I’m using the soon-to-be-released Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.4) and I have to say it really rocks. Coupled with Google Chrome, it’s the best web browsing experience I’ve had on my laptop. Rock solid. If a page load disrupts things, Chrome identifies the faulty page and kills it. In the rare case that the browser itself gets torn apart, the next stop automatically rebuilds all the open browser windows and tabs. No worries about losing your place. And it’s fast, too.

One thing that did bother me was the way Chrome uses its own UI elements to paint the window borders and control buttons. The buttons wind up on the opposite side from every other apps buttons. There is a way to fix that, though. In Chrome Options, on the Personal Stuff tab, select ‘Use system title bar and borders’. Chrome will take up a little more space, but it’ll look the same as other windows and the window controls will be where you expect them.

I’ll be writing up a little more on Ubuntu shortly, as the release date approaches, so watch this space. For now, the pre-releases are rock solid and if you like to live on the edge, feel free to install now. No need to wait for the April 29 release date.