I wouldn't be sure it's Ubuntu's fault (10.
04), except maybe if the laptop is very new (and still I'd be amazed). One of the problems with laptops is their screen, which is typically handled a lot -- the lid is opened, closed, adjusted to better position and so on. Even if it was handled with care, the components of the screen don't have an infinite lifetime, and especially on cheaper machines the problems may start sooner than later. From my own experiences the screen is often the first place to show problems at old age, anomalous colors, dead/hot pixels and so on. From that short description it's hard to say what's goin on, but it
could be a signal of hardware playing tricks rather than software. Or it could be your display drivers and some mystique.
If the laptop is less than two years old, I'd carry it quickly back to the store and demand it to be fixed (at their cost, or the manufacturers). If it's about two years or older, you might do well starting to save money for it's successor.
Edit: actually, before rampaging to the store,
I would perhaps install another operating system (or distribution) on the laptop and see if the problems vanished. Better be sceptic than feel fool
