If you’re weary of sorting through overlapping windows, Whaw will help you get organized.

OpenOffice Calc is fine for most spreadsheet applications, but if you’re looking for better performance and a smaller footprint, try Calc’s lean competitor, Gnumeric.

The Kat desktop search tool turns up more than text strings.

Gnome 2.10 reconquered many desktops with its return to values such as simplicity, clarity, and ease of use. The new Gnome 2.12 GNU desktop environment continues this emphasis on the basics.

Some applets deposit icons in the system tray of the KDE or Gnome task bar. If you don’t use KDE or Gnome but you still want the system tray applets, check out Trayer.

Evince is quickly becoming Gnome’s standard viewer for PDF and other document formats.

The compact Yammi [1] music database for KDE (Version 3.2 or newer) is a useful replacement for a jukebox.

If you are looking for a functional and fast desktop environment, try WindowLab. This minimalist window manager concentrates on what’s important and does without superfluous gadgets.