slapfish wrote:Nicky wrote:Conky email can check directly your accounts without thunderbird running.
It is what I use on a eeepc to not have thunderbird running all the time for nothing.
can you share a line or two of code about that, please? 
Also, is it possible to make thunderbird open when a new email arrives?
So it is as I said to you, you install conkyEmail.
In Conky I have this command: $alignr${execpi 600 ~/scripts/email }
which call the script email every 10 min:
#! /bin/sh
# this script use the package conkyEmail (found and installed with synaptic)
# Verify each mailbox and keep the number of new mail in a variable
GMAIL=$(conkyEmail --servertype=POP --ssl --servername=pop.gmail.com --folder=Inbox --username=myusername --password=mypassword --connectiontimeout=20)
LAPOSTE=$(conkyEmail --servertype=POP --servername=pop.laposte.net --folder=Inbox --username=myusername --password=mypassword --connectiontimeout=20)
HOTMAIL=$(conkyEmail --servertype=POP --ssl --servername=pop3.live.com --folder=Inbox --username=myusername --password=mypassword --connectiontimeout=20)
# For each variable (each mailbox in fact), if the value is 0 (there is no new message)
# or ? (connexion to mailbox failed), just write the name of the mail box
# else, if there is a mail, write the name of the mail box in red.
if [ "$GMAIL" = "0" ]; then
{
GMAIL='Gmail'
}
elif [ "$GMAIL" = "?" ]; then
{
GMAIL='Gmail'
}
else
{
GMAIL='${color red}Gmail${color}'
}
fi
if [ "$LAPOSTE" = "0" ]; then
{
LAPOSTE='Laposte'
}
elif [ "$LAPOSTE" = "?" ]; then
{
LAPOSTE='Laposte'
}
else
{
LAPOSTE='${color red}Laposte${color}'
}
fi
if [ "$HOTMAIL" = "0" ]; then
{
HOTMAIL='Hotmail'
}
elif [ "$HOTMAIL" = "?" ]; then
{
HOTMAIL='Hotmail'
}
else
{
HOTMAIL='${color red}Hotmail${color}'
}
fi
# Write the names of mailbox side by side.
echo $GMAIL" "$LAPOSTE" "$HOTMAIL
exit 0
And you have the result in the left top corner (here I have an email in my gmail inbox)
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And to launch automatically thunderbird you just have to write thunderbird in the condition when there is a mail. In that case there is no interest to write anything in your conky so you should write the script differently 
)