Ask HN: Ubuntu Desktop Default Apps

I really like Ubuntu, but there are two things that I would recommend changing/fixing:

1. Replace the default PDF reader with something faster. It takes the default PDF viewer (in 17.04) 10+ seconds to open files that MuPDF can open in 2 seconds. MuPDF is very basic, so it might not be the best option for the default viewer, but hopefully there's something faster than the current default.

2. Allow the software center app to request sudo privileges when installing .deb files from the GUI. When I set up my most recent Ubuntu desktop I downloaded the Chrome deb from Google and then tried to install it by double clicking the file in the GUI file browser. The software center app opened and tried to install it, but instead of asking me for sudo privileges (which I had), it failed to install. My options were A) install it from the command line with sudo or B) install gdebi and use that to install the deb from the GUI.

As someone who is comfortable working in Linux, it's not a big deal for me to install a deb from the command line. The inability to install a deb by double clicking it would be a showstopper/major issue for someone who is brand new to Linux and isn't trying to "learn Linux".

P.S. There's an argument to be made that people should just learn to use the command line, but Ubuntu's slogan is "Linux for human beings". Besides, the worst way to introduce someone to the wonderful world of FOSS software is to give them a headache while they're trying to set up their computer :-)

Native Windows user, raised on it since 3.0. Made Ubuntu 16.04 my primary OS about 14 months ago after MS tried to cram Windows 10 down my throat and insisted on packaging the Windows Store, CandyCrushSaga and Facebook apps in Server 2016 and making them essentially impossible to remove.

Every day I get more and more comfortable. It hasn't been without frustration, and often I've wanted to give up and go back, but so far I've stuck to it.

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Web Browser: Google Chrome

Email client: None since I use gmail and Office 365, and not much will cooperate with O365 except OWA.

Terminal: default preinstalled app

IDE: Not a developer

File manager: default preinstalled app(Nautilus?)

Basic text editor: gedit, or the non-gui version of emacs. I know I know.....

IRC/Messaging: Google voice and Slack web pages, via Google Chrome

PDF Reader: Evince or Google Chrome. Not really because I prefer either, just the first ones I found and they were 'good enough'.

Office Suite: Preinstalled libreoffice has been 'good enough' for me. Also Google Sheets(via Chrome)

Calendar: Don't use one, probably would if O365 integration worked better.

Video Player: Default preinstalled player because it usually works, but VLC occasionally if I have something the built-in won't play.

Music Player: None -- Pandora/Soundcloud/Youtube/DI.FM/Google Play, all web, via Google Chrome.

Photo Viewer: default preinstalled has worked pretty well for me. I think I like it better than the Windows Photo viewer that MS took away from me with 8/10

Screen recording: None. I make heavy use of the preinstalled screenshot utility, though I wish it was a bit more like the windows snipping tool. It's fairly annoying to use it to grab multiple screenshots when you're trying to just select an area, though I like that you can grab a quick succession using the prt-screen and save them all.

Other apps I use often: Steam

libvirt/VMM

Remmina, though I wish it had more features for RDP. Seems sessions are much slower than when using a MS rdp client.

PlayOnLinux

Occasionally Gimp, though it's pretty annoying to use in 16.04 because of the way it creates multiple separate windows.

Browser: Firefox

Email client: Thunderbird

Basic text editor: Geany

Office suite: LO

but allow users to select defaults at install or at any other time

Everyone default seems to be gnome nowadays, I don't understand why. One of the main reason for me to stick with Ubuntu was unity being a great DE.

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Web Browser: Firefox

Email Client: ???

Terminal: Gnome terminal

IDE: VIM + plugins, Visual Studio Code

File manager: 16.0 default

Basic Text Editor: VIM

IRC/Messaging Client: ???

PDF Reader: 16.04 default

Office Suite: LibreOffice, markdown + pandoc -> pdf

Calendar: ???

Video Player: VLC

Music Player: ???

Photo Viewer: ???

Screen recording: Simple Screen Recorder

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ubuntu-mate has a nice software boutique, which I think is a great idea for people new to the world of FOSS. It's a nice curated list of great FOSS software sorted by category.