diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,12 +1,58 @@
 % xmobar - Release notes
 % Jose A. Ortega Ruiz
 
+## Version 0.13 (March 28, 2011)
+
+_New features_
+
+  - New `Volume` monitor displaying ALSA soundcards information, by
+    Thomas Tuegel.
+  - New `ThermalZone` plugin substituting `Thermal` and using linux's
+    *sysfs* interface (you need this one if you're using a kernel
+    version equal to or above 2.6.37). See [issue 44].
+  - xmobar app new has WM_CLASS, WM_NAME and _NET_WM_PID xprops
+    ([issue 38]).
+
+_Incompatible changes_
+
+  - The MPD plugin does not accept host and port options anymore: use
+    the environment variables MPD_HOST and MPD_PORT instead.
+  - The `Mail` plugin now takes a second parameter (a string)
+    specifying its alias. As a side-effect, this solves [issue 30].
+
+_Bug fixes_
+
+  - [issue 14]: `StdinReader` and other plugins accepting external
+    input don't get confused anymore when characters from `alignSep`
+    appear in their input.
+  - [issue 27]: `BottomSize` placement now respects its width argument.
+  - [issue 28]: Compilation in Mac OS X fixed.
+  - [issue 30]: `Mail` plugin can be specified anywhere in commands list.
+  - [issue 36]: Battery monitor now supports non-standard locations of
+    the `/sys/class/power_supply/AC/online` file.
+  - [issue 40]: Battery monitor now supports the new power_now, that
+    replaces current_now in linux kernels for v. 2.36 and above.
+  - [issue 42]: More accurate net monitor rates.
+  - DiskIO, Cpu and MultiCpu monitors are also more accurate now.
+  - Text is now correctly centered vertically.
+  - `FullBM` border spec fixed.
+
+[issue 14]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=14
+[issue 27]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=27
+[issue 28]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=28
+[issue 30]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=30
+[issue 36]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=36
+[issue 38]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=38
+[issue 40]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=40
+[issue 42]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=42
+[issue 44]: http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues/detail?id=44
+
 ## Version 0.12 (Dec 24, 2010)
 
 xmobar has a new [maintainer], a new [website], a new [mailing
 list] and uses a new [source code repository].
 
-Many thanks to Andrea Rossato, xombar's author and maintainer so far,
+Many thanks to Andrea Rossato, xmobar's author and maintainer so far,
 for creating xmobar in the first place, and for giving me the chance
 to become its maintainer. And a big thanks to Ben Boeckel, Petr Rockai
 and Norbert Zeh for their patches.
diff --git a/README b/README
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 features, like dynamic color management, output templates, and
 extensibility through plugins.
 
-This page documents xmobar 0.12 (see [release notes]).
+This page documents xmobar 0.13 (see [release notes]).
 
 [This is a screen shot] of Andrea's desktop with [xmonad] and xmobar.
 [This] is xmobar running under [sawfish], with antialiased fonts. And
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
 If you don't have `cabal-install` installed, you can get xmobar's
 source code in a variety of ways:
 
-  - From [Hackage]. Just download [xmobar-0.12.tar.gz] from xmobar's
+  - From [Hackage]. Just download [xmobar-0.13.tar.gz] from xmobar's
     hackage page.
   - From [Github]. You can also obtain a tarball in [Github's
     downloads page]. You'll find there links to each tagged release.
@@ -55,13 +55,13 @@
     git:
         git clone git://github.com/jaor/xmobar
 
-[xmobar-0.12.tar.gz]: http://hackage.haskell.org/packages/archive/xmobar/0.12/xmobar-0.12.tar.gz
+[xmobar-0.13.tar.gz]: http://hackage.haskell.org/packages/archive/xmobar/0.13/xmobar-0.13.tar.gz
 [Github's downloads page]: https://github.com/jaor/xmobar/downloads
 
 To install simply run (if needed):
 
-        tar xvfz xmobar-0.12
-        cd xmobar-0.12
+        tar xvfz xmobar-0.13
+        cd xmobar-0.13
 
 If you have cabal installed, you can now use it from within xmobar's
 source tree. Otherwise, run the configure script:
@@ -120,6 +120,10 @@
      headers in your system (e.g., install `libiw-dev` in Debian-based
      systems).
 
+`with_alsa`
+:    Support for ALSA sound cards. Enables the Volume plugin. Requires the
+     [alsa-mixer] package.
+
 `all_extensions`
 :    Enables all the extensions above.
 
@@ -313,9 +317,9 @@
 date plugin. These plugins install the following internal commands:
 `Weather`, `Network`, `Wireless` (optional), `Memory`, `Swap`, `Cpu`,
 `MultiCpu`, `Battery`, `TopProc`, `TopMem`, `DiskU`, `DiskIO`,
-`Thermal`, `CpuFreq`, `CoreTemp`, `MPD` (optional), `Mail` (optional),
-`MBox` (optional), `Date`, `Uptime`, `StdinReader`, `CommandReader`,
-and `PipeReader`.
+`Thermal`, `ThermalZone`, `CpuFreq`, `CoreTemp`, `Volume` (optional),
+`MPD` (optional), `Mail` (optional), `MBox` (optional), `Date`,
+`Uptime`, `StdinReader`, `CommandReader`, and `PipeReader`.
 
 To remove them see below Installing/Removing a Plugin
 
@@ -435,6 +439,8 @@
     - `-m`: color to display power lower than the `-H` threshold
     - `-h`: color to display power highter than the `-H` threshold
     - `-p`: color to display positive power (battery charging)
+    - `-f`: file in `/sys/class/power_supply` with AC info (default:
+      "AC/online")
 - Variables that can be used with the `-t`/`--template` argument:
 	    `left`, `leftbar`, `timeleft`, `watts`, `acstatus`
 - Default template: `Batt: <watts>, <left>% / <timeleft>`
@@ -509,9 +515,28 @@
 
          Disks [("/", "<read> <write>"), ("sdb1", "<total>")] [] 10
 
+`ThermalZone Number Args RefreshRate`
+
+- Aliases to "thermaln": so `ThermalZone 0 []` can be used in template
+  as `%thermal0%`
+- Args: default monitor arguments (see below)
+- Variables that can be used with the `-t`/`--template` argument:
+	    `temp`
+- Default template: `<temp>C`
+- This plugin works only on sytems with devices having thermal zone.
+  Check directories in `/sys/class/thermal` for possible values of the
+  zone number (e.g., 0 corresponds to `thermal_zone0` in that
+  directory).
+- Example:
+
+         Run ThermalZone 0 ["-t","<id>: <temp>C"] 30
+
 `Thermal Zone Args RefreshRate`
 
-- Aliases to the Zone: so `Zone "THRM" []` can be used in template as `%THRM%`
+- **This plugin is deprecated. Use `ThermalZone` instead.**
+
+- Aliases to the Zone: so `Thermal "THRM" []` can be used in template
+  as `%THRM%`
 - Args: default monitor arguments (see below)
 - Variables that can be used with the `-t`/`--template` argument:
 	    `temp`
@@ -520,7 +545,7 @@
   Check directories in /proc/acpi/thermal_zone for possible values.
 - Example:
 
-         Run Thermal "THRM" ["-t","iwl4965-temp: <temp>C"]
+         Run Thermal "THRM" ["-t","iwl4965-temp: <temp>C"] 50
 
 `CpuFreq Args RefreshRate`
 
@@ -549,6 +574,36 @@
                        "-L", "40", "-H", "60",
                        "-l", "lightblue", "-n", "gray90", "-h", "red"] 50
 
+`Volume Mixer Element Args RefreshRate`
+
+- Aliases to the mixer name and element name separated by a colon. Thus,
+  `Volume "default" "Master" [] 10` can be used as `%default:Master%`.
+- Args: default monitor arguments (see below). Also accepts:
+    - `-O` _string_ On string
+        - The string used in place of `<status>` when the mixer element
+          is on. Defaults to "[on]".
+        - Long option: `--on`
+    - `-o` _string_ Off string
+        - The string used in place of `<status>` when the mixer element
+          is off. Defaults to "[off]".
+        - Long option: `--off`
+    - `-C` _color_ On color
+        - The color to be used for `<status>` when the mixer element
+          is on. Defaults to "green".
+        - Long option: `--onc`
+    - `-c` _color_ Off color
+        - The color to be used for `<status>` when the mixer element
+          is off. Defaults to "red".
+        - Long option: `--offc`
+    - `--highd` _number_ High threshold for dB. Defaults to -5.0.
+    - `--lowd` _number_ Low threshold for dB. Defaults to -30.0.
+- Variables that can be used with the `-t`/`--template` argument:
+            `volume`, `volumebar`, `dB`, `status`
+- Default template: `Vol: <volume>% <status>`
+- Requires the package [alsa-mixer] installed in your system. In addition,
+  to activate this plugin you must pass `--flags="with_alsa"` during
+  compilation.
+
 `MPD Args RefreshRate`
 
