To Do List After installing Ubuntu 11.10 aka Oneiric Ocelot

Oneiric Ocelot, that’s the new Ubuntu version we would be using for the next 6 months. It has, as always, improved and it’s better than its predecessors. It has a lot more UI work and it will please those coming from Mac OS. The Ubuntu font is getting better and I really like it and using it as my default everywhere on my system. It’s more and more “search and enter/click” than “click, click, click…”. With the latest developments in how we actually use things these days, it’s the right path. In a few years, the way we currently view our file structure would become old school. In Oneiric Ocelot, this idea has been pushed to all parts where all applications that have about the same purpose are put together for easy access. So let’s check what’s new in a fresh installation.
Top menu bar
the settings menu now include display settings, startup applications, attached devices, systems settings and the usual shutdown menu items. Those menu items are the ones we usually need when trying to customize the OS, so it makes sense to give easy access to them.
the system settings menu item brings you a dialog where all settings icons are in one place, again nice easy access to everything about settings.
Software Center
The software center basically the Ubuntu app store has got even better. Better categorisation rating, what’s new… It now has the ability, through Oneconf, to sync installed applications between computers which is awesome. You can now have the same set of applications on all your desktop/notebook setups.
Now the followings could be done by using the Ubuntu Software Center, but if you’re like me and like to see what’s behind all the magic “click click click”, follow along.
First let’s get backed up by more repositories, bring up the dashboard and type “terminal” which shows you the terminal icon for u to launch it. Then manually edit your sources list with:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
you can replace its contents with mine  :)
Get your system up to date with :
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Now that all your current programs are on their latest version, let’s install some useful stuff:
– Anti-Virus
Ubuntu is getting popular so it might be getting some nasty shit along. so be a little carefull with some antivirus :

Windows equivalent : AVG AntiVirus, NAV, TrendMicro, F-Prot, Kaspersky, …
Ubuntu equivalent : ClamAV, Avast
ClamAV
sudo apt-get install clamav clamtk
Avast
wget http://files.avast.com/files/linux/avast4workstation_1.3.0-2_i386.deb && sudo dpkg -i avast4workstation_1.3.0-2_i386.deb
– Essential tools for compiling from sources
some applications aren’t available in repositories. so you’ll have to compile them from sources. for that you’ll need to install some tools:
sudo apt-get install build-essential checkinstall cdbs devscripts dh-make fakeroot libxml-parser-perl check avahi-daemon
– Java runtime environment
As a commenter IanW noted the current java in the archives repos are outdated. to get the latest version head over to the Java site…here: http://www.java.com/en/ where you can test you installation to find out what you have loaded and get the new version for 32 or 64bit OS’s. It has to be manually installed. Instructions here: http://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/java




– Multimedia
Windows equivalent : windows media player, real player, vlc, mplayer
Ubuntu equivalent : vlc, mplayer, helix player
To have Ubuntu playing all kinds of stuff, you need to install many codecs. So on the Terminal, type:
* Installing vlc and mplayer (plays almost everything):
sudo apt-get install vlc mplayer
* Common packs
sudo apt-get install libxine1-ffmpeg gxine mencoder mpeg2dec vorbis-tools id3v2 mpg321 mpg123 libflac++6 ffmpeg libmp4v2-0 totem-mozilla icedax tagtool easytag id3tool lame nautilus-script-audio-convert libmad0 libjpeg-progs libquicktime1 flac faac faad sox ffmpeg2theora libmpeg2-4 uudeview flac libmpeg3-1 mpeg3-utils mpegdemux liba52-0.7.4-dev gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3 gstreamer0.10-gnonlin gstreamer0.10-sdl gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-schroedinger gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly totem-gstreamer gstreamer-dbus-media-service gstreamer-tools ubuntu-restricted-extras
* Enable dvd support
sudo apt-get install libdvdread4 && sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/./install-css.sh
* Flash
sudo apt-get install gsfonts gsfonts-x11 flashplugin-installer
– Missing Windows software?? Run Windows softwares in Linux!!!
Run Windows Applications such as 7zip, Google Sketchup, AutoCAD, Dreamwaver, Flash MX, Fireworks MX, IE6, IE7, Safari, Itunes, Windows Media Player and many more…
Play Windows Games in Linux like Age Of Empires, Call Of Duty, Diablo, Fear, Fallout, Far Cry, Grand Theft Auto, Half Life, Halo, Hitman, Max Payne, Need For Speed, Prince Of Persia, Sim City Star Wars, The Simsworld of warcraft , Tomb Raider, Warcraft, World Of Warcraft, Counterstrike and many other can be played.
