This is what I do after a fresh Ubuntu install to get it the way I want.

1. I install all the codecs (sometimes I use Automatix to make install of all the media stuff painless and automatic)

Since Automatix is down a lot and I know bit more about what I'm doing I install all the media bits using my own little script that I just change depending on what I need or I install things one by one following the Ubuntu guide. This article talks about few different ways of getting things up and running.

2. I install all the eye candy from http://www.gnome-look.org/

3. Install Thunderbird (sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude install thunderbird) 

4. Install  Apache server with Mysql and PHP

5. Install anything else I fancy (i.e open as root in Nautilus, install digiKam pic viewer - its for KDE but it suits me best...)

6. Enjoy my new installation. The process of playing around with my ubuntu iinstall is never ending but the basic set up is pretty quick.

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