 - This monitor will only be compiled if you ask for it using the
@@ -556,9 +611,9 @@
 - Aliases to `mpd`
 - Args: default monitor arguments (see below). In addition you can provide
   `-P`, `-S` and `-Z`, with an string argument, to represent the
-  playing, stopped and paused states in the `statei` template field,
-  and `-h`, `-p` and `-x` for the host, port and password (default
-  host is "localhost", port 6600 and empty password).
+  playing, stopped and paused states in the `statei` template field.
+  The environment variables `MPD_HOST` and `MPD_PORT` are used to configure the
+  mpd server to communicate with.
 - Variables that can be used with the `-t`/`--template` argument:
              `bar`, `state`, `statei`, `volume`, `length`
              `lapsed`, `remaining`,
@@ -573,16 +628,21 @@
                   "<composer> <title> (<album>) <track>/<plength> <statei> ",
                   "--", "-P", ">>", "-Z", "|", "-S", "><"] 10
 
-`Mail Args`
+`Mail Args Alias`
 
-- Aliases to `Mail`
 - Args: list of maildirs in form
-  `[("name1","path1"),("name2","path2")]`. Paths may start with a '~'
+  `[("name1","path1"),...]`. Paths may start with a '~'
   to expand to the user's home directory.
 - This plugin requires inotify support in your linux kernel and the
   [hinotify] package. To activate, pass `--flags="with_inotify"`
   during compilation.
+- Example:
 
+         Run Mail [("inbox", "~/var/mail/inbox"),
+                   ("lists", "~/var/mail/lists")]
+                  "mail"
+
+
 `MBox Mboxes Opts Alias`
 
 - Mboxes a list of mbox files of the form `[("name", "path", "color")]`,
@@ -613,10 +673,12 @@
 
 - Aliases to `PropName`
 - Reads the X property named by `PropName` (a string) and displays its
-  value. The [xmonadpropwrite script] in xmobar's distribution can be
-  used to set the given property from the output of any other program
-  or script.
+  value. The [samples/xmonadpropwrite.hs script] in xmobar's
+  distribution can be used to set the given property from the output
+  of any other program or script.
 
+[samples/xmonadpropwrite.hs script]: https://github.com/jaor/xmobar/raw/master/samples/xmonadpropwrite.hs
+
 ## Monitor Plugins Commands Arguments
 
 These are the arguments that can be used for internal commands in the
@@ -625,9 +687,10 @@
 - `-t` _string_  Output template
     - Template for the monitor output. Field names must be enclosed
       between pointy brackets (`<foo>`) and will be substituted by the
-      computed values. You can also specify a foreground color for a
-      region bracketing it between `<fc=color>` and `</fc>`. The rest
-      of the template is output verbatim.
+      computed values. You can also specify the foreground (and
+      optionally, background) color for a region by bracketing it
+      between `<fc=fgcolor>` (or `<fc=fgcolor,bgcolor>`) and
+      `</fc>`. The rest of the template is output verbatim.
     - Long option: `--template`
     - Default value: per monitor (see above).
 - `-H` _number_ The high threshold.
@@ -786,7 +849,7 @@
             logHook = dynamicLogString defaultPP >>= xmonadPropLog
           }
    This plugin can be used as a sometimes more convenient alternative
-   to `StdinReader`. For it instance, allows you to (re)start xmobar
+   to `StdinReader`. For instance, it allows you to (re)start xmobar
    outside xmonad.
 
 [here]: http://xmonad.org/xmonad-docs/xmonad-contrib/XMonad-Hooks-DynamicLog.html
@@ -919,11 +982,12 @@
 Credits
 =======
 
-xmobar [incorporates patches] from Ben Boeckel, Roman Cheplyaka, John
-Goerzen, Juraj Hercek, Tomas Janousek, Spencer Janssen, Krzysztof
-Kosciuszkiewicz, Lennart Kolmodin, Dmitry Kurochkin, Svein Ove, Jens
+xmobar [incorporates patches] by Ben Boeckel, Roman Cheplyaka, John
+Goerzen, Juraj Hercek, Tomas Janousek, Spencer Janssen, Lennart
+Kolmodin, Krzysztof Kosciuszkiewicz, Dmitry Kurochkin, Svein Ove, Jens
 Petersen, Petr Rockai, Andrew Sackville-West, Alexander Solovyov,
-Sergei Trofimovich, Jan Vornberger, Daniel Wagner and Norbert Zeh.
+Sergei Trofimovich, Thomas Tuegel, Jan Vornberger, Daniel Wagner and
+Norbert Zeh.
 
 [incorporates patches]: http://www.ohloh.net/p/xmobar/contributors
 
@@ -976,7 +1040,7 @@
 
 Copyright &copy; 2007-2010 Andrea Rossato
 
-Copyright &copy; 2010 Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz
+Copyright &copy; 2010-2011 Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz
 
 [Github]: http://github.com/jaor/xmobar/
 [Github page]: http://github.com/jaor/xmobar
@@ -991,3 +1055,4 @@
 [libmpd]: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/libmpd/
 [sawfish]: http://sawfish.wikia.com/
 [utf8-string]: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/utf8-string/
+[alsa-mixer]: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/alsa-mixer
diff --git a/samples/xmonadpropwrite.hs b/samples/xmonadpropwrite.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/xmonadpropwrite.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+-- Copyright Spencer Janssen <spencerjanssen@gmail.com>
+--           Tomas Janousek <tomi@nomi.cz>
+-- BSD3 (see LICENSE)
+--
+-- Reads from standard input and writes to an X propery on root window.
+-- To be used with XPropertyLog:
+--  Add it to commands:
+--      Run XPropertyLog "_XMONAD_LOG_CUSTOM"
+--  Add it to the template:
+--      template = "... %_XMONAD_LOG_CUSTOM% ..."
+--  Run:
+--      $ blah blah | xmonadpropwrite _XMONAD_LOG_CUSTOM
+
+import Control.Monad
+import Graphics.X11
+import Graphics.X11.Xlib.Extras
+import qualified Data.ByteString as B
+import Foreign.C (CChar)
+import System.IO
+import System.Environment
+
+main = do
+    atom <- flip fmap getArgs $ \args -> case args of
+        [a] -> a
+        _   -> "_XMONAD_LOG"
+
+    d <- openDisplay ""
+    xlog <- internAtom d atom False
+    ustring <- internAtom d "UTF8_STRING" False
+
+    root  <- rootWindow d (defaultScreen d)
+
+    forever $ do
+        msg <- B.getLine
+        changeProperty8 d root xlog ustring propModeReplace (encodeCChar msg)
+        sync d True
+
+    return ()
+
+encodeCChar :: B.ByteString -> [CChar]
+encodeCChar = map fromIntegral . B.unpack
diff --git a/src/Commands.hs b/src/Commands.hs
--- a/src/Commands.hs
+++ b/src/Commands.hs
@@ -41,9 +41,7 @@
     run _      = return ""
     start :: e -> (String -> IO ()) -> IO ()
     start e cb = go
-        where go = do
-                run e >>= cb
-                tenthSeconds (rate e) >> go
+        where go = run e >>= cb >> tenthSeconds (rate e) >> go
 
 data Command = Com Program Args Alias Rate
                deriving (Show,Read,Eq)
diff --git a/src/Main.hs b/src/Main.hs
--- a/src/Main.hs
+++ b/src/Main.hs
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@
 import Data.List (intercalate)
 
 import Paths_xmobar (version)
-import Data.IORef
 import Data.Version (showVersion)
 import Graphics.X11.Xlib
 import System.Console.GetOpt
@@ -56,15 +55,28 @@
   rootw <- rootWindow d (defaultScreen d)
   selectInput d rootw structureNotifyMask
 
-  civ   <- newIORef c
-  doOpts civ o
-  conf  <- readIORef civ
+  conf  <- doOpts c o
   fs    <- initFont d (font conf)
-  cl    <- parseTemplate conf (template conf)
-  vars  <- mapM startCommand cl
+  cls   <- mapM (parseTemplate conf) (splitTemplate conf)
+  vars  <- mapM (mapM startCommand) cls
   (r,w) <- createWin d fs conf
   eventLoop (XConf d r w fs conf) vars
 
+-- | Splits the template in its parts
+splitTemplate :: Config -> [String]
+splitTemplate conf =
+  case break (==l) t of
+    (le,_:re) -> case break (==r) re of
+                   (ce,_:ri) -> [le, ce, ri]
+                   _         -> def
+    _         -> def
+  where [l, r] = if length (alignSep conf) == 2
+                 then alignSep conf
+                 else alignSep defaultConfig
+        t = template conf
+        def = [t, "", ""]
+
+
 -- | Reads the configuration files or quits with an error
 readConfig :: FilePath -> IO (Config,[String])
 readConfig f = do
@@ -125,7 +137,7 @@
 info :: String
 info = "xmobar " ++ showVersion version
         ++ "\n (C) 2007 - 2010 Andrea Rossato "
-        ++ "\n (C) 2010 Jose A Ortega Ruiz\n "
+        ++ "\n (C) 2010 - 2011 Jose A Ortega Ruiz\n "
         ++ mail ++ "\n" ++ license
 
 mail :: String
@@ -137,23 +149,23 @@
           "MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.\n" ++
           "See the License for more details."
 
