Screenlets is a desktop widget manager. It allows Vista like desktop widgets to be installed onto your Linux desktop.

Installing Screenlets on Ubuntu is pretty straight forward. You can find the package in the Synaptic Package Manager. However, the version maintained at the Ubuntu repository is a little dated.

The latest version of Screenlets (0.1.2) can be found at the following repository:
http:/ppa.launchpad.net/gilir/ubuntu hardy main universe

You can add the repository into your Synaptic by going to Settings -> Repositories -> Third-Party Software and then click on the Add… button. Enter the following line and then click Add Source.
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/gilir/ubuntu hardy main universe

Click on the Reload button and search for Screenlets once again and you should see the latest available package. Once you are done installing you can fire up some of the default screenlets or add more from screenlets.org. Just unzip the new screenlet packages into /usr/share/screenlets and you should see them in the Screenlets Damon.

AWN (avant-window-navigator) is a Mac OS like dock bar. You can install it through Synaptic as usual by searching for “awn”.

The important note here is that you have to enable desktop visual effects before you can launch the bar after installation. You can find your current desktop visual effect settings in System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Visual Effects. If you are using Nvidia cards, you might also be prompted to use the restricted nvidia driver as well, Synaptic will take care of the installation for you.