 27 2009 |
ITISTODAY Woah, I just noticed a problem, this doesn't work with Spaces. It should show on all spaces but it doesn't. Also, how do we download the source? The website says it's open source but I couldn't find a link on sourceforge for it.
(Version 0.7) | |
 | Aug 30 2009 |
BALTHAMOS I'll try to make an option so you can display things on top of the menu bar. Also, the problem involving Spaces, I believe, is out of my hands. The original Geektool suffered from this problem as well (http://projects.tynsoe.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1928). I am unsure if it is possible to fix at this time. Other than that, it should work as intended. Remember, you must assign the NerdToolRO.app (not the NerdTool.app) in your Spaces configuration. You can find the RO app by right-clicking NerdTool->Show Package Contents->Contents->Resources. As for the source code, it can be obtained through GitHub (http://wiki.github.com/balthamos/geektool-3). I will try to make it more apparent on next release.
(Version 0.7) | |
 | Aug 6 2009 |
HENRIKTEKNIK I'm still experiencing the same problem as @MRK below. New log messages don't appear on a new line, but instead get added on the same line after previous message (if there's space). While running main app, it's all worky, but when quitting it and running the 'daemon' app, the problem appears. I'm using NerdTool 0.6 on a MacBook Pro mid 2009 OSX 10.5.7 and the log file I'm referring to (haven't tried anyone else) is the /var/log/system.log file, setup to be viewed in full screen (i.e. all the way until it hits the exposé borders on all sides).
(Version 0.6) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Aug 6 2009 |
ERINWENTWORTH Nice little APP for the right price. I have not had any trouble with it yet
(Version 0.6) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Aug 5 2009 |
MRK NerdTool displays the system.log file correctly when the main app is running. When I quit the app, all further lines from the log file are concatenated to the end of the last line without any breaks. When I start the app again, it redraws the log correctly with line breaks.
(Version 0.6) | |
| [ 2 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Aug 5 2009 |
BALTHAMOS Thanks for the error report. It actually happens with the main app open and closed. The error has been corrected now, so expect another release in a few days.
(Version 0.6) | |
| Aug 10 2009 |
MRK Now working for me in 0.7. Thanks!
(Version 0.7) | |
| Aug 5 2009 |
FONGD I was looking at this as a replacement for MkConsole but 0.6 doesn't seem to respect the font size setting. It also took me a while to figure out that I have to toggle the logfile on and off before any font changes apply. This needs to be more intuitive, IMHO.
(Version 0.6) | |
| [ 3 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Aug 5 2009 |
BALTHAMOS Could you give steps to reproduce this error? Text size/type/color should change immediately after you modify one of those attributes.
(Version 0.6) | |
| Aug 5 2009 |
FONGD Yup, I launched NerdTool, add /var/log/system.log to the Default group, then change the font and font size. Nothing happens after I select the font or size. However, if I toggle the checkbox for the system.log entry, the log redisplays with the new font but the size seems to be completely ignored.
(Version 0.6) | |
| Aug 5 2009 |
BALTHAMOS Maybe the name of the log is selected (like you are renaming it)? That would yield some of the errors you are getting. Do the font size, face, and colors change in the font selection box as you are changing them? Also, does this error occur when using a Shell log as well, or is this strictly a File log problem?
(Version 0.6) | |
 | Jul 29 2009 |
MATTHEW GREEN simply put, it's a remixed geektool that uses less ram and has handy features like tick box option for expose border, magnetizing your log fields so they cling to each other. The best bit is the one window interface which uses today's interface conventions to put everything that geektool was into one window making it easier to set up.
(Version 0.5) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Jul 24 2009 |
BALTHAMOS I believe it uses less memory :). It's less buggy and offers a new log type, Quartz composer, has many tools to aid in log placement during setup, and many more features now and to come. You can import your logs from GeekTool2 through the preferences window so you can try it out for yourself with minimal setup.
(Version 0.5) | |
| Jul 24 2009 |
MATTHEW GREEN that's some great work then, just implemented it in next to no time. would have been faster if i had set some of my app cpu and ram monitors to 4 lines rather than just making the boxes smaller. bit of adjustment to the positions of some boxes and I'm done. Will continue exploring later
(Version 0.5) | |
|
| |
|
