When you install a fresh new version of Ubuntu on your machine, is there a time when you find yourself scrolling through the entire list of all available applications to install?  Hoping to find something new that may make using your Linux system that much more easier, productive, or fun to use?

Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex’s default list of applications includes some nice new additions, some that are nice additions, but a long time coming.

Alarm Clock

I’ve been waiting for Alarm Clock for a long time, an alarm clock application like this built on Gnome libraries.  KAlarm has existed for a long time, but if you wanted to install that for Gnome you always had to install additional KDE libraries onto your system just so you could run that one application.  Alarm Clock is a simple alarm application that works.  For now it does lack some of KAlarms additional options, but still usable.

Install Alarm Clock

Teeworlds

I really got into Teeworlds during exam time.  Out of all the games available to Ubuntu users in the default repositories, TeeWorlds is the most fun game available.  Works well, high quality, and great for a study break.  As well, Teeworlds is a cross platform application that runs well on 32 or 64bit Linux, OSX, and Windows.

Install Teeworlds

Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak is not a repository install, but a must install app.  Tweak gives users access to system tools usually hidden (for some reason) in Gconf and makes it easy to tweak your system in a safe way.  Some of it’s features I think are notable are:

• Filtered Add/Remove packages with some of the better apps available
• Direct access to third party applications
• Direct access to third party sources (so you can continue to use the newer versions of software that won’t get updated in Ubuntu’s on repositories)
• Start up and Session controls
• Window Manager options
• Assign Scripts, Templates and Shortcuts
• System Management Tools

Specto

Specto is Ubuntu’s Growl. It doesn’t have nearly the amount of options or tie-ins with other desktop apps, and has it’s updates limited towards

• Website changes
• Email notifications
• File or Folder changes
• Process scanning
• Port scanning

It’s great that Ubuntu has it’s own application like this now, and people who have wanted an application similar to Growl can now use Specto and follow its development.

Linux.com pubilshed a feature about Specto earlier this year.

Install Specto

Mail Notification

Forget GMail-Notify, or CheckGmail.  Mail Notification is the app for universal mail notifications (Specto does have mail notification but I haven’t tested it yet).  Mail Notification offerts:

• Notification across multiple POP3, IMAP, or GMail accounts
• Custom sound options
• Custom actions
• Message Popup actions

Mail Notification is lightweight and disappears from the system tray until it notifies you of new mail.

Install Mail Notification

Tasque

Task Management at its most simple and direct.  Tasque has great integration with other desktop services, like Gnome Do, and it also has integration with Remember The Milk, which makes it a must have for any productive linux user.  Task synchronization with Remember The Milk can be better as sometimes it either won’t update, or it just doesn’t push changes up to RTM often enough.

Tasque was developed as part of Novell’s Hack Week earlier this year and was presented at Brainshare: Tasque at Novell Brainshare 2008

Install Tasque

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