Install Playonlinux. It’s based on wine. Wine is a compatibility layer for running Windows programs in Linux.
Add the launchpad repositories
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa && sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install wine playonlinux
– Archiver/ Packing software
Windows equivalent : winrar, zip, 7zip
Ubuntu equivalent : tar, unrar, p7zip, arj, unace
It’s bad when you don’t have Internet on your computer/notebook, but you have to pack/unpack something but the file format isn’t recognized by the system. To prevent from this bad situation, you can install a bunch of packing software by typing this on the terminal:
sudo apt-get install unace rar unrar zip unzip p7zip-full p7zip-rar sharutils uudeview mpack lha arj cabextract file-roller
– Graphical web browser
Windows equivalent : Internet explorer, firefox
Ubuntu equivalent : Firefox, chromium
Firefox (installed by default oneiric)
sudo apt-get install firefox
Chromium (open source equivalent of Google Chrome)
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser chromium-browser-l10n chromium-codecs-ffmpeg
– Download Manager
Windows equivalent : Free download manager
Ubuntu equivalent : Multiget
MultiGet is a http/ftp downloader with a nice GUI for Linux desktop users. It can run on almost all desktops without any configuration. It has many powerful functions comparing to others.
sudo apt-get install multiget
– Graphical Email client
Windows equivalent : Outlook
Ubuntu equivalent : Evolution, Thunderbird
Evolution 
sudo apt-get install evolution evolution-mapi
Thunderbird
sudo apt-get install thunderbird
– Instant Messanging protocal clients
Windows equivalent : MSN messenger, Yahoo messenger, QQ, AIM, Gtalk, ICQ,IRC
Ubuntu equivalent : Empathy, Pidgin, emesene
Empathy IM Client (installed by default)
Add the related launchpad repository :
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:telepathy/ppa && sudo apt-get update
Then install it by running the following :
sudo apt-get install empathy telepathy-mission-control-5 telepathy-gabble telepathy-butterfly telepathy-haze telepathy-idle telepathy-salut telepathy-sofiasip libtelepathy-farsight0 python-tpfarsight galago-eds-feed python-galago python-galago-gtk msn-pecan
Pidgin
Pidgin is an easy to use and free chat client used by millions. Connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and more chat networks all at once. Supported chat networks: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, MySpaceIM, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo!, Zephyr
sudo apt-get install pidgin pidgin-data pidgin-lastfm pidgin-guifications msn-pecan pidgin-musictracker pidgin-plugin-pack pidgin-themes
Emesene only for MSN Messenger.
sudo apt-get install emesene
– VOIP
Windows equivalent : skype
Ubuntu equivalent : skype
Skype
sudo apt-get install skype
– Viewing PDF files
Windows equivalent : Adobe Reader
Ubuntu equivalent : Adobe Reader
Adobe Reader
sudo apt-get install acroread
– Adobe Air
wget http://airdownload.adobe.com/air/lin/download/latest/AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
chmod +x ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
sudo ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
– Music / MP3 / OGG Players
Windows equivalent : iTunes, Winamp
Ubuntu equivalent : Rhythmbox, Banshee, Amarok
Rhythmbox
sudo apt-get install rhythmbox
Banshee
sudo apt-get install banshee banshee-extension-ubuntuonemusicstore banshee-extension-appindicator banshee-extension-lyrics banshee-extension-mirage
Amarok
sudo apt-get install amarok amarok-common
– Vector Graphics Editor
Windows equivalent : Adobe Illustrator
Ubuntu equivalent : Inkscape
Inkscape
sudo apt-get install inkscape
– Image Editor
Windows equivalent : Adobe Photoshop, Paint.Net
Ubuntu equivalent : GIMP
GIMP
sudo apt-get install gimp gimp-data gimp-plugin-registry gimp-data-extras
Pinta
sudo apt-get install pinta
– 3D Graphics Applications
Windows equivalent : 3D Studio MAX
Ubuntu equivalent : Blender
Blender
sudo apt-get install blender
– Simple Yet Advanced Text Editor
Windows equivalent : Notepad ++
Ubuntu equivalent : GEdit
GEdit
sudo apt-get install gedit gedit-plugins gedit-developer-plugins
– Office Applications
Windows equivalent : Microsoft Office
Ubuntu equivalent : LibreOffice
LibreOffice
Add the launchpad repository :