-doOpts :: IORef Config -> [Opts] -> IO ()
-doOpts _  [] = return ()
+doOpts :: Config -> [Opts] -> IO Config
+doOpts conf []     = return conf
 doOpts conf (o:oo) =
     case o of
       Help       -> putStr   usage >> exitWith ExitSuccess
       Version    -> putStrLn info  >> exitWith ExitSuccess
-      Font     s -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { font     = s     }) >> go
-      BgColor  s -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { bgColor  = s     }) >> go
-      FgColor  s -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { fgColor  = s     }) >> go
-      T          -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { position = Top   }) >> go
-      B          -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { position = Bottom}) >> go
-      AlignSep s -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { alignSep = s     }) >> go
-      SepChar  s -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { sepChar  = s     }) >> go
-      Template s -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { template = s     }) >> go
-      OnScr    n -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { position = OnScreen (read n) $ position c }) >> go
+      Font     s -> doOpts (conf {font     = s     }) oo
+      BgColor  s -> doOpts (conf {bgColor  = s     }) oo
+      FgColor  s -> doOpts (conf {fgColor  = s     }) oo
+      T          -> doOpts (conf {position = Top   }) oo
+      B          -> doOpts (conf {position = Bottom}) oo
+      AlignSep s -> doOpts (conf {alignSep = s     }) oo
+      SepChar  s -> doOpts (conf {sepChar  = s     }) oo
+      Template s -> doOpts (conf {template = s     }) oo
+      OnScr    n -> doOpts (conf {position = OnScreen (read n) $ position conf}) oo
       Commands s -> case readCom s of
-                      Right x -> modifyIORef conf (\c -> c { commands = x }) >> go
+                      Right x -> doOpts (conf { commands = x }) oo
                       Left e  -> putStr (e ++ usage) >> exitWith (ExitFailure 1)
     where readCom str =
               case readStr str of
@@ -161,4 +173,3 @@
 	        _   -> Left "xmobar: cannot read list of commands specified with the -c option\n"
           readStr str =
               [x | (x,t) <- reads str, ("","") <- lex t]
-          go = doOpts conf oo
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Mail.hs b/src/Plugins/Mail.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Mail.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Mail.hs
@@ -30,11 +30,12 @@
 import qualified Data.Set as S
 
 -- | A list of mail box names and paths to maildirs.
-data Mail = Mail [(String, FilePath)]
+data Mail = Mail [(String, FilePath)] String
     deriving (Read, Show)
 
 instance Exec Mail where
-    start (Mail ms) cb = do
+    alias (Mail _ a) = a
+    start (Mail ms _) cb = do
         vs <- mapM (const $ newTVarIO S.empty) ms
 
         let ts = map fst ms
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Monitors.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors.hs
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- |
 -- Module      :  Xmobar.Plugins.Monitors
--- Copyright   :  (c) Andrea Rossato
+-- Copyright   :  (c) 2010, 2011 Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz
+--                (c) 2007-10 Andrea Rossato
 -- License     :  BSD-style (see LICENSE)
 --
 -- Maintainer  :  Jose A. Ortega Ruiz <jao@gnu.org>
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@
 import Plugins.Monitors.MultiCpu
 import Plugins.Monitors.Batt
 import Plugins.Monitors.Thermal
+import Plugins.Monitors.ThermalZone
 import Plugins.Monitors.CpuFreq
 import Plugins.Monitors.CoreTemp
 import Plugins.Monitors.Disk
@@ -38,29 +40,36 @@
 #ifdef LIBMPD
 import Plugins.Monitors.MPD
 #endif
+#ifdef ALSA
+import Plugins.Monitors.Volume
+#endif
 
-data Monitors = Weather  Station    Args Rate
-              | Network  Interface  Args Rate
-              | Memory   Args       Rate
-              | Swap     Args       Rate
-              | Cpu      Args       Rate
-              | MultiCpu Args       Rate
-              | Battery  Args       Rate
-              | BatteryP [String]   Args Rate
-              | DiskU    DiskSpec   Args Rate
-              | DiskIO   DiskSpec   Args Rate
-              | Thermal  Zone       Args Rate
-              | CpuFreq  Args       Rate
-              | CoreTemp Args       Rate
-              | TopProc  Args       Rate
-              | TopMem   Args       Rate
-              | Uptime   Args       Rate
+data Monitors = Weather      Station    Args Rate
+              | Network      Interface  Args Rate
+              | BatteryP     [String]   Args Rate
+              | DiskU        DiskSpec   Args Rate
+              | DiskIO       DiskSpec   Args Rate
+              | Thermal      Zone       Args Rate
+              | ThermalZone  ZoneNo     Args Rate
+              | Memory       Args       Rate
+              | Swap         Args       Rate
+              | Cpu          Args       Rate
+              | MultiCpu     Args       Rate
+              | Battery      Args       Rate
+              | CpuFreq      Args       Rate
+              | CoreTemp     Args       Rate
+              | TopProc      Args       Rate
+              | TopMem       Args       Rate
+              | Uptime       Args       Rate
 #ifdef IWLIB
               | Wireless Interface  Args Rate
 #endif
 #ifdef LIBMPD
               | MPD      Args       Rate
 #endif
+#ifdef ALSA
+              | Volume   String     String Args Rate
+#endif
                 deriving (Show,Read,Eq)
 
 type Args      = [String]
@@ -68,52 +77,62 @@
 type Alias     = String
 type Station   = String
 type Zone      = String
+type ZoneNo    = Int
 type Interface = String
 type Rate      = Int
 type DiskSpec  = [(String, String)]
 
