Activity Log Manager is a graphical user interface which lets you easily control what gets logged by Zeitgeist.
It supports setting up blacklists according to several criteria (such as application or file types), temporarily stopping all logging as well as deleting recent events/documents.
It is now included with Ubuntu 12.04 by default. To access it, open your System Settings (from the Dash.)
Click on the Privacy icon!

Earlier this year the people managing the PPA for the latest version of Chromium (the open source version of Google Chrome) suddenly stopped updating the packages after version 18 was released. As of this post, Chromium has reached version 21 and is still improving via its rapid release cycle. Tobias Wolf has decided to pick up the process again with a new PPA!

Note: If you already had Chromium installed then you should run sudo apt-get upgrade instead of sudo apt-get install chromium-browser.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:towolf/crack
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

Clementine

Clementine is a multiplatform music player. It is inspired by Amarok 1.4, focusing on a fast and easy-to-use interface for searching and playing your music.
sudo apt-get install clementine

You can now also get a Unity music lens/scope for Clementine by getting it from the following PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:markjtully/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install clementine-scope

Notes: You will have to log out before the scope will work. Also, the Clementine scope currently does not show album art. (Which is a bummer..)

If you enjoy this music player, perhaps you’ll want to remove Banshee and its music lens.
sudo apt-get remove banshee
Source 1: Clementine Home Page

Source 2: Clementine Scope

There are a few ways to get Flash Player working in Ubuntu, but this seems to be the easiest method. This should automatically configure Flash for Firefox and all other browsers.

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer

Note: Flash should also be available by installing the Ubuntu Restricted Extras.

GIMP 2.8

GIMP 2.8 has finally been released! It features the long-awaited Single-Window mode.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gimp
Source

Gnome Tweak Tool (Change Theme, Font, and Icons)

The option to change your font and icons was removed in Ubuntu 11.10 for whatever reason. There is a tool that can get the job done for you (and a lot more advanced options.)

Note: This now also installs Gnome-Shell and Gnome Classic.
sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool
Note: This program will be called „Advanced Settings“ in your menu/dash,

Gnote

Tomboy was removed from Ubuntu 12.04’s pre-installed applications because it used the outdated Mono library. Gnote is an improved port of Tomboy written in c++!

sudo apt-get install gnote

IPblock

IPblock is software similar to PeerGuardian or PeerBlock. It blocks certain lists of IP addressess from accessing your computer.

First we’re going to download the file from SourceForge
wget -O ~/Downloads/iplist.deb http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/iplist/iplist/0.29/
iplist_0.29-1~squeeze_amd64.deb?r=http%3A%2F%2Fsourceforge.net%2Fprojects%2Fiplist%2Ffiles%2Fiplist%2F0.29%2F&ts=1336280283&use_mirror=superb-dca2

Next get the dependency and then install it
sudo apt-get install libnetfilter-queue1
sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/iplist.deb

Source

Minecraft FIX!

Due to Java 7 being the default java install in Ubuntu 12.04, and a few other details, we need to manually update Minecraft’s lwjgl files.

It’s quite a few steps, but here’s the simplest way to do everything from the terminal

Install OpenJDK 7 if you don’t already have it

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

Next need to login and run Minecraft at least once so it gets a full ~/.minecraft directory. If it tries to launch but you just see a grey screen, then you need to follow the next steps.

Let’s grab the lwjgl library from SourceForge.

wget -O ~/Downloads/lwjgl-2.8.3.zip http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/java-game-lib/Official%20Releases/LWJGL%202.8.3/lwjgl-2.8.3.zip?r=http%3A%2F%2Fsourceforge.net%2Fprojects%2Fjava-game-lib%2Ffiles%2FOfficial%2520Releases%2FLWJGL%25202.8.3%2F&ts=1336277720&use_mirror=softlayer

Wait for all that text to stop moving and say something about „saved“ and then close that terminal window/tab.

This next terminal command is a combination of commands I’ve put together that will do the entire process of unzipping and updating for you.

cd ~/Downloads; unzip lwjgl-2.8.3.zip; cd lwjgl-2.8.3; cp -r native/linux/* ~/.minecraft/bin/natives/; cp jar/lwjgl.jar ~/.minecraft/bin/;cp jar/jinput.jar ~/.minecraft/bin/;cp jar/lwjgl_util.jar ~/.minecraft/bin/; echo Done!