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa && sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libreoffice libreoffice-pdfimport libreoffice-math libreoffice-wiki-publisher libreoffice-report-builder libreoffice-gnome
– Microsoft Visio
Windows equivalent : Microsoft Visio
Ubuntu equivalent : Dia
Dia
sudo apt-get install dia
– Microsoft Project
Windows equivalent : Microsoft Project
Ubuntu equivalent : OpenProj
OpenProj
wget http://nchc.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/openproj/openproj_1.4-2.deb && sudo dpkg -i openproj_1.4-2.deb
– Development IDE
Windows equivalent : Dreamweaver
Ubuntu equivalent : Quanta, Kompozer, NetBeans
Quanta
sudo apt-get install quanta
Komposer
sudo apt-get install kompozer
NetBeans
sudo apt-get install netbeans
- Source Control Management
Windows equivalent : TortoiseSVN
Ubuntu equivalent : RabbitVCS
RabbitVCS
Then install it :
sudo apt-get install rabbitvcs-cli rabbitvcs-gedit rabbitvcs-nautilus
killall nautilus
Right Click on any folder or file and access the RabbitVCS submenu
– Graphical FTP clients
Windows equivalent : CuteFTP, SmartFTP
Ubuntu equivalent : FileZilla
FileZilla
This is great FTP program, very complete, in my opinion, the best one for linux.
On the terminal type:
sudo apt-get install filezilla filezilla-common
– P2P Clients / Servers, File Sharing
Windows equivalent : utorrent, azureus, emule
Ubuntu equivalent : Deluge, azureus, amule
Bittorent clients
Deluge
Then install it :
sudo apt-get install deluge-torrent
Azureus: Uses Java to run, very complete but a bit heavy
sudo apt-get install azureus
Emule Donkey Clients
Amule
sudo apt-get install amule
– Programs for CD burning with GUI
Windows equivalent : Nero, Roxio Easy CD Creator
Ubuntu equivalent : K3b, Brasero
K3b
Nero is available for Linux,but it’s not free.A trial is available for 1 month usage and later it asks or activation code.But K3B is as good as Nero.Have a good feature set as Nero.
sudo apt-get install k3b k3b-data libk3b6
Brasero 
sudo apt-get install brasero
– Photo Management
Google Picasa
Google Picasa is a professional good-looking photo management application available on Windows ,Linux and Mac OS. Now Google Picasa has a number of features that many photo management software on Linux don’t have further Google Picasa looks very user-friendly as compared to similar open source application available on Linux . Now Google Picasa for Linux is not a native Linux application but runs on Linux thru application layer called wine which allows many windows application to run flawlessly on Linux.
Now to install Google – Picasa type the following command in the terminal window
wget http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/pool/non-free/p/picasa/picasa_3.0-current_i386.deb && sudo dpkg -i picasa_3.0-current_i386.deb
if you’re using 64 bit OS, replace “picasa_3.0-current_i386.deb” with “picasa_3.0-current_amd64.deb”
– Map Viewing and Management
Google Earth
To install Google Earth type the following command in the Terminal Window.
sudo apt-get install googleearth-package
After downloading is over you will get a screen like this press ¨Yes¨ to accept the license agreement and complete software installation.
– Configure Firewall
If you are concerned about your security, then it is pertinent that you activate the firewall and prevent any unauthorized access to your computer.
UFW is installed by default, but if you need a graphical interface, install GUFW.
sudo apt-get install gufw
– Ubuntu Tweak
Ubuntu Tweak allows you to tweak your system settings, all in one place. You can install new applications, customize your desktop settings, configure your startup applications, changing the system file type association and many more tweaks in this single application.
Add the launchpad repository :
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-tweak-testing/ppa && sudo apt-get update
Then install it with the following command :
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak
App Runner
App Runner is a small open source utility that makes it very easy to run any type of program/executable/script on any distro/OS that uses the nautilus file manager: Debian/Ubuntu/Super OS/Fedora/etc
wget http://hacktolive.org/files/downloads/app-runner/app-runner-0.5.2.deb && sudo dpkg -i app-runner-0.5.2.deb
Then right-click the file -> Scripts -> Run This App or Run This App (root)