Include a Delete command that bypasses Trash

To delete files from your system without sending them to the Trash,right click on the main menu and click on "Edit Menu".Now tick mark the "File Management"box.Now come to the "Preferences" and open "File Management".Under the "Behavior" tab enable the option to include a delete command that bypasses Trash.
Now can you delete files directly,without sending them to the Trash bin.'

keep a track of your investments with the Invest applet

Add the Invest applet on a panel.Right click on the "Invest" applet and configure preferences.Click on "ADD" to add a stock symbol.The default stock added in that of Google.Double click on the GOO symbol to edit it and write another stock symbol of your choice.You can get stock symbols online.Also edit the "Price","Amount" and "Commission" columns according to your choice.The source of the quotes is Yahoo and they are refreshed every 15 minutes.
To view the status of your stocks,just left click on the "Invest" applet.


Get more information about your stocks by clicking on a particular stock symbol.
"Invest" also shows you investment charts.

Check the weather in your city with ubuntu 8.04.

The digital clock that runs in the top panel of the GNOME Desktop Environment can display the weather of a city of your choice.Just right click on the clock and select "Preferences".Now select the "Locations" tab and add the location of your choice.You can find locations under their respective continents and countries.Choose the units of temperature and wind speed under the "Weather" tab.

Download Manager For Ubuntu

Downloader for x is a full featured download manager for your ubuntu system.It supports both FTP and HTTP protocols and has a simple graphical interface.It allows you to schedule downloads and setup download queues.You can use proxies for both FTP and HTTP.Once you open the Downloader for X ,click on the first button to create a new download (File>>New Download).Now give the URL or the download link of the file to be downloaded.A "MyDownloads" folder is automatically created for your file but the downloaded file can be saved to a custom location also.The file to be downloaded can be split in to a number of parts.Get this option under the Common tab.If you wish to tinker with the default settings then uncheck the radio button from the bottom of the window.Similarly you can edit the FTP,HTTP and proxy settings under the respective tabs.The option to use the default settings is enabled by default.If you wish to schedule a download then go under the Time tab.Use the calender provided to select the date of the download and select the corresponding time to start the download.
To create a new download queue click on the Queue menu.You need to give a name to this queue.The names of the queues created appear under the main queue on the left side of the window.Highlight a queue to add downloads to it.You can move individual downloads at the top of queues also.
To set general preferences for the program click on the Options menu.General options let you customize the interface of the download manager.Change themes ,colors of the graphs and the sounds produced from here.You can set different sounds for start up of the program,failed downloads,completed downloads etc.Clipboard can also be integrated with the download manager.There are three speed levels provided.The third one downloads a file at the maximum possible speed.
You may also want to integrate Downloader for X with the Firefox browser.To do so ,install the "1Flash Got" Add-On in Firefox.select Downloader for X as the preferred download manger from the Flash Got options in Firefox.

Install Downloader for X from the Add or Remove Section.Get a reference from the screenshot.If you do not find it ,reload your software database from the Synaptic Package Manager.

GShutdown-An Avanced Shutdown Utility

GShutdown is an advanced shutdown utility that lets you schedule a shut down or a restart of your system.The interface of GShutdown is very simple.It also stays in the GNOME notification area.Once you open GShutdown from the Accessories menu,you get to choose a date and time to schedule an execution.There are two more options provided to shutdown or restart the system after a delay of a certain amount of time and to execute a command immediately.You can execute three commands from GShutdown.These are turning off the system,restarting the system and ending the current session.Click on Start to activate the process.
Get to the Preferences section under the Edit menu.Here you get an option of running a particular command before the scheduled action.Under the Misc tab you get to customize the notification message.GShutdown gives a notification before executing an action so that you do not lose an important data or work.It gives you an option to cancel the scheduled action just before executing it.


If you take the cursor to the GShutdown icon in the notification area you can see a countdown to the execution of the command. GShutdown is a very handy utility for your ubuntu system.Install it from the Synaptic Packages Manager(Search for "gshutdown" in the Universe section).