What are the most useful programs installed after setup of a vanilla Ubuntu? [closed]

Question

For me some of the following are a must have after I have installed Ubuntu.

Please add links. and a note if the program isn't free (as in freedom)

Update: Collecting all the packages listed below in the answers

Graphics
inkscape - vector based illustration tool
picasa - photo management (non-free)
Gimp - Raster based image editor
Alchemy - Funky little illustration tool
pinta - Paint program
ktoon - 2D animation tool
Dia - Draw diagrams
Fontforge - font editor

Office Tools
scribus - desktop publishing
Lyx - word-processor
Abiword - word processor
syncevolution - contacts * calendar syncing.

Media
guayadeque - music player with auto-playlists using last.fm
vlc - movie player
XBMC - media management
Exaile - media player
banshee - media player with ipod/android device support
spotify - needs wine. Internet media player (non-free)
foobnix - music player
clementine - music player based off Amarok
radio tray - applet to listen to online radio
bad/ugly gstreamer plugins
mplayer - media player
pithos - gnome applet for Pandora
pianobar - command line player for Pandora

Development
rapidSVN - GUI for subversion
ruby - scripting, fun!
python - scripting
subversion - version control
cscope - code browsing
ctags - code browsing
vim - my primary code editor
emacs - editor for some more nice tricks
ack - replacement for grep
geany - code editor
git - SCM
lamp-server - dev environment
build-essentials - Not worth compiling from source without this
rpm build - build rpms
MySQL Workbench
Meld - Diff & Merge
Eclipse/Eclipse CDL - IDE
JDK
gPHPedit
Code::Blocks - C++ IDE
Eric Python - Python IDE
smartsvn - subversion GUI frontend
netbeans - IDE
g++
powerpad
Qt designer - Designs GUIs using Qt
xCHM - Reads CHM help files.
Meld Diff Viewer - Compares differences in files
Gedit Plugins - Makes Gedit a great,stable programmer's editor

Internet
elinks - text based browsing
vpnc - connect to office over VPN
google chrome - web browser (non-free)
chromium - Web browser, free version of chrome
midori - web browser
pidgin - messenger/IRC client
multiget - download manager
filezilla - download manager
deluge - bittorent client
last.fm - client for last.fm website
skype - voice chat (non-free)
putty - terminal client
opera - web browser (non-free)
thunderbird - email client
epiphany - email client
zimbra desktop - email client
dropbox - free online storage and sync across desktop (non-free)
adobe air - internet application framework (non-free)
checkgmail - mail notification
davmail gateway - connect to MS Exchange using clients like thunderbird
Google Earth (non-free)
wireshark - network analysis tool
kismet - wireless analysis tool
gpodder - podcast downloader
gbittorrent - torrent client
GmailWatcher - notifications for gmail

Firefox plugins
vimperator - vim like shortcuts for firefox
tab mix plus - additional tab commands
colorful tabs - makes it easy to identify related tabs
fox clocks - world time
download statusbar - downloads in status bar
xmarks - sync bookmarks across PCs and browsers
ad block plus - block ads in web pages

Productivity
gnome-do - shortcuts for everything in ubuntu
docky - frontend for gnome-do
getting things gnome - task manager

System Configuration
Ubuntu tweak - install packages using this
Ubuntu restricted extras - restricted packages for ubuntu (non-free)

System Tools
wine - windows emulator
virtualbox - OS virtualization
remmina - remote desktop client
crash plan - system backup (local/online, personal/commercial)
burg - boot loader based off GRUB
htop - system resources viewer
AWN - Avant Window Manager
truecrypt - encryption
synergy - Share mouse & keyboard with another PC
ailurus - tweak Ubuntu for newcomers
unetbootin - create bootable USB drives
Bootup Manager - manage boot scripts and services

Accessories
screenlets - desktop plugins
recordmydesktop
terminator - terminal client supporting split windows
caffeine - prevent screensavers and sleep mode
easystroke - gesture recognition application
zotero - collect, manage, cite and share research sources online
byobu - makes GNU screen more useful
keepassx - password management
screen - keep sessions alive
guake - terminal
work rave - prevent RSI, take breaks
mousepad - an editor that loads faster than Gedit

A lot more of these are listed on one of my older blog post, however I am only listing the most frequently used ones here. What works for you? Please list the name and category for the program, as well as what you use it for. I have made this a community wiki.

Answer 1

Media

• VLC

Graphics

• Gimp

• Shutter (Screenshot tool)

Internet

• Chromium

• Filezilla

• Pino (Twitter client, I don't like Gwibber)

System

• Restricted Extras

• Ubuntu Tweak

• Virtualbox

Development

• Eclipse

Answer 2

Development

geany - My code editor of choice

git - My SCM of choice

lamp-server - My dev environment of choice

build-essential - Not worth compiling from source without this

rpm build - yes I build RPMs on my Ubuntu Installs from time to time.

