How to Update to the Latest Unity Desktop Version in Ubuntu Linux 11.04?

When first introduced, both the GTK3 written Gnome desktop and the Ubuntu Linux developers latest desktop module called the Unity were both heavily criticized by many. Not just beginners who were learning about GNU/Linux but also experts were among who complained :).

Even though both these desktops modules address total different philosophies when it comes to computing and giving the "best" GNU/Linux experience in general, yet they both seems to be heavily optimized for the electronic devices that come with a touchscreens such as Tablet PCs, netbooks, etc for instance.

It could be because it's so new, the Unity desktop, currently gives very little options when it comes to customizing the desktop according to the needs of the users. Things like changing the application launcher will be impossible (unless some hacker comes up with a little plan :P) but other customizations such as changing launcher look-n-feel or various other related customizations etc aren't "implemented", yet.

The "Unity" desktop interface...

Most importantly, since Unity desktop is actually a plugin that runs on top of the Compiz (a 3D graphic rendering utility for GNU/Linux operating system), although they do have a Qt written 2D version as well, having a properly installed GPU drivers such as AMD/ATI, Nvidia, etc is also a must since the desktop heavily rely on the performance of your GPU unlike any other times in Ubuntu's history.

Although Canonical themselves don't recommend this for professionals who want a highly stable desktop, but if you're having little issues with Unity (small bugs :D) and hoping when they're gonna release an updated version of the desktop itself, etc... then few days ago they did release an update for the Unity desktop!.

I don't know why, but for the first time in my, somewhat short experience with GNU/Linux (what a learning curve it's been so far :D), I feel like updating something "whole", rather than updating a lot of libraries, apps which is something that both Gnome and KDE make you feel, sometimes.

Remember you won't be receiving new features with this 3.8.16 (the version) update, since if you want features, then you'll have to wait till they release the next version of the entire Ubuntu operating system. But according to the official change-log page it seems to carry out few bug fixes, especially concerning the application launcher, etc.

So, if you use the default Unity desktop in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, then you can make Unity to receive automatic updates by enabling the PPA. So to do that, open your Linux command line (Terminal) and enter the below commands.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-desktop/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

That should do it, but as said before, updating your entire operating system is not recommended since these updates can contain bugs, etc thus making your OS a bit unstable (may not always be true). Other than that, it's pretty much safe to use this method to update on other occasions (in your personal Laptop/PC, etc) nonetheless.