There is no easier way to get your Ubuntu installation up and running with the tools you need than Automatix. I’m not entirely certain why this hasn’t been integrated into the core of the system yet, because it’s about as easy as it gets.

Installing Automatix is easy, too. Just head over to the Automatix website and follow the easy install instructions there.

Update: There’s a new version of Automatix out now, and the install instructions are really very simple. Just head on over to Automatix and check them out.

Automatix is now installed. You can access it by going to your System Tools menu and opening it like any other utility:

You will be presented with a window that looks similar to this:

All you need to do at this point is select one of the options to install, and hit the OK button! You will be prompted for your password once or twice during the installation process, but otherwise it works magically. 

A few of the key applications that Automatix can install:

• Adobe Acrobat
• Audio / Video utilities ( Lots of multimedia stuff )
• BitTorrent clients
• Gaim 2.0
• Google Earth
• Google Picasa
• Skype
• Opera
• Sun Java
• Thunderbird
• XChat