MySQL Workbench - Love this tool

Productivity

gnome-do

Internets

Google Chrome

Midori

Cisco VPN Client

That's basically the Jist of it.

Answer 3

KeePassX -- password keeper, use it on every system I touch (KeePass for windows boxes)

CrashPlan -- Backups are good. Online + local + offsite backups are better.

Answer 4

Dropbox, Docky, Filezilla, EasyStroke, Deluge, Banshee, Last.fm, Skype, PuTTY, Opera and Caffeine.

Much of my config stuff is stored in dropbox too, so I always drop that in first.

Answer 5

Productivity:

Htop -- Interactive process viewer

GNU Screen or Byobu -- Allows for virtual terminals

AWN (Avant Window Manger) -- My personal choice over Docky/Cairo

Entertainment:

Clementine -- Very nice Music player based off of Amarok

Radio Tray -- The name says it all

Misc:

Burg

That's all I got for now.

Answer 6

nautilus-open-terminal

Allows you to open a terminal window at any arbitrary point in the filesystem.

sudo aptitude install nautilus-open-terminal

Answer 7

What? Nobody's mentioned Guake? Unpossible!

Guake is fantastic - it's like a normal terminal, except that you bind a key (such as F12) to show/hide it. It lives at the top of your X display and has the same content across all desktops. With snazzy transparency and configurable key bindings it has changed how I use terminals.

Answer 8

I am completely amazed by Synergy.

I highly recommend installing that if you have another PC close by.

Answer 9

Media

XBMC

Organizes all of my Shows/Movies into an easy to use, very nice looking library. I don't know how I would watch videos now without it.

Answer 10

Systems
Gnome-Do
Ubuntu Tweak (followed by lots of repos and apps I get from it)
restricted extras
Development
Meld
Eclipse
LAMP server
JDK
Internet
Filezilla
Chrome

Answer 11

I use Remmina to remote control my parents Ubuntu - Remmina has a nice GUI that allows me specify the number of colors, which is important because my parents are in a different country and using more than 256 colors means the performance is terrible. Out of all the remote control clients I tried, Remmina was the only one that put the color option right in my face (didn't have to read a manual).

http://remmina.sourceforge.net/screenshots.shtml

Answer 12

Development: Eclipse, Eclipse CDL (for C++), Python

Entertainment: Ubuntu-Restricted-Extras, VLC, Exaile

Graphics: KToon, Scribus

Business: Zimbra Desktop

Internet: Pidgin

Answer 13

Internet

Google Chrome
FileZilla
Pidgin
Deluge (Torrent Client)

Development

LAMP
gPHPEdit
Code::Blocks
Eric Phyton

Media

Vlc player
gtk - RecordMyDesktop

Graphics

Gimp

Accessories

Gnome Do
Virtual Box
Screenlets
Wine -> Because some people just don't get it!

Answer 14

Thunderbird for my email

Pidgin for chat and irc

GnomeDo

Skype

Wine, then Spotify

Answer 15

checkgmail, adobe air, terminator, pinta, multiget, netbeans, smartsvn,

Answer 16

Dropbox; Truecrypt; Zotero (which requires installing Sun Java at the mo); Gnome-Do; Davmail; GIMP.

Answer 17

Unison

For keeping my laptops in sync with my desktop at home over SSH.

Answer 18

Miro (http://www.getmiro.com). I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but I love it to watch all kinds of media files, subscribe to audio/video podcasts, download torrents and content off YouTube. It's also available for other platforms (Win, Mac) so it's one of those pieces of software that you can suggest to non-Linux users.

Answer 19

I'd also add boxee (boxee.tv), in my opinion the best Media Center software available.
And I like joe (text editor).

Oh, and don't forget the StackApplet ;) (https://launchpad.net/stackapplet/+download)

Answer 20

Pidgin.

Because it's the best open source multi-service IM client for Linux in my opinion.

Answer 21

I know this doesnt fall under the category of applications persay,

But how about bash functions and aliases,

They always the first thing I set up...

aliases to ssh to servers etc...

A terminal working to my liking is what I need from the off

Answer 22

• Productivity
  • vim-nox - Best editor ever!
  • screen - Keep the terminal open even if you loose connection.
  • syncevolution - contacts+calender syncing
  • inkscape - vector graphics editor
  • gimp - bitmap editor
  • fontforge - font editor
  • dropbox - files in the cloud
  • wireshark - Network analysis tool
  • kismet - Wireless analysis tool
• Entertainment
  • Flash + Flash blocker plug-in
  • mplayer-nox - cli mediaplayer
  • gpodder - podcast downloader
  • ubuntu-restricted-extras - codecs

Answer 23

Gotta get Pithos if you're a Pandora Internet Radio lover. Unlimited song skips + GUI with no flash!

