linuxgeek: [LINUX_Newbies] Easy app loaders, system tweakers, and speeding up apt-get

Because of its popularity, Ubuntu and its family of distros is
attracting many convenient applications. For example, there are
several that make installing the most popular apps and adding the
proper repositories dead simple.

These include Ailurus (which also has a Linux learning module) and
Ubuntu Tweak.
Ubuntu Tweak: <http://ubuntu-tweak.com/downloads/>
Ailurus: <http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-install-ailurus-10-01-in-ubuntu-kubuntu-xubuntu.html>

I also ran into a script that is even more inclusive called
"bs-ubuntu." It's described with the link at
<http://www.ubuntugeek.com/simple-script-to-install-programs-on-ubuntu-10-04-lucid9-10-karmic.html>

I also find that a very handy utility is apt-fast, which can download
large packages in multiple sections simultaneously using Axel--making
app installation that much faster (up to 26 times faster, according to
some tests). Other than that, it works just like apt-get:
<http://www.mattparnell.com/projects/apt-fast-and-axel-roughly-26x-faster-apt-get-installations-and-upgrades.html>

Note that apt-fast works on any distro that uses apt-get.

I hope you may find one or more of these useful.

David