Anyway…I put the file at ~/.todoist and it looked something like this: token: foobarbaztoken If my token ever changes, I can update it in one place and all the scripts will still use correct one. The main reason I separate the token from the ruby script is in case I feel like using it somewhere else on my system with another script. 2) Now setup geektool to run the script at a given interval (I chose 2 minutes).ģ) I created a file in my home directory to store my todoist token and the number of days I want to show. 1) I put the following script at ~/bin/todoist.rb. To do this, I created a quick and dirty ruby script to hit the todoist api and put out a simple list of all time sensitive tasks. The end result is in the screen cap below. I did some googleing and found Geektool, which I had installed/uninstalled before but this time seemed to have a purpose. This got me wondering if I could use the todoist API to put my upcoming, date sensitive tasks right there, on the desktop, in front of me whenever I’m on my laptop. It hit me the other day that I look at my desktop a lot. I personally need to see my upcoming projects, tasks and calendar items in front of me anytime I can. The second problem that I have is that sometimes a reminder is not enough. The good news is that todoist has a premium service that is only $3/month (yes only $3) that allows for reminders in any form you like (twitter, sms, email, jabber, etc). It’s great to have a to do list but if it doesn’t remind me, it barely works. My programming brain is sharply trained to scoot information in and out, only keeping what is immediately necessary. The problem that I have with task management is two fold. Also, it has a simple API so it’s very extensible and already has a lot of tools surrounding it (quicksilver, launch, dashboard widget, mobile, gmail integration, etc). We all know there isn’t, but the system that I’ve found to work best for me is Todoist. If only there were a task system that could light a fire under my butt. Frankly, I suck and I blame it on technology. So, count that as method #5, and perhaps the best method of all if you use Google Reader regularly.I’m not going to lie and tell you that I’m great at task management. He pointed out that Google Reade will offer to generate a feed for you, if the page you input into the “Add Subscription” box doesn't have a feed. If you check out the comments, below, you'll see a tip from Daryl. Jha has a thorough, although complicated, writeup on how to build a feed using Pipes, if you are so inclined.ĪND ONE MORE METHOD! (added August 4, 2010) However, Pipes can be used by end users to create feeds for sites that don't have RSS feeds. Pipes is truly a geek tool, and instructions on using it are beyond the scope of this article. Yahoo! Pipes is a tool from Yahoo! that allows you to build data mashups of feeds, web pages, and other services using a graphical interface. For example, all page titles for posts on 40Tech have the characters "| 40Tech" in them, so the following search term could be entered into Google Alerts to monitor 40Tech for updates:Ĥ0Tech does have an RSS feed, but you could use a similar trick for sites that don't have feeds. To do, simply use the "site:" search term, along with something unique to the website, such as the header text on article postings, or a term in page titles. You can also use Google Alerts to monitor a site for updates. We've previously talked about using Google Alerts to find out when websites talk about you. Both extensions allow you to specify how frequently your sites will be scanned for udpates. Click the icon to open an interface that allows you to designate a page for monitoring, view pages that have been updated, or force a scan for updates. Both work similarly, installing an icon on either your toolbar, or your status bar. If you're a Firefox or Chrome user, you can monitor sites for updates using extensions: Update Scanner for Firefox, and Page Monitor for Chrome. Note that some of these services may send you ads, either within the notification messages, or as separate messages.īrowser Extensions: Update Scanner for Firefox Page Monitor for Chrome Most involve simply inputing your email address, along with the address of the website that you want to monitor. The easiest non-RSS method for tracking website changes is to use a service that specializes in website monitoring. Here are four other methods for being alerted when a site is updated. It's a sad fact, though, that not all websites have RSS feeds or Twitter updates. Twitter can be used in a similar fashion for those sites that announce updates via Twitter. RSS is a great tool for keep tracking of updates to a web site.
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