gTweakUI is an app that offers an easy interface for changing settings that power users have been asking for for a while. If you are like and use Gnome, but want to change more than the standard UI offers without having to go into gConf, then this might be what you need.

And so I, too, will join in the fray with my List of Things Linux Needs Now (patent pending):

• Money Management Engine: Gnome needs to standardize on a back end financial management engine that other apps can call upon it for data. Ideally, that back end would also feed iCal files to the Evolution back end so we could show a financial calendar in Evolution as needed. Why shouldn't my calendar also show me stuff like "Pay The Light Bill" or "Rent is Due"?
• Music Engine: Gnome needs to standardize on a server back end for multimedia. I know that gStreamer is fixing to fill the spot with solid back end playback, but I mean multimedia management. There should be a standard call to show music files, stored video, etc, that other apps can use without reinventing the wheel. I recommend following Rhythmbox's lead. Let them move to a SQLLite back end for storing the data, let other frint ends attach (like Muine or XMMS) and then expand it to include multimedia beyand just music. Very cool. Frankly, why doesn't every Gnome desktop have a back end shoutcast-like service (perhaps something based on the great jReceiver app)?
• Supplyline integration with the entertainment industry: I said it recently, but it's true. The world is moving to e-delivery of all your multimedia content. No one is really looking to set standards, and Gnome could really give it a go. Make it and advertise it as an open standard for multimedia e-commerce. Who needs 15 different proprietary interfaces for buying music and video online?
• Better SDL/OpenGL APIs: Games designers ain't gonna write for Linux unless we make it as easy as they do in Windows. SDL is a good start. OpenGL needs to update itself and the SDL API needs to make it easy to access.
• Better Hardware Integration: I know it's in the works, but it bears saying anyway. We need to know that when we plug a device into the system, that the Kernel will react by telling Gnome what's happened, and Gnome needs to react by telling the user what's going on. Ideally, it'll be nothing more than a notice that a new device is now attached and ready for use. Little or no user intervention is key to this!
• First-Timer Wizards: Gnome needs to ask the user the first time they log in if they want a Gnome-like, Mac-like, or Windows-like experience and adjust the default preferences accordingly. Maybe even do it on a sliding scale from Windows to Gnome and where on the scale the user sets the defaults, determines the level of Gnomeness that is present in the defaults. That'd be kinda cool.
• Hot chicks: Linux needs more hot chicks. There is a distinct paucity of hot chicks in linux. ;-)

What they need to do is create one that integrates fully in the new Gnome environment. Recurring or otherwise expected payments should show up as a "Personal Finance" calendar in Evolution. Among the list of valid payees should be the members of your Gnome address book. This should work in reverse as well. If I schedule a lunch meeting with someone, when I open the Personal Finance app, it should see that I had a lunch meeting and ask me if I paid, how much it cost, and whether it was a tax deduction or not. These are the sorts of things that will make Gnome a totally integrated, desktop leader. And why not make the Personal Finance software act as a system service like the Evolution-Data-Server? Other apps could query for financial info. OpenOffice Calc could offer more advanced financial analysis tools by grabbing data from the service. Evolution could add a "Business" address book that consists of people for whom payments have been made/received.

I'm still waiting for a real personal finance solution for Gnome that rivals what Microsoft put out with Microsoft Money. There are a few out there (Kurush, GnuCash, CBB) but they either aren't complete, suck, or just plain look like ass.

In Evolution, create a new mail message and in the "To:" field type "why?" or "easter-egg?" Cool.

I'm starting to really enjoy Fedora. I'm still a huge Gentoo fan, but Fedora is slowly winning me over. My system is just about where I want it now. Not sure what I'll do when Fedora Core 2 comes out soon, but I suspect I'll be tempted to upgrade.

Well, I did it. I wiped-and-reinstalled my system. I've reinstalled with Fedora Core 1 instead of Gentoo. No particular reason other than expediency, but I'm enjoying playing around with Fedora. Setting things up has kept me busy for a couple of days.

But I plan on correcting that as soon as I have free time. A reinstall is in my very near future. Maybe, just maybe, I can wait until Gnome 2.6 comes out later this month. That'd be ideal.

So, I decided after reading a bit about udev that I wanted it. I emerged it. Then, before rebooting, I happened across a forum entry that mentioned that udev will only work if you update to the 2.6 kernel and all sorts of other stuff, otherwise it'll just hose your system. Fuck! So now I fretted rebooting and I backed up all my stuff. I took forever, then I rebooted. Nothing. a small error on boot up but no other issues. The problem, though, is that now my system feels tainted. I know it's stupid, but it does. I need a wipe-n-reinstall to feel good about it again. I'm certifiable. Oh well.