In this regard, 10.04 was the pinnacle of the appearance of Ubuntu Desktop. Everything since has been a downgrade IMO and that tends to be the consensus on HN a

In this regard, 10.04 was the pinnacle of the appearance of Ubuntu Desktop. Everything since has been a downgrade IMO and that tends to be the consensus on HN as well as other tech portals. Unity is a disaster, as is the forced Amazon search stuff (as you said, opt-out is not a solution).