Install essential softwares in Ubuntu

Ubuntu 11.04 comes with a lot of default softwares but there are certain other really essential softwares that you may like to install. You can choose them from the Ubuntu Software Center or install it through the terminal.

The names of the essential softwares, a brief review and the installation codes are provided below:

1. VLC Media Player: The best media player available and much better than default Movie Player available. You can install it by:
   1. sudo apt-get install vlc
2. Codecs: Along with VLC installing a few important codecs would help to run variety of media files. You can download the common codecs using the following command:
   1. sudo apt-get install non-free-codecs libxine1-ffmpeg gxine mencoder libmpcdec3 libquicktime1 flac faac faad sox ffmpeg2theora libmpeg2-4 uudeview flac libmpeg3-1 mpeg3-utils mpegdemux liba52-dev 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
3. Anti-Virus: Simply put, in Linux you don't need an anti-virus. But, you don't want to send your friends using Windows files loaded with virus, do you? So, it's better to be safe than sorry. I found ClamAV free and without any hassles. It doesn't slow down your CPU and is more than enough potent to eliminate all viruses. You can install it by:
   1. sudo apt-get install clamav clamtk
4. Java runtime environment: Java is absolutely essential to take the full pleasure of Internet. You can install it by:
   1. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ferramroberto/java && sudo apt-get update
   2. sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-fonts
5. Google chrome: The default browser for Ubuntu is Firefox and it is pathetic at best. It won't load bookmarks and would hang often. So the best option is to install chrome, a far lighter browser and offers good netspeed. You can install it by:
   1. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/stable && sudo apt-get update
   2. sudo apt-get install chromium-browser chromium-browser-l10n
6. Unzip software: It is the windows equivalent of Winzip and Winrar. You can install it by:
   1. sudo apt-get install unace rar unrar zip unzip p7zip-full p7zip-rar sharutils uudeview mpack lha arj cabextract file-roller
7. Download manager: Good to have for large downloads. You can install it by:
   1. sudo apt-get install multiget
8. Skype: To make video calls. You can install it by:
   1. sudo apt-get install skype
9. Unity 2D: Now in my computer, Unity 3D is a big mess. So, if you are facing problems with Unity 3D like me, you can download Unity 2D using the following commands:
   1. sudo apt-get update
   2. sudo apt-get install unity-2d
10. Openshot video editor: It is perhaps the best video editor available for Linux. You can install it by the following commands:
    1. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jonoomph/openshot-edge
    2. sudo apt-get update
    3. sudo apt-get install openshot openshot-doc
11. Pidgin IM: It is an IM combo of most of the chat IM's like Yahoo, MSN, etc. You can download it by:
    1. sudo apt-get install pidgin
12. Cheese Webcam Booth: Further, you may like to install Cheese Webcam Booth as there is no default webcam application in Ubuntu. I found Cheese good, and it can be installed by:
1. sudo apt-get install cheese
13. More to follow ....

I'll add more to the list in future.

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