[gnome-flashback] Gnome Panel Applet

[Sheryl Zettner <szettner yandex com>]

I hope this is an ok place to post questions and not a developer list. I couldn't tell from the description. 

I just installed Ubuntu 14.04 on two computers. In both cases, I installed gnome and switched to Metacity. The default desktop was way too slow, and I wanted my 10.04 style desktop environment anyway.

The first one installed beautifully, and I have had no real problems with the gnome panel. On the second, however, the trash applet immediately crashed (and would not let me put it back) when I tried to add it. It didn't come with the Indicator Applet Complete installed, and when I tried to add it, that crashed too. 

I saw a gentleman say that he got his applets back by starting a complete new panel, and that worked until I open Rhythmbox, and then both those panels failed again. Setting up yet another panel worked for now, but I think my panels are not secure at the moment. 

So I started comparing the applets between the first computer that was not causing me grief and the one that was.

The one that is working has a path in my configuration editor: 

apps/panel/applets/indicator_applet_screen0

 

When I look in the same place on the computer that is crashing, there is no indicator applet file.  When I click on the panel folder there, however, I get an option to check a box that says:

need_add_indicator_applet_lucid

I tried checking that box, but I didn't notice it changing the applet options. So I am not sure what checking need_add_indicator_applet_lucid does for one.

What is also different is that the working computer has a gnome-panel folder in the /usr/lib folder and also one for the usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/orca/scripts/apps. And a gnome executable application file in /usr/bin. 

So there are a lot of differences in how these two computers ended up upgrading gnome. Part of that may have been that when I was upgrading this buggy computer all the questions in the upgrade were in a defective font with boxes instead of a regular font, so I just hit enter and hoped it was the default. Then when I installed to 14.04, the monitor kept going out. I think it was the silly screensaver or something, and wiggling the mouse didn't wake it up. Only hitting the enter key. But you have to see the screen to upgrade. :-( So perhaps that messed up the install?

I saw in your list that there is a gnome-panel 3.8.1. All that Synaptic is offering me is is 1:3.8.0-1ubuntu12.2. You say that in 3.8.1 the clock crashing problem was fixed. Did you mean the indicator applet? Because I think there is also an applet that is just for the clock by itself. And if Synaptic is not offering 3.8.1, then is that even compatible with a Trusty Gnome Metacity panel?

I really don't know what I am doing. :( But I guess it is too late to uninstall 14.04. I hope what I asked here makes sense. I would definitely prefer to use Metacity if I can, but if the trash and indicator applet continue to crash, I can't afford to reconfigure a new panel every time that happens, and it won't let me add those applets back once the panel decides to reject them. I guess something just must corrupt the panel; otherwise starting a new panel would not temporarily fix the proble. *sigh*

Thanks, 
Sheryl