GTelnet - ssh to thebrain for mail & news
X-Chat - IRC
Nautilus - graphical file management & (some) viewing
Audacity - sound recorder & editor (still need to get mp3 export working)
Opera 6.12 - Web browsing on *my* terms
XMMS - audio player
NEdit - text editor
And despite the Gnome apps, it's a KDE desktop on Mandrake.
NEdit doesn't have tabs, though there is allegedly a patch for that. However it's not a big deal - Opera's "linked window" ability (with 'view source' - NEdit as the editor) provides a good work-around for my purposes.