Show/Hide Applets - Given the variety of Cinnamon applets, the temptation to let them take over the panel can be overwhelming. With this clipboard, designers can generate dummy text as needed.ħ.). The most common dummy text is called Lorem Ipsum after its first two words. Usually, I use GIMP, but, this applet requires less juggling between windows since it is already mounted on the desktop.Ħ.) Lorem Clipboard - Traditionally, designers use Latin dummy text so that they can evaluate a design without being distracted by the words. The Extension Manager toggles extensions off and on.ĥ.) Screenshot and Desktop Video - As a technical writer, I considered a tool for taking screen shots and videos a basic necessity. Github Explorer is a file-manager-like navigator for Github, with customizable links to key directories, including projects' and developers' home folder, as well as file listings for the current directory.Ĥ.) Extensions Manager - In addition to applets and widgets, Cinnamon also includes two dozen extensions () that add such desktop features as an additional bottom panel and tiled windows, as well as special effects such as wobbly windows and a desktop cube. This applet provides the basic software for inserting your To Do list into the technique.ģ.) Github Explorer - Github, of course, is currently one of the most popular public repositories for free software. I would prefer if Expo would display at less than full screen size, but, even so, it is by far the best virtual workspace manager that I have seen, easily beating the traditional panel pager for convenience.Ģ.) Pomodoro Timer - The Pomodoro Technique () is a time management system in which work is sub-divided into regular intervals - usually 25 minutes - plus rest periods. In no particular order, some of my current favorites include:ġ.) Expo - Installed by default, Expo is an overlay that shows the virtual workspaces currently in use, and allows you to rename them. The rest are a varied collection, reflecting a variety of different needs and interests. Still others are specialist menus, such as the Office Center, Graphics Center, and Script Menu applets and the Cinnamon Developer Tools desklet. However, a surprising number are variants - including some 16 menus, 7 Places menus, and 5 clocks. Some are standard desktops widgets, such as the system tray and task bar. All are installable on-the-fly with a few mouse-clicks, and toggled on or off from the Applets configuration window.Īs you might expect, some of these offerings are system and hardware monitors. However, in the latest release, I count 27 applets pre-installed and another 169 available online, as well as 17 desklets, making for a healthy ecosystem of minor add-ons and utilities. Two releases ago, there were only a handful of applets and two or three desklets that amounted more to proofs of concept than anything of much use. Their lack is a major reason I am indifferent to GNOME and Unity, and conversely why I prefer KDE and - increasingly, Linux MInt's Cinnamon.Ĭinnamon's applets and desklets are a relatively new feature. For me, however, they are two of the most important features of a desktop environment because of the degree of customization they allow. If Desklets got pulled out of the OS tomorrow, I wouldn't lose much sleep over it.Some users condemn panel applets and desktop widgets as clutter. In all other regards, I think Linux Mint is an amazing piece of work. My ultimate question is: "Can you find 3rd party Desklets apart from what I can find through the Linux Mint Desklet app?" Yeah sure, I could layer XFCE onto my Linux Mint but that's not the point. I've often found the XFCE taskbar tools much more robust, attractive and useful. I would think after all these years someone would come up with better Desklets than what's available these days. I've tried so many of the others and they sometimes show sings of promise but either don't work, or don't work well, or are nearly pointless. But all that aside, the only ones I've seen as good enough to land on my desktop are the calendar, battery level, disk space and CPU graphing. I could point out which ones but I see no point going down that road for something I didn't have to pay for. I've always found the Desklet choices to be very limiting and many of the ones that are available are terrible or just don't work. I've used Linux Mint quite happily for years. I don't know if this is the right place to voice my opinion on something that involves the Cinnamon desktop but here goes.
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