After experiencing Linux for two years, I have compiled a list of applications that I use it daily. I would like to share my point of views on those applications and its alternatives. I hope that will served as a reference for those who have dilemma selecting them.

Linux Distribution: Ubuntu Linux
Ubuntu is very easy to install and customize. It consist of only one cd, allows online upgrades. The important thing is using apt-get for packages installation is convenient and fast. Fedora is another good distribution, the reason I do not use Fedora is because the native package manager tool is yum,. Compared to apt-get, yum is slow.
Alternatives: Fedora, Suse, Debian, Gentoo.

X Windows Manager: Fluxbox
Fluxbox is a very lightweight Windows Manager (wm), it gives me a lots of flexibilities on customizing my desktop, key bindings and manipulating the Apps. They have an active development team, which you can contact them at irc://irc.freenode.net/fluxbox. For Linux Novice users, I suggest you to stick with KDE or Gnome first, until you feel you want to have lightweight and flexible windows manager.
Alternatives: KDE, Gnome, xfce, e17

Media player: mplayer

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