Enough Gnome

I’ve been having problems with Gnome and Firefox 3 crashing in Ubuntu Hardy Heron. The Firefox crashes don’t bother me much, since upon restart Firefox remembers the tabs that were open before the crash. Gnome crashing, however, is annoying — I lose all the processes that were running beforehand, and some programs cannot be restarted after I immediately log into a new session of Gnome (they can be restarted only after I restart the computer, rather than just starting a new Gnome session).

So I’m going back to Xfce. I’d used Xubuntu Dapper Drake before on the old desktop with limited RAM they dumped on me when I started work, and Xfce never crashed.

I also installed Xubuntu Intrepid Ibex on my 256MB RAM, ancient Dell laptop. It was practically frozen on Windows XP, but runs at a passable speed with Xubuntu. I was driven to do this because I’m sick of using Windows while Applecare takes forever with my Macbook.

I still prefer OS X to Ubuntu, but I’m not at all happy that Apple wanted to charge me the equivalent of US$200 to backup my data and reinstall the OS. (I told them to just change the defective hard disk, a free service under the warranty, and screw the data — I have all the important bits backed up anyway.) Also, I was inadvertently left with time to kill in an Apple store recently, and, strolling the aisles, was struck by how evil their marketing was. So I’m reconsidering giving more money to Apple for my next laptop.

Update: After 8(!) working days, I have my Macbook back with a new hard disk, and a Leopard installation as a bonus (I only had Tiger beforehand). Does not make up for the long delay and the generally bad service from the frontline staff, but a nice silver lining nonetheless.