ok, i'm getting my laptop set up and i'm looking for a program (or two) that seem to be the best kept secrets of linux apps. i'm looking for something similar to root-tail (tails [log] files in desktop background) that will allow me to run something like top and embed it in the background in the same way root-tail does. i don't care whether it's interactive or not, in fact the ability to do both would be nice. i've come pretty close with Eterm by removing borders, buttonbar, scrollbar, etc. but it still acts like a windowed app, it can be closed, moved, shows up on the taskbar, so it's close but not perfect. the other app i've seen shows various system stats, also integrated into the background. there's a [very large] screenshot
here that shows both of these near the lefthand side.
TIA for any help!