Reviving a very old project

So nearly 5 years ago, I hatched a plan to get involved in Open Source stuff. And it completely foundered because I tried to install Ubuntu on a netbook and didn't really even get started. Today, I tried again and actually got somewhere.

( feelings about tech )

If anyone wants to recommend me software, please go ahead. I have literally nothing other than whatever's in the default setup. And I have little knowledge of what I'm missing. I mean, I could try to recreate everything I use in Windows but that slightly defeats the object.