When that is the case, you need something like http://xournal.sourceforge.net/. Xournal is a “note taking” application that can be used for just about anything: school notes, random sketching, journals, etc. It’s very easy to use and, although in its early stages of development, seems to be rather stable and fun to use. In this article I am going to show you how to install and start using Xournal.

Installation

As you have grown to expect, the installation of Xournal is simple. Just follow these steps:

1. Open up your Add/Remove Software tool.
2. Search for “xournal” (no quotes).
3. Mark Xournal for installation.
4. Click Apply to install.
5. When the installation is complete, close the Add/Remove Software tool.

Once installed you are ready to begin taking copious notes.

Usage

Figure 1

To start Xournal click Applications > Accessories > Xournal. When the application window opens you will know exactly what you are in for (see Figure 1). Once the main window is open you are ready to start taking notes.

By default the tool selected is the pencil. You can jot down your notes with that tool or you can switch to a standard keyboard entry by clicking the “T” icon. After you have entered (or scribbled) notes you can go back and highlight notes using the highlighter tool, you can add basic shapes, you can change paper color or even paper style (lined, unlined, graph, etc).

Button mapping

A really nice feature of Xournal is that while the left button is your pencil (or highlighter), the left button acts as an erase. With this you don’t have to go back to the toolbar and switch tools. You can just click and hold the right button and erase.

You can switch the button mapping by clicking Options and then selecting either Button 2 Mapping or Button 3 Mapping. Within these sub menus you can select exactly what that button will do. NOTE: Remember, if you do not have a scroll wheel, button 3 on a Linux machine is buttons 1 and 2 pressed simultaneously.

Other features

Another nice feature of Xournal is the ability to export to PDF format. This allows you to easily share or print your notes. To do this click File > Export to PDF.

If you have a tablet input device you can also set Xournal to use pressure sensitivity. Without the tablet input, pressure sensitivity is pretty much worthless.

Final thoughts

If you are a student or anyone else that needs a tool for fast note taking, sketching, or even journaling, Xournal is a great tool to get this job done. With plenty of options, you should be able to keep any type of notes you need.

The word in question is not shown of course in the chat, all other invalid guesses are. You get some fine tools to draw the word(s) like different colors, a spray can, pencil and so on. Could be that this thing is more powerful than paint. Most rooms that are available are English rooms but you also find German, Spanish, French and custom ones.

The game features several modes, the most popular one to draw one word but there are variations of that mode were players may have to draw more than one word or have only five sketches to draw it. Games have a difficulty rating (easy, normal and expert) and can be themed as well. You may join themed channels like Christmas, Poker or Cartoons if you like.

The game has a huge user base. More than 1500 were connected to the game just a few minutes ago while I was checking it out. Game rooms have normally a limit of ten players but sometimes you find more than that amount in a room. This means that not everyone is going to sketch a word but all are able to take part and guess them.