zeitgeist
It serves as a comprehensive activity log and also makes it possible to determine relationships between items based on usage patterns.
This metapackage depends on the Zeitgeist engine and a set of packages (such as data providers) commonly used together with it.
Latest reviews
Another user posted a link to this Champlain College forensics paper: http://www.champlain.edu/Documents/LCDI/Zeitgeist_Forensics.pdf . The paper pretty much settles the issue of whether Zeitgeist is useful as spyware. The absence of a usable control interface for it makes this even more certain.
Zeitgeist can be used in computer forensics to organize your information for retrieval. http://www.champlain.edu/Documents/LCDI/Zeitgeist_Forensics.pdf Why did they add this? Most people who want to transition away from Windows and Mac is because of constant background spyware and backdoors. We have zero need for zeitgeist. Be careful if you install DockManager (with Docky) it will also install this
If I could "award" a -10, I would. "Zeitgeist" is a stupid idea, I don't need it and I'm 100% sure that it's not an essential part of ANY operating system. If I spend "too much time on useless stuff" it's my business and nobody else's, and certainly NOT the business of spammers and corporate BS'ers à la "Tinyfluff" who invent so-called "tools" to spy on us! That "thing" in combination with this equally annoying "metadata" stupidity in Caja, makes me wanna bring out an axe. Both of those moronic things have been removed/shut down. Result? A MUCH improved experience running Mint. :) Before: Dead slow when moving large amount of files. Now? As fast as a pig blinks. ;) Each to his/her/its own, I guess, but I know that I will never accept those "tools" running on my system ever again.
I does not chime in with same critisism. As pointed out by author (ref http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/08/is-zeitgeist-spying-on-you) and since the code is Open, I believe it is far better to have Logs aggregated in a central fashion rather than un-knowingly have scattered log files around holding essentially same information. The question is: Do new information arise when you see the aggregated information presented as Zeitgeist show it ? I believe yes, and if you believe/think you are spending too much time on useless stuff, Zeitgeist can in fact show if this is the case in many circumstances. Hence you can change your behaviour if you acknowlegde this fact. P.S. The URL for the package is wrong and should instead refer to the Program Manager within Mint.
I kind of understand this. It logs everything you do, but only uses these logs to give information about things you do to other software. For example, you listen song with ExampleMediaPlayer. Then Zeitgeist logs it and gives log file to AnotherMediaPlayer, so you can see what music you listened with ExampleMediaPlayer, using AnotherMediaPlayer. Hope you understand what I mean. But, it's still technically a spyware, and if you care about your privacy enough, you might want to remove Zeitgeist. I removed it, because I don't need to share my information with other programs, and I don't want spyware, even if it is "legimate" spyware. Spyware is spyware.
The description here in the Software Manager made me suspect zeitgeist is spyware. Visiting their web site pretty much confirms it.
