I've been using Linux of various distributions since early 2003, starting with Red Hat 9, and moving through Fedora till Fedora 6. After that I shopped around with Centos, Mandriva, and Debian, and settled on Ubuntu with 9.04. I've been mostly happy with Ubuntu. That is until Oneiric (11.10) The sad combination of the "not-ready-for-prime-time" Gnome 3 and the abomination of Unity convinced me to revert back to my trusty 11.04. Although I had to tweek it a bit, and use the Gnome Classic, it has been stable and fast.
As for Gnome, and one of the stated goals of Gnome 3, to get rid of clutter, my reply is, "It's only clutter if I didn't put it there!!" I gave 11.10 and Gnome 3 an honest try of about three weeks, and decided it was bovine excrement. I tried xcfe, and just didn't like it either. So.... to the point of this post;
I have learned how to run on an Oneiric 3.0.0-12-generic kernel, using the guide here; http://tiagohillebrandt.eti.br/blog/...natty-narwhal/ and also run on a custom kernel, uname -a
Linux uglybox 3.0.13-uglybox-r1-custom+ #1 SMP Sun Jan 15 12:19:50 MST 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux, using this guide, http://blog.avirtualhome.com/categor...kernel-ubuntu/. Of the two, the custom kernel is quicker, and uses less power. However, there is NO support. Using the stock Oneiric 3.0.0-12-generic kernel does afford minimal support, but does not seem to be as responsive. Either one, though, will serve my purpose.
Firefox and Thunderbird will both update themselves automagically. LibreOffice, VirtualBox, and CrossOver Office can be updated from source readily.
When the clock runs out on Ubuntu 11.04 in October 2012, if Gnome 3 is still as half-baked as it seems to be now, I'll just continue to run on my unsupported 11.04.
What risks, if any, does anyone see by doing this? For me, the advantages of being able to update the kernel and all the applications which I use daily without the updates from Ubuntu make staying with 11.04 seem very attractive.
I'm open for input from anyone on this.
If you have stayed with me through all of this, I commend you, and appreciate your patience. If, however, your eyes began to glaze over a few minutes ago, that's OK, too.
Thanks,
owa

Hey there!

Gnome3 was the main reason I started with XFCE. Okay, XFCE is not your thing, granted. Have you tried LXDE instead? Looks like the Classic Gnome. Or, how about E17, light and pretty good...
I'm afraid Gnome3 is on the uprise . There is one critical test box I keep "pristine" by not updating, because there is Gnome3 in the next update. Makes you think, eh?

The solution may well be to let the "we-know-best" distros (like Fedora and Ubuntu, for all their benefits, dont get me wrong) be and go with a "you're-the-boss" distro like Arch. But, it requires tighter involvement from your part...
On the plus side, after install, you've got a command prompt, and YOU then choose just what to put there...not the installer.

Hoping to be allowed to ramble with you...on a cold snowy and overcast sunday morning...

Thor

Hey, Thor! Thanks for the reply. I think I'll give LXDE and Archlinux each a test run on VirtualBox. I need to be careful about the time I spend on these projects as I tend to immerse myself completely in them. When my wife, Becky, begins to refer to my computer as "The Slut" again, I know I need to re-prioritize my time. That's what is so cool about using VirtualBox for testing. Having only one computer that Becky and I share, I can leave a VirtualBox installation of an OS in an incomplete stage and still use the uglybox for other things. (Uglybox is what I call my hand-built computer.)
Still working full time at 69 years, I need to start getting ready for work. I'll post back after I get one or both of those new projects started.
Hoping to be allowed to ramble with you...on a cold snowy and overcast sunday morning... Here, in Yuma, AZ., a chilly day only gets to about 60 F.


More later,

owa

Why don't you try Mint? It will be familiar and it's far more reliable than Arch. They have MGSE, that runs on top of Gnome3 and makes it more like Gnome2, and MATE, a Gnome2 fork.

Ooooooooh dear...you do not want to go there

Sure, this si a great social medium as well, I enjoy this, keep rambling...that way I'm not the only one rambling here
Ah, you're one of the "good ones" - here in belgium, the main turmoil is pension age. Everyone (except me, I love my job/hobby) wants to retire ar around 50...new regulations will make this harder...
I for one like that, it's us (the working ants) that pay the pension of these "kids"...

Oops, now I'm the one rambling...hehe

@DavidMcCann

...maybe, I dont know Mint, but Arch is very intense in that you have to (almost constantly) tinker with the thing. Maybe not OP's kinda thing...but, you have some sort of a point in that it MAY not be right here, then again, it is THE system I leaned from the most...lean, elegant and accessible...

Thor

<OFF TOPIC>
Please give correct information, no what you think it is.
</OFF TOPIC>

Kind regards

<very_off_topic>
Yep, as a co-belgian...you're right. All of this is a question of perception. I for one love to go to work, but, indeed, after 40 years of work...pension could well be a welcome phase...

