I've been having stability issues with x64 Chrome (and Chromium) under Ubuntu, so I've checked out FF again. Surprisingly, after some tweaks (and classic theme restorer, oldtabs, and a FF 2 theme...) it's running quite smoothly. I'm not having the issues that I did with Pale Moon, and everything is surprisingly speedy and slick. It's a more enjoyable experience than Chrome, at least right now. They said that x64 Chrome is more stable, faster, and more secure than x86. I never had a single issue whatsoever with x86 Chrome, and then I have all the issues in the world when I decide to jump to x64? Coincidence? I think not. I haven't quite figured out how to force the software center to install the x86 version, so for now I'm stuck with FF. It's quite the blast from the past, really. I only jumped onto the Firefox then-not-quite-bandwagon back when version 2 was the newest one, with 3 coming out a month later.
I switched back to Ubuntu proper. I found that Unity, clunky though it is, is about the best I can hope for from this machine in terms of the usability:speed:eyecandy ratio. I'm sure I could use GNOME 3 on here; I mean, I did use it for a (very) short timeframe on the P4, and it didn't run too bad. But I don't like GNOME 3. MATE, while familiar, is slow (I can start Caja and wait whole minutes to browse my files). KDE 4, while very attractive (in fact, when I get a beefier system that's what I plan on migrating to) is also very slow. LXDE has wayyy too much that I have to get whole new tools to configure. IceWM is a nightmare to set up. XFCE is cool and all, but I... just don't like it for some ungodly reason... in fact, I probably could've installed MATE and Thunar... hmmmmmm... good idea, me. I just might do that. I certainly have HDD space to burn. With the proper Ubuntu clean install, I don't have to worry about the stupid things like making my systray icons show up like they're supposed to.