> I just want to > know what what is the alternative way to monitor activity of > applications which I usually monitor with the tray icons.
I find that urgency hints are more than enough for irc. You probably need to instruct your irc client to issue them (e.g. in irssi/config: "bell_beeps=yes") and your terminal emulator to understand them (e.g., for urxvt "URxvt.urgentOnBell: true" in .Xresources). Manolo
