[Xmonad] How to combine xmonad with Ubuntu?

Are any Ubuntu users here? I just got a new box with Ubuntu on it, and I wonder how to best combine xmonad with Ubuntu. Ubuntu seems to have a lot of useful functionality built into the graphical environment, such as checking for updates, checking for the network one is in, and perhaps other things. I guess if I go my old route of replacing all of Gnome with my custom ~/.xinitrc script, then I'll lose that stuff. Suggestions? Kai