Notes:

• This also fixes the bug where you might start running and not be able to stop!
• You shouldn’t have to do this once Minecraft 1.3 comes out.
• If you play Tekkit instead, replace all .minecraft text with .techniclauncher/tekkit in the code above.
• If you play Technic, replace all .minecraft text with .techniclauncher/technicssp in the code above.

Minitube

Minitube is a neat application designed to search, browse, and download any YouTube video.

sudo apt-get install minitube

Nemo (Nautilus Replacement)

Nautilus 3.6 is removing much loved features, and will not be included in Ubuntu 12.10 or the new Linux Mint. The developers of Mint have decided to fork Nautilus 3.4 to keep all the features in, and start developing their own file manager. It’s still at a very early stage, but is already proving itself to be far superior to Nautilus by fixing a lot of long-term bugs and improving usability.

We suggest that you read the source article to get much more information (like the new features) on this program before you try it out. Remember, it’s still in a very early stage.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-nightly
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nemo

Source

Steadyflow

Steadyflow is a download manager that aims for minimalism, ease of use, and a clean, malleable codebase. It should be easy to control, whether from the GUI, command line, or D-Bus.

sudo apt-get install steadyflow

Source

Synaptic Package Manager

Synaptic is no longer included in Ubuntu by default. It’s easy to get it back. This is a program only suggested for advanced users.

sudo apt-get install synaptic

TrueCrypt

TrueCrypt is a program used to create encrypted partitions or virtual encrypted disks. It is recommended for advanced users only. Choose whether to install the 32 or 64 bit version. If you are unsure, go with the 32 bit.

32-Bit

cd ~/Downloads; wget http://www.truecrypt.org/download/truecrypt-7.1a-linux-x86.tar.gz; tar -zxvf truecrypt*.gz; ./truecrypt*86

64-Bit

cd ~/Downloads; wget http://www.truecrypt.org/download/truecrypt-7.1a-linux-x64.tar.gz; tar -zxvf truecrypt*.gz; ./truecrypt*64

Click install and you’re done!

Source

Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak is a very useful application that allows you to easily configure many different parts of Ubuntu without having to deal with the terminal or gconf.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa 
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak

Source

Wallch (Wallpaper Slideshow)

Ubuntu has come with a few wallpaper slideshows by default, but never allowed you to create your own. There used to be a few different programs to accomplish this with prior versions of Ubuntu, but now Wallch seems like the only option we currently have.

sudo apt-get install wallch

Open Wallch and click on Add or Add Folder to add the images that you want it to slide through, and then choose a timing selection. Press start and it will begin the slideshow.

Wallch must be opened for it to run the slideshow. If you would like it to run in the background once you’ve set your initial settings: Open the program „Startup Applications“ and then click Add.

Name: Wallch
Command: wallch –constant

XScreenSaver

Note: This can get a little complicating. If you’d like to follow pictures then I’d suggest following the Source article.

Also: You will no longer be able to use the „Lock Screen“ button in the system menu. You’ll have to use the keyboard shortcut (which by default is Ctrl+Alt+L.) The final step of this section teaches you how to set XScreenSaver as the default shortcut.

Gnome 3 removed screensavers a while ago, and Ubuntu inherited the change. While a lot of people may not mind, there are some people that just love screensavers! While there are a few choices to get them back: XScreenSaver is the easiest and most reliable.

First we need to remove Gnome’s screensaver package. After that we’ll install XScreenSaver and some extra packages.

sudo apt-get remove gnome-screensaver
sudo apt-get install xscreensaver xscreensaver-data-extra xscreensaver-gl-extra

You’ll now have a program called „Screensaver“ in your Dash or wherever you see your applications.

Next, we need to add XScreenSaver to your Startup Applications so it actually functions.

Open the program Startup Applications and click Add and input the following into the boxes:
Name: XScreenSaver
Command: xscreensaver -nosplash

One last thing. While this is optional, it is highly recommended. We need to set the keyboard shortcut for locking the screen to use XScreenSaver.

Open the program called Keyboard and select Shortcuts

Click on the little + icon in the box below and input the following into the boxes and then click Apply:
Name: Lock Screen
Command: xscreensaver-command -lock

Now click the word that says Disabled next to your new shorcut and then hold down CTRL + ALT + L. It should ask you to overwrite the current shorcut for Gnome Screensaver.