When writing (LaTeX) and programming I normally use Eclipse. To backup the code and text I use Subversion and the Eclipse plug-in Subclipse. The Ubuntu repository has for a long time had a dated version of Eclipse. However, when I reinstalled one of my computers yesterday I saw that Eclipse 3.5.1 was available through the repository. However, this version came whitout Mylyn and GEF (two Eclipse frameworks required by Subclipse). So if you want to install Subclipse (http://subclipse.tigris.org/update_1.6.x), you have to install Mylyn (http://download.eclipse.org/tools/mylyn/update/weekly/e3.4) and GEF (http://download.eclipse.org/tools/gef/updates/releases/). In Eclipse, go to “Help”, “Install New Software” and paste the links to the links available in parenthesis, or go to the respective framework’s web pages and find the most recent release.
If you have problems setting up a SVN connection using Subclipse, I might have the solution, or if you want to know more about how to set up Eclipse as a LaTeX environment, check out one of my previous posts.