How to Be a Power User

Seriously consider using the command-line. You can still tweet, instant message, play mp3 (with mplayer), browse the web (with Lynx or Links2), p2p (amulecmd), torrent (rtorrent), image edit (ImageMagick), read feeds (raggle), chat (irssi), ofm (midnight commander), manage downloads (axel, wget) and everything else. Linux and BSD make it easy to use the command-line, whereas OS X and especially Windows don't. action Windows/DOS Windows Powershell,Mac OS X, Linux, BSD etc. list directory dir ls clear console cls clear copy file(s) copy cp move file(s) move mv delete file(s) del rm create directory md mkdir remove directory rd rm change current directory cd cd current directory cd, chdir pwd search find grep concatenate cat cat permissions chmod chmod display/output text echo echo add user net user adduser If you must use a GUI read on to the next step. But the efficiency advantages of the CLI are as follows. If you need to move all folders ending with "photos" this is easy in the command line but difficult and slow in a GUI.Be a Power User Step 1Bullet1.jpg Command-line completion is also known as tab-completion and can speed things up.Be a Power User Step 1Bullet2.jpg Pipe command-line output into other commands if needed.Be a Power User Step 1Bullet3.jpg Shell aliases can be set in Linux.Be a Power User Step 1Bullet4.jpg

Consider a tiling window manager (TWM). Most systems use floating window managers where windows aren't automatically aligned and can overlap one another. If you spend a lot of time moving, resizing, maximizing, minimizing, restoring and generally switching windows then a tiling window manager might be for you. A TWM presents multiple windows on one screen aligned in a tile formation. The following is the manifesto of Ion, a dynamic tiling window manager with tabs for each frame."So-called “modern desktop environments” converge on total unusability, and present-day mainstream graphical user interfaces in general are far less usable than they are praised to be. Usability simply does not equal low learning curve, and hiding system details from the user, as the Official Truth seems to be these days." Key Tilingfunction Alt+k next tile Alt+j previous tile Alt+space switch layout

Ditch the mouse. Use the keyboard. Set up key bindings for everything, basic windows operation and browsing . Learn the key bindings. Familiarize yourself with them. Key Operating systemfunction Win+e Opens My Computer in Windows Explorer Win+f Find Win+m Minimize all windows Win+d Toggle minimizeall windows Win+r Open run dialog Ctrl+A Select all Ctrl+B Bold Ctrl+O Open Ctrl+C Copy Ctrl+X Cut Ctrl+V Paste Ctrl+Z Undo Ctrl+PgUp Next tab Ctrl+PgDn Previous tab Alt-tab Switch open windows Alt+F4 Quit app Alt+F5 Restore window Alt+F7 Move window Alt+F8 Resize window Alt+F9 Minimize window Alt+F10 Maximize current window . Use application keyboard shortcuts (Vimperator and other Firefox add-ons are useful for this). Key Browser Function Alt+left arrow Back Alt+right arrow Forward Alt+home Home Ctrl+L Location/address bar Ctrl+k Search bar Ctrl+T New tab Ctrl+W Close tab Ctrl+PgUp Previous tab Ctrl+PgDn Next tab Ctrl+R Refresh Ctrl+u View source Be a Power User Step 3Bullet1.jpg

If you don't want to ditch the mouse totally, Use Mouse Gestures. Strokeit (Windows), Opera (Cross platform), gMote (Windows), Easystroke (Linux), Mouse Gestures Redox (Firefox) are all applications.

Write scripts. You won't become a programmer, but scripts help to automate common repetitive tasks. In Windows they're sometimes called batch files. If you need to copy photos until you reach a certain number of megabytes, a script is needed.Be a Power User Step 5Bullet1.jpg Use browser scripts. Greasemonkey, iMacros and Chickenfoot are some on Firefox. Opera supports user javascript.Be a Power User Step 5Bullet2.jpg

Use an Orthodox File Manager (OFM). Also known as Commander-like, Midnight Commander is one for command-line users. Alternatively use something like Directory Opus, as long as you don't use a basic (usually bundled) file manager. Again, it is all about key bindings, so learn the keyboard shortcuts. Key OFM Function F1 help F2 user menu/scripting F3 view F4 edit F5 copy F6 move F7 new directory F8 delete F9 top menu F10 quit

Turn off any eye-candy that might slow you down. In Windows, right-click My Computer, Properties, Advanced, under Performance click Settings, then Adjust for Best Performance.Be a Power User Step 7Bullet1.jpg In KDE 4+, press Alt+F3, then Configure Window Behaviour, then Desktop Effects then uncheck Enable Desktop Effects.Be a Power User Step 7Bullet2.jpg

Choose appropriate software. Don't just use the bundled software just because it's bundled, unless it's a conscious decision. Choose a web browser, don't just use the bundled one because it's bundled.Be a Power User Step 8Bullet1.jpg Organize your audio and images with appropriate software designed for this purpose.Be a Power User Step 8Bullet2.jpg Don't use a word-processor where a decent plain text editor will do. Use Regular Expressions. Where you don't need to format documents, use plain text.Be a Power User Step 8Bullet3.jpg Asterisk * matches any number of what's before it, from zero to infinity. ? matches zero or one. + matches one or more. For chatrooms use IRC. For forums use Usenet.Be a Power User Step 8Bullet4.jpg

Use a job scheduler for regular tasks. In Windows use Task Manager, in Mac OS X use Launchd, in Linux/BSD use cron/anacron.

Power users in word processing use styles (or even Latex) for formatting documents.