 instance Exec Monitors where
-    alias (Weather  s _ _) = s
-    alias (Network  i _ _) = i
-    alias (Thermal  z _ _) = z
-    alias (Memory     _ _) = "memory"
-    alias (Swap       _ _) = "swap"
-    alias (Cpu        _ _) = "cpu"
-    alias (MultiCpu   _ _) = "multicpu"
-    alias (Battery    _ _) = "battery"
-    alias (BatteryP  _ _ _)= "battery"
-    alias (CpuFreq    _ _) = "cpufreq"
-    alias (TopProc    _ _) = "top"
-    alias (TopMem     _ _) = "topmem"
-    alias (CoreTemp   _ _) = "coretemp"
-    alias (DiskU    _ _ _) = "disku"
-    alias (DiskIO   _ _ _) = "diskio"
-    alias (Uptime     _ _) = "uptime"
+    alias (Weather s _ _) = s
+    alias (Network i _ _) = i
+    alias (Thermal z _ _) = z
+    alias (ThermalZone z _ _) = "thermal" ++ show z
+    alias (Memory _ _) = "memory"
+    alias (Swap _ _) = "swap"
+    alias (Cpu _ _) = "cpu"
+    alias (MultiCpu _ _) = "multicpu"
+    alias (Battery _ _) = "battery"
+    alias (BatteryP _ _ _)= "battery"
+    alias (CpuFreq _ _) = "cpufreq"
+    alias (TopProc _ _) = "top"
+    alias (TopMem _ _) = "topmem"
+    alias (CoreTemp _ _) = "coretemp"
+    alias (DiskU _ _ _) = "disku"
+    alias (DiskIO _ _ _) = "diskio"
+    alias (Uptime _ _) = "uptime"
 #ifdef IWLIB
     alias (Wireless i _ _) = i ++ "wi"
 #endif
 #ifdef LIBMPD
-    alias (MPD        _ _) = "mpd"
+    alias (MPD _ _) = "mpd"
 #endif
-    start (Weather  s a r) = runM (a ++ [s]) weatherConfig  runWeather    r
-    start (Network  i a r) = runM (a ++ [i]) netConfig      runNet        r
-    start (Thermal  z a r) = runM (a ++ [z]) thermalConfig  runThermal    r
-    start (Memory     a r) = runM a          memConfig      runMem        r
-    start (Swap       a r) = runM a          swapConfig     runSwap       r
-    start (Cpu        a r) = runM a          cpuConfig      runCpu        r
-    start (MultiCpu   a r) = runM a          multiCpuConfig runMultiCpu   r
-    start (Battery    a r) = runM a          battConfig     runBatt       r
-    start (BatteryP s a r) = runM a          battConfig     (runBatt' s)  r
-    start (CpuFreq    a r) = runM a          cpuFreqConfig  runCpuFreq    r
-    start (CoreTemp   a r) = runM a          coreTempConfig runCoreTemp   r
-    start (DiskU    s a r) = runM a          diskUConfig    (runDiskU s)  r
-    start (DiskIO   s a r) = runM a          diskIOConfig   (runDiskIO s) r
-    start (TopMem     a r) = runM a          topMemConfig   runTopMem     r
-    start (Uptime     a r) = runM a          uptimeConfig   runUptime     r
-    start (TopProc    a r) = startTop a r
+#ifdef ALSA
+    alias (Volume m c _ _) = m ++ ":" ++ c
+#endif
+    start (Network  i a r) = startNet i a r
+    start (Cpu a r) = startCpu a r
+    start (MultiCpu a r) = startMultiCpu a r
+    start (TopProc a r) = startTop a r
+    start (TopMem a r) = runM a topMemConfig runTopMem r
+    start (Weather s a r) = runM (a ++ [s]) weatherConfig runWeather r
+    start (Thermal z a r) = runM (a ++ [z]) thermalConfig runThermal r
+    start (ThermalZone z a r) =
+      runM (a ++ [show z]) thermalZoneConfig runThermalZone r
+    start (Memory a r) = runM a memConfig runMem r
+    start (Swap a r) = runM a swapConfig runSwap r
+    start (Battery a r) = runM a battConfig runBatt r
+    start (BatteryP s a r) = runM a battConfig (runBatt' s) r
+    start (CpuFreq a r) = runM a cpuFreqConfig runCpuFreq r
+    start (CoreTemp a r) = runM a coreTempConfig runCoreTemp r
+    start (DiskU s a r) = runM a diskUConfig (runDiskU s) r
+    start (DiskIO s a r) = startDiskIO s a r
+    start (Uptime a r) = runM a uptimeConfig runUptime r
 #ifdef IWLIB
-    start (Wireless i a r) = runM (a ++ [i]) wirelessConfig runWireless   r
+    start (Wireless i a r) = runM (a ++ [i]) wirelessConfig runWireless r
 #endif
 #ifdef LIBMPD
-    start (MPD        a r) = runM a          mpdConfig      runMPD        r
+    start (MPD a r) = runM a mpdConfig runMPD r
+#endif
+#ifdef ALSA
+    start (Volume m c a r) = runM a volumeConfig (runVolume m c) r
 #endif
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Batt.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Batt.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Batt.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Batt.hs
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- |
 -- Module      :  Plugins.Monitors.Batt
--- Copyright   :  (c) Andrea Rossato, 2010 Petr Rockai, 2010 Jose A Ortega
+-- Copyright   :  (c) 2010, 2011 Jose A Ortega
+--                (c) 2010 Andrea Rossato, Petr Rockai
 -- License     :  BSD-style (see LICENSE)
 --
 -- Maintainer  :  Jose A. Ortega Ruiz <jao@gnu.org>
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@
 
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as B
 import Plugins.Monitors.Common
+import System.FilePath ((</>))
 import System.Posix.Files (fileExist)
 import System.Console.GetOpt
 
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@
   , highWColor :: Maybe String
   , lowThreshold :: Float
   , highThreshold :: Float
+  , onlineFile :: FilePath
   }
 
 defaultOpts :: BattOpts
@@ -40,6 +43,7 @@
   , highWColor = Nothing
   , lowThreshold = -12
   , highThreshold = -10
+  , onlineFile = "AC/online"
   }
 
 options :: [OptDescr (BattOpts -> BattOpts)]
@@ -52,6 +56,7 @@
   , Option "h" ["high"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { highWColor = Just x }) "") ""
   , Option "L" ["lowt"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { lowThreshold = read x }) "") ""
   , Option "H" ["hight"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { highThreshold = read x }) "") ""
+  , Option "f" ["online"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { onlineFile = x }) "") ""
   ]
 
 parseOpts :: [String] -> IO BattOpts
@@ -62,8 +67,8 @@
 
 data Result = Result Float Float Float String | NA
 
-base :: String
-base = "/sys/class/power_supply"
+sysDir :: FilePath
+sysDir = "/sys/class/power_supply"
 
 battConfig :: IO MConfig
 battConfig = mkMConfig
@@ -71,10 +76,10 @@
        ["leftbar", "left", "acstatus", "timeleft", "watts"] -- replacements
 
 data Files = Files
-  { f_full :: String
-  , f_now :: String
-  , f_voltage :: String
-  , f_current :: String
+  { fFull :: String
+  , fNow :: String
+  , fVoltage :: String
+  , fCurrent :: String
   } | NoFiles
 
 data Battery = Battery
@@ -86,52 +91,51 @@
 
 batteryFiles :: String -> IO Files
 batteryFiles bat =
-  do is_charge <- fileExist $ prefix ++ "/charge_now"
-     is_energy <- fileExist $ prefix ++ "/energy_now"
+  do is_charge <- fileExist $ prefix </> "charge_now"
+     is_energy <- fileExist $ prefix </> "energy_now"
+     is_current <- fileExist $ prefix </> "current_now"
+     let cf = if is_current then "current_now" else "power_now"
      return $ case (is_charge, is_energy) of
-       (True, _) -> files "/charge"
-       (_, True) -> files "/energy"
+       (True, _) -> files "charge" cf
+       (_, True) -> files "energy" cf
        _ -> NoFiles
-  where prefix = base ++ "/" ++ bat
-        files ch = Files { f_full = prefix ++ ch ++ "_full"
-                         , f_now = prefix ++ ch ++ "_now"
-                         , f_current = prefix ++ "/current_now"
-                         , f_voltage = prefix ++ "/voltage_now" }
+  where prefix = sysDir </> bat
+        files ch cf = Files { fFull = prefix </> ch ++ "_full"
+                            , fNow = prefix </> ch ++ "_now"
+                            , fCurrent = prefix </> cf
+                            , fVoltage = prefix </> "voltage_now" }
 
-haveAc :: IO (Maybe Bool)
-haveAc = do know <- fileExist $ base ++ "/AC/online"
-            if know
-               then do s <- B.unpack `fmap` catRead (base ++ "/AC/online")
-                       return $ Just $ s == "1\n"
-               else return Nothing
+haveAc :: FilePath -> IO Bool
+haveAc f = do
+  exists <- fileExist ofile
+  if exists
+    then fmap ((== "1\n") . B.unpack) (B.readFile ofile)
+    else return False
+  where ofile = sysDir </> f
 
 readBattery :: Files -> IO Battery
 readBattery NoFiles = return $ Battery 0 0 0 0
 readBattery files =
-    do a <- grab $ f_full files -- microwatthours
-       b <- grab $ f_now files
-       c <- grab $ f_voltage files -- microvolts
-       d <- grab $ f_current files -- microwatts (huh!)
+    do a <- grab $ fFull files -- microwatthours
+       b <- grab $ fNow files
+       c <- grab $ fVoltage files -- microvolts
+       d <- grab $ fCurrent files -- microwatts (huh!)
        return $ Battery (3600 * a / 1000000) -- wattseconds
                         (3600 * b / 1000000) -- wattseconds
                         (c / 1000000) -- volts
                         (d / c) -- amperes
-    where grab = fmap (read . B.unpack) . catRead
+    where grab = fmap (read . B.unpack) . B.readFile
 
 readBatteries :: BattOpts -> [Files] -> IO Result
 readBatteries opts bfs =
     do bats <- mapM readBattery (take 3 bfs)
-       ac' <- haveAc
-       let ac = (ac' == Just True)
-           sign = if ac then 1 else -1
+       ac <- haveAc (onlineFile opts)
+       let sign = if ac then 1 else -1
            left = sum (map now bats) / sum (map full bats)
            watts = sign * sum (map voltage bats) * sum (map current bats)
-           time = if watts == 0 then 0 else sum $ map time' bats -- negate sign
+           time = if watts == 0 then 0 else sum $ map time' bats
            time' b = (if ac then full b - now b else now b) / (sign * watts)
-           acstr = case ac' of
-             Nothing -> "?"
-             Just True -> onString opts
-             Just False -> offString opts
+           acstr = if ac then onString opts else offString opts
        return $ if isNaN left then NA else Result left watts time acstr
 
 runBatt :: [String] -> Monitor String
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Common.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Common.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Common.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Common.hs
@@ -1,14 +1,15 @@
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- |
 -- Module      :  Plugins.Monitors.Common
--- Copyright   :  (c) Andrea Rossato
+-- Copyright   :  (c) 2010, 2011 Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz
+--                (c) 2007-2010 Andrea Rossato
 -- License     :  BSD-style (see LICENSE)
 --
 -- Maintainer  :  Jose A. Ortega Ruiz <jao@gnu.org>
 -- Stability   :  unstable
 -- Portability :  unportable
 --
--- Utilities for creating monitors for Xmobar
+-- Utilities used by xmobar's monitors
 --
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -50,14 +51,9 @@
                        , parseFloat
                        , parseInt
                        , stringParser
-                       -- * Threaded Actions
-                       -- $thread
-                       , doActionTwiceWithDelay
-                       , catRead
                        ) where
 