But, at the point where the economy stands now, turmoil may not realy be the thing we need right now...
</very_off_topic>

Just as a quick update, I am currently running on the latest "Precise" kernel, built with git (http://blog.avirtualhome.com/categor...kernel-ubuntu/) on my Ubuntu "Natty." I decided to stop using the Nvidia proprietary driver, and use the Nouveau driver instead, as I was having troubles getting the newer kernels to build with the Nvidia driver. This latest kernel built and installed painlessly...
$ uname -a
Linux uglybox 3.2.6-natty-precise+ #1 SMP Tue Mar 6 15:55:27 MST 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ lsmod
Module Size Used by
nls_utf8 12557 1
udf 93513 1
crc_itu_t 12707 1 udf
nls_iso8859_1 12713 1
nls_cp437 16991 1
vfat 21575 1
fat 61194 1 vfat
binfmt_misc 17456 1
pci_stub 12622 1
vboxpci 23190 0
vboxnetadp 13382 0
vboxnetflt 23435 0
vboxdrv 286917 4 vboxpci,vboxnetadp,vboxnetflt
snd_hda_codec_realtek 222648 1
nouveau 766956 2
ttm 76403 1 nouveau
snd_hda_intel 33209 2
snd_hda_codec 122811 2 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep 13604 1 snd_hda_codec
drm_kms_helper 42140 1 nouveau
ses 17321 0
snd_pcm 96427 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
drm 236644 4 nouveau,ttm,drm_kms_helper
enclosure 15217 1 ses
snd_seq_midi 13324 0
joydev 17412 0
usblp 18170 0
i2c_algo_bit 13281 1 nouveau
psmouse 81578 0
usbhid 46696 0
hid 99102 1 usbhid
snd_rawmidi 30374 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 14899 1 snd_seq_midi
mxm_wmi 12979 1 nouveau
wmi 19070 1 mxm_wmi
snd_seq 61397 2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_timer 29396 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 14462 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
video 19176 1 nouveau
edac_core 53309 0
ppdev 17069 0
edac_mce_amd 23414 0
k10temp 13119 0
i2c_nforce2 13013 0
snd 68188 13 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,sn d_seq_device
parport_pc 32727 1
serio_raw 13211 0
lp 17825 0
soundcore 12680 1 snd
snd_page_alloc 18484 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
parport 46251 3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
usb_storage 53285 2
uas 17815 0
pata_jmicron 12747 0
forcedeth 63068 0
sata_nv 31786 0
ahci 25720 2
libahci 26984 1 ahci
pata_amd 14127 0

$ lspci
00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP61 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP61 LPC Bridge (rev a2)
00:01.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP61 SMBus (rev a2)
00:01.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP61 Memory Controller (rev a2)
00:01.3 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP61 SMU (rev a2)
00:02.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP61 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:02.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP61 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:04.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP61 PCI bridge (rev a1)
00:05.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP61 High Definition Audio (rev a2)
00:06.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP61 IDE (rev a2)
00:07.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP61 Ethernet (rev a2)
00:08.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP61 SATA Controller (rev a2)
00:09.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP61 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:0b.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP61 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:0c.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP61 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation C61 [GeForce 6150SE nForce 430] (rev a2)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor HyperTransport Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor Miscellaneous Control
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor Link Control
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G96 [GeForce 9500 GT] (rev a1)
03:00.0 SATA controller: JMicron Technology Corp. JMB362/JMB363 Serial ATA Controller (rev 03)
03:00.1 IDE interface: JMicron Technology Corp. JMB362/JMB363 Serial ATA Controller (rev 03)

With the capability of building the latest/greatest kernels, and keeping Firefox and Thunderbird and Libre Office up-to-date from source, and also keeping CrossOver Office current, as well as VirtualBox, I'm perfectly content to run on Ubuntu "Natty" 11.04 till it dies or Gnome 3 stabilizes, which ever comes first.

Thanks for the feed-back and the chatter. As for the other distros, I've grown so accustomed to Ubuntu, that I think I'll stay with this unless/until I have to move to something else.
Completely off-track, the weather here in Yuma, AZ was a balmy 83 F., today. Enjoy it while it lasts. July and August are not far away with temperatures well above 100 F, and several days above 110 F.
Ahh, but, it is during those blast-furnace days that I remember the not-so-good old days when I lived up North, where the day-time high's in January were often at or near 0 F. Those memories make Yuma seem pretty nice, by comparison.

Thanks for chatting, all. I'll probably post something else regarding my experiments with prolonging the usefulness of Ubuntu 11.04.

Just a quick poem.....

Pain reminds us where we've been.
It need not be our destiny.

Give our pain to yesterday.
It will become a memory.

Understanding yesterday
prepares us for tomorrow.

Accepting all we truly are
gives meaning to today.

owa