Improving on Ubuntu

I think Ubuntu's great. Version 6.06 LTS was the first version of Linux that I could actually get comfortable with and want to use more than Windows. While it's good, there are still a few things about it I would improve from the getgo. I'm going to focus here on some of the default applications that are packaged with Ubuntu(Edgy and Dapper) and what I like to use instead.

Email

Ubuntu comes with Ximian Evolution out of the box. It tries to be an Outlook replacement but for me it's slow and clunky. I'm used to Mozilla Thunderbird in Windows so I prefer to use Thunderbird in Linux. I've even noticed that it's faster at downloading in Linux. Also, there are all those extensions to try out. Enigmail is one I'm fond of since I can use it to encrypt and sign my emails via OpenPGP when the need arises.

Instant Messenging and IRC

Sometimes I like to be on one or more instant messenging and chat networks. The fact that Xchat was configured to go straight to the #ubuntu room, made me feel at home in Ubuntu in a way that I've never felt with any program, let alone operating system. The defaults on install are Xchat and Gaim. I have no qualms with Xchat. It does what an IRC client should. Gaim, on the other hand, is a bit vanilla and there's no way I can use a webcam with it(at least with the version that ships with 6.06LTS). At the recommendation of an sflug member, I tried Kopete and was pleasantly surpised both with the glossy interface and the fact that I webcam over Yahoo!'s network.

Web browsing

Here's an area where Ubuntu comes with just what I want. Firefox. Unfortunately, if I click a link in Kopete or Xchat, anything but Firefox comes up, currently Quanta Plus since I just removed Epiphany. I'm sure there's some setting I can fix but I've not found it yet. If you've got any ideas, I'd love to hear your comments!

Web editing

Ubuntu comes with Nvu. While Nvu is capable, this guy is coming from Dreamweaver and wants something a little more full-featured. I've found Quanta Plus fits the bill nicely. It handles publishing files to the server easily, does syntax highlighting, and seems highly scriptable. If you need to do web editing, development, and design on Ubuntu, get Quanta Plus.

Conclusion

Even though it doesn't come with these apps by default, Ubuntu still trucks right. Just fire up Synaptic, select these packages, click Apply to get out on the Big Slab in your Ubuntu Bulldog.