 
-import Control.Concurrent
 import Control.Monad.Reader
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as B
 import Data.IORef
@@ -67,7 +63,6 @@
 import Text.ParserCombinators.Parsec
 import System.Console.GetOpt
 import Control.Exception (SomeException,handle)
-import System.Process (readProcess)
 
 import Plugins
 -- $monitor
@@ -422,25 +417,3 @@
                | x <= ll = 1 / bw
                | otherwise = f + logBase 2 (x / hh) / bw
   showPercentBar v $ choose v
-
--- $threads
-
-doActionTwiceWithDelay :: Int -> IO [a] -> IO ([a], [a])
-doActionTwiceWithDelay delay action =
-    do v1 <- newMVar []
-       forkIO $! getData action v1 0
-       v2 <- newMVar []
-       forkIO $! getData action v2 delay
-       threadDelay (delay `div` 3 * 4)
-       a <- readMVar v1
-       b <- readMVar v2
-       return (a,b)
-
-getData :: IO a -> MVar a -> Int -> IO ()
-getData action var d =
-    do threadDelay d
-       s <- action
-       modifyMVar_ var (\_ -> return $! s)
-
-catRead :: FilePath -> IO B.ByteString
-catRead file = B.pack `fmap` readProcess "/bin/cat" [file] ""
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Cpu.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Cpu.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Cpu.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Cpu.hs
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- |
 -- Module      :  Plugins.Monitors.Cpu
--- Copyright   :  (c) Andrea Rossato
+-- Copyright   :  (c) 2011 Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz
+--                (c) 2007-2010 Andrea Rossato
 -- License     :  BSD-style (see LICENSE)
 --
 -- Maintainer  :  Jose A. Ortega Ruiz <jao@gnu.org>
@@ -12,27 +13,30 @@
 --
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-module Plugins.Monitors.Cpu where
+module Plugins.Monitors.Cpu (startCpu) where
 
 import Plugins.Monitors.Common
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as B
+import Data.IORef (IORef, newIORef, readIORef, writeIORef)
 
 cpuConfig :: IO MConfig
 cpuConfig = mkMConfig
        "Cpu: <total>%"
        ["bar","total","user","nice","system","idle"]
 
+type CpuDataRef = IORef [Float]
+
 cpuData :: IO [Float]
-cpuData = do s <- B.readFile "/proc/stat"
-             return $ cpuParser s
+cpuData = cpuParser `fmap` B.readFile "/proc/stat"
 
 cpuParser :: B.ByteString -> [Float]
-cpuParser =
-    map (read . B.unpack) . tail . B.words . head . B.lines
+cpuParser = map (read . B.unpack) . tail . B.words . head . B.lines
 
-parseCPU :: IO [Float]
-parseCPU =
-    do (a,b) <- doActionTwiceWithDelay 750000 cpuData
+parseCpu :: CpuDataRef -> IO [Float]
+parseCpu cref =
+    do a <- readIORef cref
+       b <- cpuData
+       writeIORef cref b
        let dif = zipWith (-) b a
            tot = foldr (+) 0 dif
            percent = map (/ tot) dif
@@ -46,8 +50,14 @@
   ps <- showPercentsWithColors (t:xs)
   return (b:ps)
 
-runCpu :: [String] -> Monitor String
-runCpu _ =
-    do c <- io parseCPU
+runCpu :: CpuDataRef -> [String] -> Monitor String
+runCpu cref _ =
+    do c <- io (parseCpu cref)
        l <- formatCpu c
        parseTemplate l
+
+startCpu :: [String] -> Int -> (String -> IO ()) -> IO ()
+startCpu a r cb = do
+  cref <- newIORef []
+  _ <- parseCpu cref
+  runM a cpuConfig (runCpu cref) r cb
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Disk.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Disk.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Disk.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Disk.hs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- |
 -- Module      :  Plugins.Monitors.Disk
--- Copyright   :  (c) Jose A Ortega Ruiz
+-- Copyright   :  (c) 2010, 2011 Jose A Ortega Ruiz
 -- License     :  BSD-style (see LICENSE)
 --
 -- Maintainer  :  Jose A Ortega Ruiz <jao@gnu.org>
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@
 --
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-module Plugins.Monitors.Disk ( diskUConfig, runDiskU
-                             , diskIOConfig, runDiskIO
-                             ) where
+module Plugins.Monitors.Disk (diskUConfig, runDiskU, startDiskIO) where
 
 import Plugins.Monitors.Common
 import StatFS
 
+import Data.IORef (IORef, newIORef, readIORef, writeIORef)
+
 import Control.Monad (zipWithM)
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as B
 import Data.List (isPrefixOf, find, intercalate)
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 
 type DevName = String
 type Path = String
+type DevDataRef = IORef [(DevName, [Float])]
 
 mountedDevices :: [String] -> IO [(DevName, Path)]
 mountedDevices req = do
@@ -52,9 +53,11 @@
   let extract ws = (head ws, map read (tail ws))
   return $ map (extract . map B.unpack . drop 2 . B.words) (B.lines s)
 
-mountedData :: [DevName] -> IO [(DevName, [Float])]
-mountedData devs = do
-  (dt, dt') <- doActionTwiceWithDelay 750000 diskData
+mountedData :: DevDataRef -> [DevName] -> IO [(DevName, [Float])]
+mountedData dref devs = do
+  dt <- readIORef dref
+  dt' <- diskData
+  writeIORef dref dt'
   return $ map (parseDev (zipWith diff dt' dt)) devs
   where diff (dev, xs) (_, ys) = (dev, zipWith (-) xs ys)
 
@@ -110,12 +113,20 @@
   setConfigValue tmp template
   parseTemplate $ s ++ b
 
-runDiskIO :: [(String, String)] -> [String] -> Monitor String
-runDiskIO disks _ = do
+runDiskIO :: DevDataRef -> [(String, String)] -> [String] -> Monitor String
+runDiskIO dref disks _ = do
   mounted <- io $ mountedDevices (map fst disks)
-  dat <- io $ mountedData (map fst mounted)
+  dat <- io $ mountedData dref (map fst mounted)
   strs <- mapM runDiskIO' $ devTemplates disks mounted dat
   return $ intercalate " " strs
+
+startDiskIO :: [(String, String)] ->
+               [String] -> Int -> (String -> IO ()) -> IO ()
+startDiskIO disks args rate cb = do
+  mounted <- mountedDevices (map fst disks)
+  dref <- newIORef (map (\d -> (fst d, repeat 0)) mounted)
+  _ <- mountedData dref (map fst mounted)
+  runM args diskIOConfig (runDiskIO dref disks) rate cb
 
 runDiskU' :: String -> String -> Monitor String
 runDiskU' tmp path = do
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/MPD.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/MPD.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Monitors/MPD.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/MPD.hs
@@ -30,9 +30,6 @@
   { mPlaying :: String
   , mStopped :: String
   , mPaused :: String
-  , mHost :: String
-  , mPort :: Integer
-  , mPassword :: String
   }
 
 defaultOpts :: MOpts
@@ -40,9 +37,6 @@
   { mPlaying = ">>"
   , mStopped = "><"
   , mPaused = "||"
-  , mHost = "127.0.0.1"
-  , mPort = 6600
-  , mPassword = ""
   }
 
 options :: [OptDescr (MOpts -> MOpts)]
@@ -50,15 +44,12 @@
   [ Option "P" ["playing"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { mPlaying = x }) "") ""
   , Option "S" ["stopped"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { mStopped = x }) "") ""
   , Option "Z" ["paused"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { mPaused = x }) "") ""
-  , Option "h" ["host"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { mHost = x }) "") ""
-  , Option "p" ["port"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { mPort = read x }) "") ""
-  , Option "x" ["password"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { mPassword = x }) "") ""
   ]
 
 runMPD :: [String] -> Monitor String
 runMPD args = do
   opts <- io $ mopts args
-  let mpd = M.withMPDEx (mHost opts) (mPort opts) (mPassword opts)
+  let mpd = M.withMPD
   status <- io $ mpd M.status
   song <- io $ mpd M.currentSong
   s <- parseMPD status song opts
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/MultiCpu.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/MultiCpu.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Monitors/MultiCpu.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/MultiCpu.hs
@@ -12,11 +12,12 @@
 --
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-module Plugins.Monitors.MultiCpu(multiCpuConfig, runMultiCpu) where
+module Plugins.Monitors.MultiCpu (startMultiCpu) where
 
 import Plugins.Monitors.Common
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as B
 import Data.List (isPrefixOf, transpose, unfoldr)
+import Data.IORef (IORef, newIORef, readIORef, writeIORef)
 
 multiCpuConfig :: IO MConfig
 multiCpuConfig =
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@
                          , k <- monitors]
     where monitors = ["bar","total","user","nice","system","idle"]
 
