How can I thank thee? Let me count the ways...

[k2t0f12d]

Although it isn't a very functional improvement, nothing IMO is more refreshing to see then the total abandonment of swirly phlegm-like default backgrounds in Ubuntu. I first saw such vomitous "art" in Vista, and have never liked it since. I thought Gutsy's Ubuntu brown mock-up was the worst thing about that release, actual functional problems notwithstanding.

I love the new default background. It's fresh, it's definitive, and it's identity is uniquely Ubuntu. I cannot applaude this enough, and strenuously urge Ubuntu's artists to continue to take the initiative in developing Ubuntu's look.

=D>

[hhhhhx]

+1

[erginemr]

Contrary to your tastes, I loved the chocolate look of all Edgy, Feisty and Gutsy backgrounds, Gutsy being the most. So, "de gustibus et coloribus non disputandum".

[LaRoza]

I like the Hardy one much better.

[misterhead]

The Gutsy Studio ones seem kinda "weak" to me. Course no defaults from any distro I've seen look good on a dual display with "big desktop", but even so, proportioned right on single display... not impressive.

[aaaantoine]

I thought the Feisty flesh tone one was bland. The Gutsy swirly one was better. Although I haven't loaded Hardy, I've seen evidence of its default background, and I must say it's pretty cool.

Anyway, none of this matters, because one of the first things I do with a fresh install is change the theme to something less Human.

[k2t0f12d]

Anyway, none of this matters, because one of the first things I do with a fresh install is change the theme to something less Human.

Usually I do, too, since I run K; however Hardy's default background is actually the first wallpaper I can get behind by saying it isn't something I'd mind keeping on a desktop. Most users, even *******rs, replace the defaults almost immediately anyway. That isn't really the point of having a default look. The artwork has to define identity, which this wallpaper does much more effectively then anything else I've seen out of Ubuntu. Feisty and Gutsy might as well have been saying, "Well, we are almost Windows." Hardy's says, "This is a thing with its own identity, ideas, and sense of purpose." That attitude and philosophy is what ultimately puts a GNU/Linux distribution on more desktops.