A couple of days ago, I thought about writing down a few must have open source applications. If I would've written them down sooner, then this post would be contradicting it. Some of the items in that list isn't going to be found in this one.
Since my switch to Ubuntu, I have found it easy to live with it 100%. Why do I say so? Well, this is the only time in my computing life that I have completely banished the idea of being Windows-dependent. My work and home PC are now both in Ubuntu, and I have yet to please my sisters with this OS by giving them what they need from a desktop PC. Tough huh? 
Well, here goes the list:
- Firefox for browsing. Need I say more?? Ultimate browsing experience. Support for wide range of add-ons, skins, customizability and at the top of it all, developer friendly!!! (yay! it conforms to web standards
). But, on a side note, I also use Kazehakase Web Browser. Its not that I hate Konqueror or Opera or Galeon or Epiphany, etc.. but of all of them, Kazehakase is the simplest. It actually gives me more room for experimentation. So, when I'm not in Firefox, in using Kazehakase. Well, another thing worth mentioning, is getting IE for linux. This helps for development purposes, and sometimes also for browsing sites stupid enough to limit viewing only to IE users (I can name some, but rather won't). - Music is with utmost importance. Just can't live without Chillout/Lounge. So, Amarok gets to be in #2. It has quick plugin for Shoutcast stations that I love to listen to while working. I love its skins and ease of use.
- Knotes is also a great soft version of a handy dandy notebook. Whenever I need to doodle something or type away from thoughts or a phone call, its a quick one click at my taskbar, and I have an automatically saved note. Usually, I keep private stuffs there. No one will find files to snoop around.
- For programming, I use Geany. Surprisingly, I tried Screem, I tried gEdit, emacs, and even the popular Quanta Plus, before I settled with Geany. Screem was okay, although it was fat and had a lot of overhead. gEdit was too simple for programming use.. much like notepad for Windows. Emacs is kinda boring already, and Quanta Plus, it just keeps hanging! Geany on the other hand is very lightweight, supports a vast number of file types and even has a built-in terminal just like Kate. (I'm trying to do away with KDE desktop. I like GNome better). I also love to keep my codes in proper version, so I always have SVN in my localhost (does anybody still use CVS?).
- Ah, for the image lovers. digiKam and F-spot Photo Manager is cool enough, though I'm still trying to find something better for photo management. For now, I love both their support for tagging. F-spot, on the other hand has great export options that is still worth the tinkering. GIMP is also good as Adobe's Photoshop (even available for windows). Though the interface is not as good, it still serves more or less the same purpose and is good at doing so. Video players are essential too. For that, I use VLC player and the Totem Movie Player.
- Of course, who wouldn't live without bluetooth? Well, I know I can't. I always have Bluetooth File Sharing Server and OBEX Client at my startup session (along with Pidgin). This allows me to seamlessly send files to and fro my mobile. Tada! No need for filthy lengthly installations. Hehe..
- Chatting, yes, very essential. For my chatting needs, I stick with Pidgin, well you know how I feel about Pidgin already. No need to elaborate. Read it here. Skype also has a version for linux. I am usually online at Skype, YM, MSN and Gmail during office hours.
- Now, backup is always in the list of todos. And so, burning CDs and CD ripping comes to mind with this. I use k3b for burning different CD formats. Its very easy to use and has a good interface (although its KDE). I use grip, soundKonverter and kid3 for ripping needs. Check them out, they're all good, only the interface differs (just make sure you have the necessary libraries compiled before testing–LAME and other encoders).
- Though I don't write much documents, it still very mandatory to have OpenOffice. My sisters are basically cool with using this instead of the ever famous MS Office.
- For my final item, the helper applications. The deskbar is very efficient with searches, the desktop switcher, and the ever reliable fore quit button. The desktop switcher says pretty much what it does, but the real cool helper application is the force quit button. When any application suddenly freezes, just one click of this button and a click on the frozen app will clear that process. Of course, the other button helpers are essential too!