+type CpuDataRef = IORef [[Float]]
 
 cpuData :: IO [[Float]]
 cpuData = parse `fmap` B.readFile "/proc/stat"
@@ -35,9 +37,11 @@
         isCpu _ = False
         parseList = map (parseFloat . B.unpack) . tail
 
-parseCpuData :: IO [[Float]]
-parseCpuData =
-  do (as, bs) <- doActionTwiceWithDelay 950000 cpuData
+parseCpuData :: CpuDataRef -> IO [[Float]]
+parseCpuData cref =
+  do as <- readIORef cref
+     bs <- cpuData
+     writeIORef cref bs
      let p0 = zipWith percent bs as
      return p0
 
@@ -68,9 +72,15 @@
 formatAutoCpus [] = return $ replicate 6 ""
 formatAutoCpus xs = return $ map unwords (groupData xs)
 
-runMultiCpu :: [String] -> Monitor String
-runMultiCpu _ =
-  do c <- io parseCpuData
+runMultiCpu :: CpuDataRef -> [String] -> Monitor String
+runMultiCpu cref _ =
+  do c <- io $ parseCpuData cref
      l <- formatMultiCpus c
      a <- formatAutoCpus l
      parseTemplate $ a ++ l
+
+startMultiCpu :: [String] -> Int -> (String -> IO ()) -> IO ()
+startMultiCpu a r cb = do
+  cref <- newIORef [[]]
+  _ <- parseCpuData cref
+  runM a multiCpuConfig (runMultiCpu cref) r cb
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Net.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Net.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Net.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Net.hs
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- |
 -- Module      :  Plugins.Monitors.Net
--- Copyright   :  (c) Andrea Rossato
+-- Copyright   :  (c) 2011 Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz
+--                (c) 2007-2010 Andrea Rossato
 -- License     :  BSD-style (see LICENSE)
 --
 -- Maintainer  :  Jose A. Ortega Ruiz <jao@gnu.org>
@@ -12,9 +13,13 @@
 --
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-module Plugins.Monitors.Net (netConfig, runNet) where
+module Plugins.Monitors.Net (startNet) where
 
 import Plugins.Monitors.Common
+
+import Data.IORef (IORef, newIORef, readIORef, writeIORef)
+import Data.Time.Clock (UTCTime, getCurrentTime, diffUTCTime)
+
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as B
 
 data NetDev = NA
@@ -23,8 +28,7 @@
                  , netTx :: Float
                  } deriving (Eq,Show,Read)
 
-interval :: Int
-interval = 500000
+type NetDevRef = IORef (NetDev, UTCTime)
 
 netConfig :: IO MConfig
 netConfig = mkMConfig
@@ -49,15 +53,20 @@
 readNetDev :: [String] -> NetDev
 readNetDev [] = NA
 readNetDev xs =
-    ND (xs !! 0) (r (xs !! 1)) (r (xs !! 2))
+    ND (head xs) (r (xs !! 1)) (r (xs !! 2))
        where r s | s == "" = 0
                  | otherwise = read s / 1024
 
-fileNET :: IO [NetDev]
-fileNET =
-    do f <- B.readFile "/proc/net/dev"
-       return $ netParser f
+fileNet :: IO [NetDev]
+fileNet = netParser `fmap` B.readFile "/proc/net/dev"
 
+findNetDev :: String -> IO NetDev
+findNetDev dev = do
+  nds <- fileNet
+  case filter (\d -> netDev d == dev) nds of
+    x:_ -> return x
+    _ -> return NA
+
 netParser :: B.ByteString -> [NetDev]
 netParser =
     map (readNetDev . getNElements [0,1,9] . wordsBy (`elem` " :") . B.unpack) . drop 2 . B.lines
@@ -78,19 +87,26 @@
                         parseTemplate [d,rx,tx,rb,tb]
          NA -> return "N/A"
 
-parseNET :: String -> IO [NetDev]
-parseNET nd =
-    do (a,b) <- doActionTwiceWithDelay interval fileNET
-       let netRate f da db = takeDigits 2 $ (f db - f da) * fromIntegral (1000000 `div` interval)
-           diffRate (da,db) = ND (netDev da)
-                              (netRate netRx da db)
-                              (netRate netTx da db)
-       return $ filter (\d -> netDev d == nd) $ map diffRate $ zip a b
+parseNet :: NetDevRef -> String -> IO NetDev
+parseNet nref nd = do
+  (n0, t0) <- readIORef nref
+  n1 <- findNetDev nd
+  t1 <- getCurrentTime
+  writeIORef nref (n1, t1)
+  let scx = realToFrac (diffUTCTime t1 t0)
+      scx' = if scx > 0 then scx else 1
+      netRate f da db = takeDigits 2 $ (f db - f da) / scx'
+      diffRate NA _ = NA
+      diffRate _ NA = NA
+      diffRate da db = ND nd (netRate netRx da db) (netRate netTx da db)
+  return $ diffRate n0 n1
 
