Quick post this time - just a roundup of the "apt-get install new computer" series. This is a one liner I use in any new install I'm planning to work with, hope it's useful for you too.
sudo apt-get install lyx mozilla-thunderbird tilda mmv \
unclutter gnome-do moc ffmpeg shntool cuetools flac \
wavpack vlc deluge bittornado-gui build-essential \
gcc g++ valgrind latex-beamer ssh sshfs openssh-server \
vim vim-gtk sun-java5-bin sun-java5-jdk sun-java5-jre \
sun-java6-jdk antiword ifstat php5 php5-mysql php5-pgsql \
php5-cli php5-gd php5-curl ruby1.9 irb1.9 rails rake valgrind
New package: antiword - read office documents on console