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One of the first things I hear from people attempting trying to make the switch to Linux distributions such as Ubuntu is that they are finding the sudden shift in how they use their computers to be relatively overwhelming.

Thankfully, there are a number of software titles that I happen to use every day that have made my own switch over to the Linux side of the fence a much smoother one. In this article, I will highlight some of my personal favorites. Hopefully those of you struggling to make the change will find that these options meet your needs.

Evolution

For quite some time after making the switch full time as a Linux user, I found that I was still missing my old Outlook PIM, because at the time, the web-based alternatives were simply not syncing with my phone yet. Thankfully, Evolution was available for the GNOME desktop. And because it supported MS Exchange so well, using Evolution in place of Outlook was not really much of a change at all. Best of all, it cost me NOTHING to use.

Evolution gives me access to my calendar, email, contacts, and tasks. Recently when I made the switch from MS Exchange to Google Calendar/Gmail, I found that once again, Evolution was up to the job.

Pidgin

I hesitate to even mention this as my preferred instant messenger as it is being replaced here soon once the next version of Ubuntu is released. I am told it has to do with Pidgin's position on the GNOME desktop. Whatever, the fact of the matter is that it is the single best instant messenger out there for Linux users. And I have used a number of IM options.

Not only does Pidgin do a great job with multiple protocols such as MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, and AIM, amongst others, it also has a decent record of being really stable. Where is lacks, however, is in taking on the VoIP-type abilities seen in other alternatives such as Empathy. Still, I have found that Pidgin really helped me to make my Linux usage a more pleasant experience.

gscan2pdf

Over the years, I have used a number of document-scanning utilities in Linux. And without fail, the one I return to -- due to stability, function, and ease of use -- is gscan2pdf. Not only does it take the headache away from some of the other, less intuitive Linux document-scanning software out there, it allows me to build up a PDF file on the fly should I choose to.

Most of the time, I am able to simply save the scanned document as an image, as this is what works best for me most of the time. In other cases, however, I might scan 10 different documents only to then save the batch as a PDF file for easier archiving. Honestly, this is one of my favorite Linux programs.

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