1. Fortune in your command line. Any self respecting Linux geek should add fortune to bashrc, so everytime you boot up a terminal a Mark Twain pearl of wisdom greets you. Fortune may be the poor mans ‘Wanda the Fish’ but it’s a bit easier to configure. If you’re feeling especially geeky, set the terminal to 60% transparent and the colour scheme to ‘green on black’. Calm down Neo.
2. Wobbly windows. If youre using  a recent version of Linux and a reasonably new graphics card, why not use Compiz? It makes Windows 7 effects look like , well, Windows 7 and if a program crashes or stops responding, just before you xkill it you can whiz the window around your screen and enjoy the wobbly goodness.
   If you’re wasting time, you might as well make it fun. There’s a whole bunch of effects that come with Compiz in the unlikely event that wobby windows isn’t your style.
3. Multiple browsers. Great, so your website works in Chrome(ium) and Firefox. What about Epiphany, Konqueror, Links, Lynx, Amaya, Arora, Dillo,  Galeon, SeaMonkey, Opera, and Uzbi. Didn’t think so. Every geek needs a whole bar full of browsers, for those moments when 14 different rendering engines just won’t do. Use a text based browser to get an idea of the web from a screen readers POV. Something like 2% of internet users have a visual impairment so when you’re entire page is built in flash YOU’RE NOT HELPING THEM OKAY?
4. Themes.
   I’m a fan of minimalism, or as some famous person said: “A beautiful design is not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more the take away.” Most Linux distros come with a plethora of themes, with the default one being pretty boring. There’s always loads more avaliable for download too, usually as tar.gz’s that can be directly imported. Some people like their UI clean and others full of crap. The good news is whichever camp you’re in, there’s a theme for you.
5. Console based email. Yeah I know you’ve tried it before and it’s a pain to set up. But who needs images anyway. Content is king, right? Plus where else can you go through more keyboard shortcuts in one minute than most do in an entire year. Then there’s the awkward, “You sent me an email? Oh sure, I’ll just check” <opens terminal>.. whilst explaining that Outlook’s big buttons make you feel like you’re using an email client designed for 3 year olds.

Bonus points (not strictly Linux specific)

1. Auto lock. If auto-lock isn’t enabled on your distro by default, that’s a poor show.  Even MI5 officers forget to lock their computers some time. If it wasn’t for auto lock, they’d all have been fired. Try 2 minutes, because 1 minute is just too short so as to be a liiiittle annoying.
2. Dual/Triple Monitors. OK, not a Linux mod but trust me, you’ll never go back to one after having a 40” slice of TFT in your life.  Windows 7 users are constantly amazed – “What? You can move the mouse across screens?! Whole windows too!? Wow those wobbly effects are cool..”

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