Ubuntu Software Center (initially Ubuntu Software Store) was released with Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala and it currently has only a few of the features it was designed for, being just stage 1 out of 4.

If you are using an OS based on the Synaptic Package Manager, you must have noticed by now that when trying to install a new package through Synaptic, it draws in miscellaneous packages that are needed for the program to work. These packages are called dependencies.

Once you start installing new GTK themes in Ubuntu, you will notice that applications that run as root, such as the Synaptic Package Manager, look unthemed and ugly. This is because although the root user is hidden in Ubuntu, it is still technically a separate user with separate appearance settings.

One of the new features in Ubuntu 9.10 is the Ubuntu Software Center. In a rather bold move Canonical has migrated away from the standard Add/Remove Software tool and (in the future) plans to drop Synaptic and Gdebi as well. Is this a move just for “moves” sake?

Ubuntu Control Center or UCC is an application inspired by Mandriva Control Center and aims to centralize and organize in a simple and intuitive form the main configuration tools for Ubuntu distribution. UCC uses all the native applications already bundled with Ubuntu, but it also utilize some third-party apps like "Hardinfo", "Boot-up Manager", "GuFW" and "Font-Manager".

Even though OS X is a Unix based operating system, you can not just take a Unix/Linux application and run it on OS X, you have to port it on OS X in order for you to use it. Since most of these applications are open source – this can be achieved fairly easily.

Ubuntu Software Center is something we all overlooked for long. Even while writing tutorials about installing different applications in this blog, I prefer to provide command line instructions only. But a lot of Ubuntu users are new comers and Software Center means a lot to them.

Honestly, I was expecting Ubuntu Portable to be quite resource hungry, but you should see somewhere around 12 MB of RAM used when running it. Of course, opening other applications will increase this, but not by much.

If you're about to start over with an Ubuntu installation, you don't have to spend time selecting and reinstalling all your chosen apps and packages. Synaptic offers a convenient solution for auto-installing your favorites.