Since 2007, Earth Hour has gained worldwide support for positive action against global warming. It all began with 2.2 million people in one city using their light switches to have their say. By March 2009, hundreds of millions of people in over 4,000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to vote for Earth.

This monumental swell of support for the environment has been four years in the making. And it’s all building towards one decisive moment in history – the Copenhagen climate summit, where world leaders will meet to discuss new ways of dealing with climate change.

• Sun Java 6.0 Plugin (kind of explains itself, doesn't it?)
• VLC (Media Player that can play almost everything)
• Ubuntu Restricted Packages (gives you all the codecs you need)
• WINE (to be able to run Windows applications
• CheckGMail (to get notifications when I get new mail ^^)
• Adobe Reader (I just hate default pdf reader)
• Gufw (Graphic user interface for the firewall in Ubuntu)
• Avast! (Antivirus)

• Adobe Air and then Twihrl (the best Twitter client ever!)
• Ubuntu Tweak (Makes life much easier)
• Skype
• LucidLife (A program for investigating and playing with Conway's Life, a famous cellular automaton)
• Dropbox (For syncing files - Same as UbuntuOne but you can share with Windows, Mac and other Linux OS's)
• Caffeine (Keeps your computer awake when your watching movies and stuff)

• Spotify (Just have to be experienced!)
• Notepad++ (For programming)

• Enable Compiz Desktop Effects
  Open the Appearance window
  * System > Preferences > Appearance
  * Select ‘Desktop Effects’ Tab
  * Check either ‘Normal’ Or ‘Extra’
• Make the Windows Button work again
  Go to the System > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts menu item > "Show the Panel's Main Menu" and edit the short cut
• Install more fonts by copying this into the Terminal
  sudo mkdir -p /usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1 && sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts && sudo apt-get install ttf-larabie-straight ttf-larabie-deco mplayer-fonts xfonts-terminus-dos xfonts-terminus xfonts-terminus-oblique xfonts-mona tv-fonts ttf-tuffy ttf-sjfonts ttf-sil-padauk ttf-sil-ezra ttf-paktype ttf-georgewilliams ttf-fifthhorseman-dkg-handwriting ttf-farsiweb ttf-essays1743 ttf-opensymbol ttf-nafees ttf-mgopen ttf-gentium ttf-freefont ttf-dustin ttf-devanagari-fonts ttf-dejavu-extra ttf-dejavu-core ttf-dejavu ttf-bpg-georgian-fonts ttf-bitstream-vera ttf-alee
• Remove Computer Janitor from the menu before you get tempted to use it (DO NOT USE IT! Use Ubuntu Tweak instead)
• Make Ctrl+Alt+Backspace restart your session if the system freezes:
  Write this in the terminal:
  sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
  Then copy and paste this into "xorg.conf".
  Section "ServerFlags"
  Option "DontZap" "false"
  EndSection
  It's possible that you will have to logout and in to get this you work.

• Preferred Dictionaries & Language Packs
• Install GBookmarks (cool application that works together with Google Bookmarks, and saves all you bookmarks on the web, so in that way you can have your bookmarks with your were ever you go)
• Clipmarks (Fun way to bookmark)
• FireFTP (my favourite FTP-client)
• Adblock Plus (keeps the adds away)

We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on.
- Richard Feynman

Why Scandinavia can teach us a thing or two about surviving a recession
Sweden, Denmark and Norway are coping better with the economic downturn than most countries, despite having an expensive welfare system

High numbers of Swedes are employed in the public sector, such as this nurse in a Stockholm hospital. Photograph: Graham Turner

According to liberal thinkers, Scandinavian countries should have drowned in the current economic crisis with their bloated public sectors and a nanny-state mentality that stifles individual creativity.

But the opposite has happened. Sweden, Denmark and Norway, where many people pay 50% of their income in taxes – with some even paying 60% – are coping better than most, in particular better than Britain.

"The outlook for these countries is good," says Christian Ketels, an economist at the Harvard Business School and the Stockholm School of Economics. "They are going to return to normal quicker, and in better shape, than everybody else."

Scandinavia has seen no protests, unlike in the UK, where some workers have been demanding British jobs for British people. Nor have there been street demonstrations or incidents of "bossnapping" like those in France, where laid-off employees kidnapped their superiors in protest.

Instead, there has been a quiet confirmation among most people here that their way of doing things beats the low-tax, low-welfare system pushed by the US and, increasingly, the UK. In a survey in July, Danes cited their welfare system as their society's proudest achievement.

Read More....

Its important to point out for the republicans thinking Sweden is a socialist country, its simply not... I am from and live in Stockholm. I would more call it a social liberal country. Its based on capitalism, but with mechanisms the state use to try to make sure as many people as possible people get their basic needs taken care of, for example affordable health care. We of course pay taxes, its not free in that sense, but its much cheaper for anyone than it would have been otherwise. I will not judge USA altogether since I dont live there and never have, but if its true that the insurance companies are doing a lot to avoid to pay insurance money to sick people, I would never trade that society with Sweden. Sweden is not perfect, but if I had to live in another country, Us wouldnt be my first choice exactly ( if what I heard about US its true). Historically there was much consensus between the right and the left concerning the welfare state after the second world war. There may have been a slight change in this consensus today, but I cant imagine any Swedish politician would go as far as copy the Us 100% regarding their health care system... In short, the Swedish welfare state and the Swedish health care system is a compromise and "balance of power" between state and market. The positive things from capitalism, its ability to create growth is something we try to draw advantages from. Its cons are the things we try to avoid. The main point about a universal health care is that the poorest member of society can afford proper health care. But it would never be possible without a strong growth, which capitalism is good at creating, to finance the public sector with taxes. Our current government is by the way a liberal/conservative one, even if the social democratic party has been the dominant force in Swedish politics historically.
by indiemusica