I give up. It has been a month since I did a complete fresh download and install on a freshly-wiped system. I am wiping it again and returning to Windows.

In that month, Ubuntu 14.04 has failed to perform.

-Graphics is still broken, ostensibly because of a problem that has been known for over a year, since the Beta release uncovered it.

-Sound is broken, there is no predicting whether it will work, or from what port, from one boot to the next.

-Cannot reliably send data to thumb drives without screwing them up (a problem that goes back many years)

-Unable to work properly with a wireless keyboard.

-Cannot mount a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone; one of the most common pieces of hardware on the planet.

None of these issues exists on the same machine with Windows.

Sad to see how an OS with such potential performs so horridly.

To all the haters... I want a computer that just works. I don't have to rewire an outlet to use my washer for different colours of clothes, I don't have to change the threads on my garden hose to use the spigot for a new sprinkler, and I don't have multiple sets of instructions on how to start my truck depending on the weather... Neither should I be expected to spend a solid month trying to get my OS to work just so I can install ANY software and be able to be productive.

It is frustrating that it works so poorly, especially considering all of the new issues that never used to be a problem, as well as the long list of old issues that are still broken.

Ubuntu, once again, leaves the computer smelling of duct tape and JB Weld.

Maybe I just set my expectations higher than is possible.

I've been using Linux since Mandriva was still called Mandrake, but made the move to Ubuntu because it was supposed to be user-friendly and because "it just works" and I wanted something the family could "just use."

10 years later, and I still have a hard time finding the "just working" part of it. I know that makes me sound like a total jerk, but the hard reality is that I have been through 5 laptops and 7 desktop machines (4 dual-boot with windows, 3 dedicated *buntu boxes) and I have yet to see Ubuntu "just work."

Forgive me if I sound bitter in my questions, but it seems like the system that "just works" still requires a month of google and askubuntu to get it beyond 'limping.'

I have had to learn mass amounts of troubleshooting to get my machines working, and I am less than patient when it comes to issues that make the Ubuntu experience feel like a trial-and-error OS.

Not trying to be a dick, just wanting to explain my background to anyone who wants to understand why I ask questions and enter into it with a pre-loaded frustration.