I just installed Ubuntu 11.110:

These are the issues:

(1)I can't cut and paste. I try and right click on something and then move cursor to copy but the context menu disappears before I can get to the copy command.
(a) I cannot open a new or click on a link by placing the cursor on a link left clicking and move cursor down to 'open in new tab' because the context menu will not stay open long enough for that to happen.

(2)Keepass will no longer open.

(3) OpenOffice

(4) Every time I receive an email, I get this banner that stays on top of my desk top for over 10 seconds - so its on nearly constantly. The only way I can find to get rid of it is to close Thunderbird.

(5) My wifi does not work.

So, just to check my email; write a letter, check my bank account and order one thing on Amazon, I have been on this computer for nearly two hours.

Here is something that I can do in Windows in less than 60 seconds: post a link to this forum.
I've been trying to figure out how to post a link that will bring you (when you click on it) to Brian Lunduke's blog talking at LinuxFest NorthWest. I should not have to know a half dozen tweeks to get something so simple done. I'm not mechanic I don't care how my car converts hydrocarbons into energy - I want the frikin thing to get me to my job - and I want the heater to work - I don't want to know a half work arounds to get the heater to work. That is why I buy and pay money for a car and that is why I buy Microsoft Windows.

I am not a Windows fanboi or a Linux basher. What I am is Joe Normal, that wants to use his computer to make his life easier.

I read a lot. I've read through many posts from many forums and it is all the same - it is like walking through hospital and all of the cripples are trying so hard to act as if nothing is wrong.

I hate to break it to you, but it will take a lot longer than 2 hours to learn your way around Linux.

I'd suggest prioritizing your problems and starting a new thread for the most important/troublesome. When that's fixed, go on to problem #2, and so on. Give your threads descriptive titles and provide as many details about the problem. (How are we supposed to respond to "(3) OpenOffice"???)

Or go back to Windows, it is a fine operating system used by the majority of Earth's inhabitants.

Well, to be fair to the OP, Ubuntu 11.10 on the desktop is like cancer

Still fine as a server but I'm sure they'll come up with a way to screw that up too.

Just venting, or can you suggest a constructive alternative?

Wow, maybe you should stay with Windows. If it works for you then great.

I do have a job and somehow managed to find the time to make my computer work the way I want it to.

Not entirely true. Unity has its faults and I admit I was not keen at first. It has grown on me and it has its strengths. Just a matter of taste. I run it on a laptop, a netbook and my desktop. Works great on all.

I have and am reading several books on the subject. I read constantly. My point here is that I believe in open source, I think capitalism is a cancer - the way it is in reality - not some utopian fantasy of what it should be. But if I believe in open source and WANT to learn it and cannot get the simplest things to work "out of the box" how can I get my spouse or my kids to consider it? How do I convince grandma?

I apologize to everyone that has a job and a wife and kids and can make their linux box work.

What I would like to have happen is to get a working distro that will do all of the basics and put it on the 7 computers that I control and have it do - you know - the basics right out of the box - email and wifi. I don't care that linux has issues with proprietary drivers and open source drivers, if they can't come up with a basic air plane that fly s and lands - the first time - I'm not going to be able to convince my kids that it is fun to fly.

First, let's be fair. If you have a pc with no operating system on it at all and just pop in a windows disk all will NOT be perfect. You will have to spend time configuring and maybe even hunting down drivers just to get everything to work. When you first started using windows, you had to learn and read.

The same is true with Linux, read, do, and learn. Sometimes you need to ask for help, so does Grandma, so do the kids.

If you gave the specs of your computer that would be a start. I see in your profile you List Ubuntu 6.06; that is old! A lot has changed. Are you still using the same computer now as you did then? That could be an issue if true.

Wifi could be an easy fix. Have you checked the additional drivers section under system settings?

Things like posting a hyperlink in this forum as you mentioned are not Linus issues but just familiarity with this forum perhaps.

Everything working straight out of the box on a fresh install? Not going to happen, not with windows either. There will be configurations to do.

You may want to try Linux Mint though. The newest is Linux Mint 12. They have many drivers and the codecs on the dvd and more will work straight away. Try the live dvd

My suggestion is forget about capitalism, forget about utopia, forget about your grandma, forget about the forum admin who unjustly accused you... put all these things out of your mind and focus on actually solving your problems one by one. The volunteers who are taking time out of their busy days to assist you don't need the political manifesto; if anything it might dis-incline some forum regulars from helping you.

6.06 was my first try at linux - many years ago. I've just loaded 11.10. I tried to get Simply Mepis but it stopped in mid-sentence.

Your right, I did have to do a lot of learning when I started out with Windows, but when I asked questions I was never treated with disrespect. It is a common occurrence for people to forget their password - there would not be so many articles devoted to it if it weren't so. What made this different was that my hard drive password was frozen I still can't remove it or change it no matter how many times I hit F2. But now that I have un-installed windows, I'm not going back (at least in this box) My assumption is that Gateway crippled this computer to sell more stuff. There is no reason why the basic drivers do not work in this box when I try to re-install.

Gateway NV53A
AMD Phenom II X3 N830
Radeon 4250

I bought this for her to go back to college and she changed and forgot the administrative password and I'm only guessing but because of the repeated trying to guess the password it froze the hard drive password - but I'm only guessing.
After repeated failures at removing password, I downloaded, burned to disk, a live Ubuntu and copied all of the files.

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Okay. I'll put the soap box away.

Hi there,

is this supposed to be a kick in the ass of the Unity desktop?
If so, there seem to be lots of people who think the same way. I'm one of them. I kind of played with Unity for a short while with a live system, and I couldn't get warm with it. Actually, I can't get warm with most of today's desktop environments, Gnome still being the most agreeable. Better even old-style Windows 2000. That's one reason why I still refrain from updating from Ubuntu 10.10.
I don't like all that cool and fancy stuff, and much less a system that does things without being asked. Yes, I'm rather into the sturdy, rustic fashion; I want an OS and a user interface that is simple and efficient, while I assess clarity, simplicity and efficiency from the machine's view. Oh, of course I do use the console a lot; even on my Windows PCs there is always a console window open somewhere in the background, because many things can be done a lot easier on the command line.

I'm afraid so. So far, the Ubuntu developers have done a good job in imitating many of the nuisances we have been complaining about in Windows.

[X] Doc CPU

I downloaded it last night, and was in the motion of doing just that - got side tracked.

no need to click copy highlight something and its copied.middle click opens in a new tab.

libreoffice works just fine.

wifi install the proper drivers and firmware.