Do the new

This is about some new(may be old to you) and cool softwares one need to switch to in ubuntu.

Shotwell

Shotwell is the default image viewer in Ubuntu10.10 . It is damn fast unlike the conventional eye-of-gnome(image viewer) which is the default one upto 10.04. In addition Shotwell has a photo-organiser and basic image editor built in it.

If you are using ubuntu 10.04 "sudo-apt get install shotwell " will do the work as it is included in Lucid Lynx repos.

If not one needs to add the repository "ppa:yorba/ppa" (sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yorba/ppa) and then install the package(sudo apt-get install)

FreeDc++/eiskaltdc++

These emerged as best alternatives to linuxdcpp which is a bit buggy and slow at times. FreeDc++ is all the same as linuxdcpp in looks except for the logos ,color schemes and images. Eiskaltdc++ has a very pleasing appearance and is pretty fast,

To install FreeDc++/eisklatdc++ add the repository "ppa:tehnick/tehnick" as mentioned above.

Then update the sources ("sudo apt-get update") and install it(sudo apt-get install freedcpp) .

Htop

Htop is an interactive process viewer like top with more functionality. I does everything what Gnome-system-monitor will do. Htop's interface is built in terminal and is good for terminal geeks.

It can be directly installed using "sudo apt-get install htop"

Kupfer/Gnome-do

Inspired by quick silver of mac . They(kupfer or gnome-do) can be used to open an application/file quickly by typing the first few words of the application/file.

They can be installed directly using sudo-apt

note: kupfer and gnome-do are 2 separate packages with similar functionality.

acroread

Its not very fast but it is better that the conventional evince in all aspects. I personally feel it is the best pdf reader for linux. It is owned by Adobe(needless to say). It supports multi tabs(it does not do that in MS windows).

ubuntu-tweak

It makes ubuntu more easy to beginners . I cant describe it any more . For more details visit www.ubuntu-tweak.com .

Crebs

It is a simple application which is used to create background slideshow. For more details visit this link .

Recently I've heard about Libre-office as an alternative to open-office. But I did not use it.I have no rights to comment about it or give a complement.

update:
Recently I came to know that there is a linux version of foxit reader. Though it has some issues it is far better than acroread and evince in terms of speed.
You can download the .deb file from this link . For more details visit this article in ubuntu geek. Note that the command for opening foxit reader(once you install it :P) is "FoxitReader"(without quotes and F,R are uppercase)