Edit:
Should look into F.lux. Articles can explain it better than I can.
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/07/flux-natural-lighting-for-ubuntu-gets.html

Answer 24

Here is what I use on my Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04. Before being able to add/remove applets from the Gnome Panel, you'll need this fix.

Accessories

DockBarX - to replace the crappy window picker applet that comes with UNE. DockBarX is an amazing window switcher applet which works with the Gnome Panel and AWN, supports themes, window previews and much more (think of the Windows 7 taskbar) (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~dockbar-main/+archive/ppa)

Window Applets - also required to replace the window picker applet, Window Applets allows you to place the minimize, maximize and close buttons wherever you want on the GNOME panel. (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~tsbarnes/+archive/misc/)

Global Menu - for removing the menu from the application windows and placing it on the top panel (window title included) - more screen real-estate. (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~globalmenu-team/+archive/ppa)

GnoMenu - if you want to use a normal menu in the Ubuntu Netbook Edition, I suggest GnoMenu with the BlueSmall theme - you'll get a tiny menu, perfect for small screens. Alternatively, you can also try Cardapio.

Internet

Chromium - there's nothing like Chromium on a netbook, amazing speed and also great for gaining a few pixels in screen height. (Install it from the official repositories or for the latest bleeding edge version: https://launchpad.net/~chromium-daily/+archive/ppa)

Office

Zoho Webservice - online office suite that works in your browser (install: sudo apt-get install webservice-office-zoho)

Media

Deadbeef amazing lightweight ye powerful music player (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~alexey-smirnov/+archive/deadbeef)

Gnome Media Player - it can play anything and you can use different engines if you don't like how one is behaving. It supports the VLC, Xine and Gstreamer engines. (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~gnome-media-player-development/+archive/development)

Minitube - Youtube without Flash. (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~nilarimogard/+archive/webupd8)

System tools

There are 2 great tools for getting the most out of the netbook battery life:

Jupiter - can be used to switch between maximum and high performance and power saving mode, change the resolution and orientation, enable or disable the bluetooth, touchpad, WiFi and so on. But most importantly it allows your Eeepc netbook to take advantage of SHE (Super Hybrid Engine). (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~webupd8team/+archive/jupiter)

Battery Status - shows information about laptop battery state. It comes with a lot of additional features as compared to Gnome Power Manager, so usual icon of GNOME Power Manager can be removed from Notification/Indicator Area. (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~iaz/+archive/battery-status)

Powertop - a must to get even more battery life (install: sudo apt-get install powertop )

Other

Nautilus Elementary can be tweaked to get a lot more screen real-estate and unclutter the default Nautilus. (PPA: https://launchpad.net/~am-monkeyd/+archive/nautilus-elementary-ppa)

Syndaemon - an utility which automatically disables the touchpad while typing. Start it with: syndaemon -i 4 -d (or use "man syndaemon" to see how to tweak it).

Answer 25

NVClock (NVClock is a small utility that allows users to overclock NVIDIA based video cards running on the Linux platform)

Answer 26

Chromium/Chrome, GIMP, Python, Subversion, Skype, a Gmail Notifier thinger, VLC, Eclipse...

And compiz config, of course.

I'm missing a few. I still have to get my hands on a few things. And I still have to work on that neverending search to find a good music player. And put together just the right development environment. Ugh, I miss Dreamweaver. And Windows. You know, just for the software--it really is a lame operating system compared to Ubuntu.

Answer 27

Programming:

Bluefish Editor

Sure beats the pants off of writing code with a text editor, no matter how many plugins you stack on top of it.

If someone has something better than this, please by all means correct me - I just discovered this today, and can't believe I've been doing HTML/PHP without it.

Answer 28

Here's Mine:

Internet:

• Chrome
• Firefox (Used rarely as a backup)
• Transmission (Easy, simple torrent client)
• Dropbox

Graphics:

• GIMP
• Dia

Development:

• Arduino (For programming microcontrollers)
• MonoDevelop (C# development)
• gedit with the gedit-plugins pack (disabling the file browser pane makes gedit the lightest snappiest text editor I've used yet, the plugins make it great for coding)
• Wireshark (I do some low level network programming stuff)

Misc:

• Calculator
• Dictionary
• Cairo Dock

Note: uTorrent is coming to linux. So far they only have a command line interface but they're working on the GUI. Once it is released with the GUI I'll be switching to that for my torrent needs.

Answer 29

General Interest
Google Earth - They actually make a reasonable binary for Linux.

Interopability
Wine - Because some companies just haven't learned yet... (Is wine stock now? It's been a while since I installed Ubuntu from scratch)

Answer 30

Google Chrome, Pidgin, VLC, Eclipse

The rest depends on what I need to do when I install a new version (on one of my computer it's about once every three months, just to test distributions).