-runNet :: [String] -> Monitor String
-runNet nd =
-    do pn <- io $ parseNET $ head nd
-       n <- case pn of
-              [x] -> return x
-              _ -> return NA
-       printNet n
+runNet :: NetDevRef -> String -> [String] -> Monitor String
+runNet nref i _ = io (parseNet nref i) >>= printNet
+
+startNet :: String -> [String] -> Int -> (String -> IO ()) -> IO ()
+startNet i a r cb = do
+  t0 <- getCurrentTime
+  nref <- newIORef (NA, t0)
+  _ <- parseNet nref i
+  runM a netConfig (runNet nref i) r cb
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/ThermalZone.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/ThermalZone.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/ThermalZone.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- |
+-- Module       :  Plugins.Monitors.ThermalZone
+-- Copyright    :  (c) 2011 Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz
+-- License      :  BSD3-style (see LICENSE)
+--
+-- Maintainer   :  jao@gnu.org
+-- Stability    :  unstable
+-- Portability  :  portable
+-- Created      :  Fri Feb 25, 2011 03:18
+--
+--
+-- A thermal zone plugin based on the sysfs linux interface.
+-- See http://kernel.org/doc/Documentation/thermal/sysfs-api.txt
+--
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+module Plugins.Monitors.ThermalZone (thermalZoneConfig, runThermalZone) where
+
+import Plugins.Monitors.Common
+
+import System.Posix.Files (fileExist)
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Char8 as B
+
+-- | Default thermal configuration.
+thermalZoneConfig :: IO MConfig
+thermalZoneConfig = mkMConfig "<temp>C" ["temp"]
+
+-- | Retrieves thermal information. Argument is name of thermal
+-- directory in \/sys\/clas\/thermal. Returns the monitor string
+-- parsed according to template (either default or user specified).
+runThermalZone :: [String] -> Monitor String
+runThermalZone args = do
+    let zone = head args
+        file = "/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone" ++ zone ++ "/temp"
+        parse = return . (read :: String -> Int) . B.unpack
+    exists <- io $ fileExist file
+    if exists
+      then do mdegrees <- io $ B.readFile file >>= parse
+              temp <- showWithColors show (mdegrees `quot` 1000)
+              parseTemplate [ temp ]
+      else return "N/A"
+
diff --git a/src/Plugins/Monitors/Volume.hs b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Volume.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Plugins/Monitors/Volume.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- |
+-- Module      :  Plugins.Monitors.Volume
+-- Copyright   :  (c) 2011 Thomas Tuegel
+-- License     :  BSD-style (see LICENSE)
+--
+-- Maintainer  :  Jose A. Ortega Ruiz <jao@gnu.org>
+-- Stability   :  unstable
+-- Portability :  unportable
+--
+-- A monitor for ALSA soundcards
+--
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+module Plugins.Monitors.Volume (runVolume, volumeConfig) where
+
+import Control.Monad ( liftM, mplus )
+import Data.Maybe
+import Plugins.Monitors.Common
+import Sound.ALSA.Mixer
+import System.Console.GetOpt
+
+volumeConfig :: IO MConfig
+volumeConfig = mkMConfig "Vol: <volume>% <status>"
+                         ["volume", "volumebar", "dB","status"]
+
+
+data VolumeOpts = VolumeOpts
+    { onString :: String
+    , offString :: String
+    , onColor :: Maybe String
+    , offColor :: Maybe String
+    , highDbThresh :: Float
+    , lowDbThresh :: Float
+    }
+
+defaultOpts :: VolumeOpts
+defaultOpts = VolumeOpts
+    { onString = "[on] "
+    , offString = "[off]"
+    , onColor = Just "green"
+    , offColor = Just "red"
+    , highDbThresh = -5.0
+    , lowDbThresh = -30.0
+    }
+
+options :: [OptDescr (VolumeOpts -> VolumeOpts)]
+options =
+    [ Option "O" ["on"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { onString = x }) "") ""
+    , Option "o" ["off"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { offString = x }) "") ""
+    , Option "" ["lowd"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { lowDbThresh = read x }) "") ""
+    , Option "" ["highd"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { highDbThresh = read x }) "") ""
+    , Option "C" ["onc"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { onColor = Just x }) "") ""
+    , Option "c" ["offc"] (ReqArg (\x o -> o { offColor = Just x }) "") ""
+    ]
+
+parseOpts :: [String] -> IO VolumeOpts
+parseOpts argv =
+    case getOpt Permute options argv of
+        (o, _, []) -> return $ foldr id defaultOpts o
+        (_, _, errs) -> ioError . userError $ concat errs
+
+percent :: Integer -> Integer -> Integer -> Float
+percent v' lo' hi' = (v - lo) / (hi - lo)
+  where v = fromIntegral v'
+        lo = fromIntegral lo'
+        hi = fromIntegral hi'
+
+formatVol :: Integer -> Integer -> Integer -> Monitor String
+formatVol lo hi v =
+    showPercentWithColors $ percent v lo hi
+
+formatVolBar :: Integer -> Integer -> Integer -> Monitor String
+formatVolBar lo hi v =
+    showPercentBar (100 * x) x where x = percent v lo hi
+
+switchHelper :: VolumeOpts
+             -> (VolumeOpts -> Maybe String)
+             -> (VolumeOpts -> String)
+             -> Monitor String
+switchHelper opts cHelp strHelp = return $
+    colorHelper (cHelp opts)
+    ++ strHelp opts
+    ++ maybe "" (const "</fc>") (cHelp opts)
+
+formatSwitch :: VolumeOpts -> Bool -> Monitor String
+formatSwitch opts True = switchHelper opts onColor onString
+formatSwitch opts False = switchHelper opts offColor offString
+
+colorHelper :: Maybe String -> String
+colorHelper = maybe "" (\c -> "<fc=" ++ c ++ ">")
+
+formatDb :: VolumeOpts -> Integer -> Monitor String
+formatDb opts dbi = do
+    h <- getConfigValue highColor
+    m <- getConfigValue normalColor
+    l <- getConfigValue lowColor
+    let db = fromIntegral dbi / 100.0
+        digits = showDigits 0 db
+        startColor | db >= highDbThresh opts = colorHelper h
+                   | db < lowDbThresh opts = colorHelper l
+                   | otherwise = colorHelper m
+        stopColor | null startColor = ""
+                  | otherwise = "</fc>"
+    return $ startColor ++ digits ++ stopColor
+
+runVolume :: String -> String -> [String] -> Monitor String
+runVolume mixerName controlName argv = do
+    opts <- io $ parseOpts argv
+    control <- liftM fromJust $ io $ getControlByName mixerName controlName
+    let volumeControl = fromJust $ mplus (playback $ volume control)
+                                         (common $ volume control)
+        switchControl = fromJust $ mplus (playback $ switch control)
+                                         (common $ switch control)
+        maybeNA = maybe (return "N/A")
+    (lo, hi) <- io $ getRange volumeControl
+    val <- io $ getChannel FrontLeft $ value volumeControl
+    db <- io $ getChannel FrontLeft $ dB volumeControl
+    sw <- io $ getChannel FrontLeft switchControl
+    p <- maybeNA (formatVol lo hi) val
+    b <- maybeNA (formatVolBar lo hi) val
+    d <- maybeNA (formatDb opts) db
+    s <- maybeNA (formatSwitch opts) sw
+    parseTemplate [p, b, d, s]
diff --git a/src/Plugins/StdinReader.hs b/src/Plugins/StdinReader.hs
--- a/src/Plugins/StdinReader.hs
+++ b/src/Plugins/StdinReader.hs
@@ -26,7 +26,8 @@
 
 instance Exec StdinReader where
     start StdinReader cb = do
-        cb =<< catch (hGetLineSafe stdin) (\(SomeException e) -> do hPrint stderr e; return "")
+        cb =<< catch (hGetLineSafe stdin)
+                     (\(SomeException e) -> do hPrint stderr e; return "")
         eof <- hIsEOF stdin
         if eof
             then exitImmediately ExitSuccess
diff --git a/src/StatFS.hsc b/src/StatFS.hsc
--- a/src/StatFS.hsc
+++ b/src/StatFS.hsc
@@ -23,11 +23,11 @@
 import Data.ByteString (useAsCString)
 import Data.ByteString.Char8 (pack)
 
-#if defined (__FreeBSD__)
+#if defined (__FreeBSD__) || defined (__APPLE__)
 # include <sys/param.h>
 # include <sys/mount.h>
 #else
-#include <sys/vfs.h>
+# include <sys/vfs.h>
 #endif
 
 data FileSystemStats = FileSystemStats {
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
 
 data CStatfs
 
-#if defined(__FreeBSD__)
+#if defined (__FreeBSD__) || defined (__APPLE__)
 foreign import ccall unsafe "sys/mount.h statfs"
 #else
 foreign import ccall unsafe "sys/vfs.h statfs64"
diff --git a/src/Xmobar.hs b/src/Xmobar.hs
--- a/src/Xmobar.hs
+++ b/src/Xmobar.hs
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 import Data.Bits
 import Data.Maybe(fromMaybe)
 import Data.Typeable (Typeable)
+import System.Posix.Process (getProcessID)
 
 import Config
 import Parsers
@@ -73,23 +74,25 @@
 instance Exception WakeUp
 
 -- | The event loop
-eventLoop :: XConf -> [(Maybe ThreadId, TVar String)] -> IO ()
-eventLoop xc@(XConf d _ w fs c) v = block $ do
+eventLoop :: XConf -> [[(Maybe ThreadId, TVar String)]] -> IO ()
+eventLoop xc@(XConf d _ w fs c) vs = block $ do
     tv <- atomically $ newTVar []
     t  <- myThreadId
-    ct <- forkIO (checker t tv "" `catch` \(SomeException _) -> return ())
+    ct <- forkIO (checker t tv [] `catch` \(SomeException _) -> return ())
     go tv ct
  where
     -- interrupt the drawing thread every time a var is updated
     checker t tvar ov = do
       nval <- atomically $ do
-              nv <- fmap concat $ mapM readTVar (map snd v)
+              nv <- mapM concatV vs
               guard (nv /= ov)
               writeTVar tvar nv
               return nv
       throwTo t WakeUp
       checker t tvar nval
 
+    concatV = fmap concat . mapM (readTVar . snd)
+
     -- Continuously wait for a timer interrupt or an expose event
     go tv ct = do
       catch (unblock $ allocaXEvent $ \e ->
@@ -104,7 +107,7 @@
                       killThread ct
                       destroyWindow d w
                       (r',w') <- createWin d fs c
-                      eventLoop (XConf d r' w' fs c) v
+                      eventLoop (XConf d r' w' fs c) vs
 
     handle tvar _ (ExposeEvent {}) = runX xc (updateWin tvar)
 
