There is a new distribution based on Ubuntu under development which is called Ubuntu Lite. The idea of Ubuntu Lite is to bring the power of Ubuntu across to the users of legacy systems.
So not just to make a small linux as this has been done before (Puppy Linux, Damn Small linux, the Rule Project). Nor to make a usable linux based desktop Operating system (that has been done with Ubuntu Linux, Beatrix). The idea is to bring the power of Ubuntu to the typical users of legacy hardware.

There are three core aims of the Ubuntu Lite Project:

1. easily used by people with minimal computer skills
2. usable on a resurrected system
3. able to satisfy a typical users requirement of applications and functionality

If you run older computer hardware, just give it a try!

There is a neat utility out there, which is capable of searching for available HFS+, NTFS and FAT32 partitions. It creates mount points for them and adds them to /etc/fstab, so they will be mounted everytime you boot.

Instructions for use:
- Download and save this file on your local hard drive as winmac_fstab
- Open a terminal and type "sudo bash winmac_fstab"
- If sudo asks for a password, use your own password
- Your windows and mac partitions will now be mounted everytime
you boot. You can delete this script now if you like (with "rm winmac_fstab")

There also exists a similar script for Samba network shares (the ones Windows uses). Download the script here

Prerequisites: add universe and multiverse repositories.

This posting describes how to install the Microsoft free truetype fonts, including Arial, Comic Sans, Times New Roman and many other. Many websites make extensive use of them, so it is a good idea to install them. After installation they can be used in every Gnome (or even KDE) program systemwide.

Open a terminal window and type in:
sudo apt-get install xfonts-intl-arabic
sudo apt-get install xfonts-intl-asian
sudo apt-get install xfonts-intl-chinese
sudo apt-get install xfonts-intl-chinese-big
sudo apt-get install xfonts-intl-european
sudo apt-get install xfonts-intl-japanese
sudo apt-get install xfonts-intl-japanese-big
sudo apt-get install xfonts-intl-phonetic

Prerequisites: add universe and multiverse repositories.

You can install add-on applications easily, see: http://www.ubuntuguide.org/#add-onapplications

If you don't like the command-line, just use the GUI called Synaptic. It can be found under System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager. Before use you should refresh the list of known packages.

If Synaptic isn't there, it can be easily installed with the command-line "sudo apt-get install synaptic".