@@ -145,32 +148,32 @@
 
 setPosition :: XPosition -> [Rectangle] -> Dimension -> (Rectangle,Bool)
 setPosition p rs ht =
-    case p' of
-    Top                -> (Rectangle rx          ry      rw      h     , True)
-    TopW a i           -> (Rectangle (ax a i  )  ry     (nw i )  h     , True)
-    TopSize a i ch     -> (Rectangle (ax a i  )  ry     (nw i ) (mh ch), True)
-    Bottom             -> (Rectangle rx          ny      rw      h     , True)
-    BottomW a i        -> (Rectangle (ax a i  )  ny     (nw i )  h     , True)
-    BottomSize a i ch  -> (Rectangle (ax a i  )  ny     (nw i ) (mh ch), True)
-    Static cx cy cw ch -> (Rectangle (fi cx   ) (fi cy) (fi cw) (fi ch), True)
-    OnScreen _ p''     -> setPosition p'' [scr] ht
-    where
-      (scr@(Rectangle rx ry rw rh), p') =
-        case p of OnScreen i x -> (fromMaybe (head rs) $ safeIndex i rs, x)
-                  _            -> (head rs, p)
-      ny       = ry + fi (rh - ht)
-      center i = rx + (fi $ div (remwid i) 2)
-      right  i = rx + (fi $ remwid i)
-      remwid i = rw - pw (fi i)
-      ax L     = const rx
-      ax R     = right
-      ax C     = center
-      pw i     = rw * (min 100 i) `div` 100
-      nw       = fi . pw . fi
-      h        = fi ht
-      mh h'    = max (fi h') h
-
-      safeIndex i = lookup i . zip [0..]
+  case p' of
+    Top -> (Rectangle rx ry rw h, True)
+    TopW a i -> (Rectangle (ax a i) ry (nw i) h, True)
+    TopSize a i ch -> (Rectangle (ax a i) ry (nw i) (mh ch), True)
+    Bottom -> (Rectangle rx ny rw h, True)
+    BottomW a i -> (Rectangle (ax a i) ny (nw i) h, True)
+    BottomSize a i ch  -> (Rectangle (ax a i) (ny' ch) (nw i) (mh ch), True)
+    Static cx cy cw ch -> (Rectangle (fi cx) (fi cy) (fi cw) (fi ch), True)
+    OnScreen _ p'' -> setPosition p'' [scr] ht
+  where
+    (scr@(Rectangle rx ry rw rh), p') =
+      case p of OnScreen i x -> (fromMaybe (head rs) $ safeIndex i rs, x)
+                _ -> (head rs, p)
+    ny       = ry + fi (rh - ht)
+    center i = rx + fi (div (remwid i) 2)
+    right  i = rx + fi (remwid i)
+    remwid i = rw - pw (fi i)
+    ax L     = const rx
+    ax R     = right
+    ax C     = center
+    pw i     = rw * (min 100 i) `div` 100
+    nw       = fi . pw . fi
+    h        = fi ht
+    mh h'    = max (fi h') h
+    ny' h'   = ry + fi (rh - mh h')
+    safeIndex i = lookup i . zip [0..]
 
 setProperties :: Rectangle -> Config -> Display -> Window -> [Rectangle] -> IO ()
 setProperties r c d w srs = do
@@ -179,10 +182,17 @@
   a2 <- internAtom d "_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE"      False
   c2 <- internAtom d "ATOM"                     False
   v  <- internAtom d "_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DOCK" False
+  p  <- internAtom d "_NET_WM_PID"              False
+
+  setTextProperty d w "xmobar" wM_CLASS
+  setTextProperty d w "xmobar" wM_NAME
+
   changeProperty32 d w a1 c1 propModeReplace $ map fi $
     getStrutValues r (position c) (getRootWindowHeight srs)
   changeProperty32 d w a2 c2 propModeReplace [fromIntegral v]
 
+  getProcessID >>= changeProperty32 d w p c1 propModeReplace . return . fromIntegral
+
 getRootWindowHeight :: [Rectangle] -> Int
 getRootWindowHeight srs = foldr1 max (map getMaxScreenYCoord srs)
   where
@@ -217,21 +227,13 @@
           xe = xs + cw
 getStaticStrutValues _ _ = [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
 
-updateWin :: TVar String -> X ()
+updateWin :: TVar [String] -> X ()
 updateWin v = do
   xc <- ask
+  s <- io $ atomically $ readTVar v
   let (conf,rec) = (config &&& rect) xc
-      [lc,rc]    = if length (alignSep conf) == 2
-                   then alignSep conf
-                   else alignSep defaultConfig
-  i <- io $ atomically $ readTVar v
-  let def     = [i,[],[]]
-      [l,c,r] = case break (==lc) i of
-                  (le,_:re) -> case break (==rc) re of
-                                 (ce,_:ri) -> [le,ce,ri]
-                                 _         -> def
-                  _         -> def
-  ps <- io $ mapM (parseString conf) [l,c,r]
+      l:c:r:_ = s ++ repeat ""
+  ps <- io $ mapM (parseString conf) [l, c, r]
   drawInWin rec ps
 
 -- $print
@@ -265,18 +267,18 @@
     -- resync
     io $ sync       d True
 
-drawBorder :: Border -> Display -> Drawable -> GC -> Pixel -> Dimension
-           -> Dimension -> IO ()
+drawBorder :: Border -> Display -> Drawable -> GC -> Pixel
+              -> Dimension -> Dimension -> IO ()
 drawBorder b d p gc c wi ht =  case b of
   NoBorder -> return ()
   TopB       -> drawBorder (TopBM 0) d p gc c w h
   BottomB    -> drawBorder (BottomBM 0) d p gc c w h
   FullB      -> drawBorder (FullBM 0) d p gc c w h
   TopBM m    -> sf >> drawLine d p gc 0 (fi m) (fi w) 0
-  BottomBM m -> let rw = (fi h) - (fi m) in
+  BottomBM m -> let rw = fi h - fi m in
                  sf >> drawLine d p gc 0 rw (fi w) rw
-  FullBM m   -> let rm = fi m; mp = fi m in
-                 sf >> drawRectangle d p gc mp mp (w - rm) (h - rm)
+  FullBM m   -> let pad = 2 * fi m; mp = fi m in
+                 sf >> drawRectangle d p gc mp mp (w - pad) (h - pad)
   where sf = setForeground d gc c
         (w, h) = (wi - 1, ht - 1)
 
@@ -290,13 +292,13 @@
   let (conf,d)             = (config &&& display) r
       Rectangle _ _ wid ht = rect r
       totSLen              = foldr (\(_,_,len) -> (+) len) 0 sl
-      valign               = fi $ as + ds
+      valign               = (fi ht + fi (as + ds)) `div` 2 - 1
       remWidth             = fi wid - fi totSLen
       offset               = case a of
                                C -> (remWidth + offs) `div` 2
                                R -> remWidth
                                L -> offs
-      (fc,bc)              = case (break (==',') c) of
+      (fc,bc)              = case break (==',') c of
                                (f,',':b) -> (f, b           )
                                (f,    _) -> (f, bgColor conf)
   withColors d [bc] $ \[bc'] -> do
diff --git a/xmobar.cabal b/xmobar.cabal
--- a/xmobar.cabal
+++ b/xmobar.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name:               xmobar
-version:            0.12
+version:            0.13
 homepage:           http://projects.haskell.org/xmobar/
 bug-reports:        http://code.google.com/p/xmobar/issues
 synopsis:           A Minimalistic Text Based Status Bar
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@
 cabal-version:      >= 1.6
 build-type:         Simple
 
-data-files:         samples/xmobar.config
 extra-source-files: README, NEWS,
+                    samples/xmobar.config, samples/xmonadpropwrite.hs
                     samples/Plugins/helloworld.config,
                     samples/Plugins/HelloWorld.hs
 
@@ -53,6 +53,10 @@
   description: Includes all optional extensions.
   default: False
 
+flag with_alsa
+  description: Use alsa-mixer to get the volume from soundcards.
+  default: False
+
 executable xmobar
     hs-source-dirs:     src
     main-is:            Main.hs
@@ -65,7 +69,8 @@
       Plugins.Monitors.CoreTemp, Plugins.Monitors.CpuFreq,
       Plugins.Monitors.Cpu, Plugins.Monitors.Disk, Plugins.Monitors.Mem,
       Plugins.Monitors.MultiCpu, Plugins.Monitors.Net,
-      Plugins.Monitors.Swap, Plugins.Monitors.Thermal, Plugins.Monitors.Top,
+      Plugins.Monitors.Swap, Plugins.Monitors.Thermal,
+      Plugins.Monitors.ThermalZone, Plugins.Monitors.Top,
       Plugins.Monitors.Uptime, Plugins.Monitors.Weather
 
     ghc-prof-options:   -prof -auto-all
@@ -109,3 +114,8 @@
        build-depends: libmpd >= 0.5
        other-modules: Plugins.Monitors.MPD
        cpp-options: -DLIBMPD
+
+    if flag(with_alsa) || flag(all_extensions)
+       build-depends: alsa-mixer == 0.1.*
+       other-modules: Plugins.Monitors.Volume
+       cpp-options: -DALSA