As we get closer to the next big version (wherein most of the apocalyptic changes take place) I'll be reading HN for useful lists of alternatives. Anyone with useful suggestions can chip in now of course :)
Linux Mint 11 and 12 are great alternatives. The Mint team has also made Cinnamon[1] which is also a great alternative to the default GNOME3 interface. If you don't want to reinstall Linux, Cinnamon is available for lots of the major distros, or you can compile it yourself.
You can always stay in the current version until you feel safe. Plus, if you don't like Unity, you can use Gnome, KDE, XFCE or whatever makes you comfortable.
I really don't see the fuss about it. If you don't like the new version, skip it. It's not like the next Ubuntu release will be more than 6 months after the current one.
I've been trying out Arch Linux (http://www.archlinux.org) for a few weeks now and am really happy with the results. I installed using ArchBang (http://archbang.org) which I think for a first time install might be the best way to go. (I think I'm almost ready to try a from scratch Arch install)
Now that it's installed and I'm used to the package manager (pacman - which I like better than apt-get / aptitude if that's possible) I find that it's been refreshingly easy on a day to day basis. And I feel like I have a great deal more confidence that I know what's actually going on as far as installed programs and configured behaviour.
Arch is great, but it targets pretty much the opposite type of user than Ubuntu. Could you imagine telling your grandma to switch to Arch from Windows?
Of course, nowadays, I would suggest Mint, because Ubuntu is just weird. Their original motto, "Linux for Human Beings" should be changed to "Linux for Mark Shuttleworth". He's off in his own world now.
Debian is fantastic. I tend to stay on testing (wheezy atm) because it is fairly modern yet stable.
Stability is the biggest problem with Ubuntu I believe- people will generally adapt to the UI changes that canonical is making, but breaking stability is a complete no-no. Even today, on Ubuntu 11.10, Unity shows wierd bugs time and time again. Apps like VirtualBox and KeePassx will show multiple times (or just disappear) in the dock. And sometimes the whole unity interface will close and restart itself.
Compare this to the old gnome2, or xfce, openbox etc; You can go for months without the UI doing anything unexpected.
The main difference is Debian isn't quite as user friendly out of the box. Sudo isn't set up for you for example so you'll be in for a surprise the first time you try to use it. Also, Debian isn't quite as pretty. The fonts aren't as good and the desktop looks quite a bit dated. The upside is Debian at least for me is much faster. I don't know what Canonical did to Ubuntu 11.10 but it drug for me. Also, Debian doesn't crash at all at least for me whereas Ubuntu did suffer some random instability.
That having been said, I like the idea of Ubuntu. I like the fact that they are trying to move the Linux desktop forward and I will happily return if they can get Unity straightened out. As it stands though, I'm a content Debian user for the forseeable future.
Interesting, I've been using 11.10 on a netbook since last fall, and on a new laptop since January, incluing daily use of VirtualBox and KeePass(2, not x), two of my top 10 most frequently used apps. Zero stability issues, I've been very happy with it.
I wonder if there's some hardware issues, or something else you've got installed that's causing those problems.
Hmm. This was a fresh vanilla install that I tried recently on the same hardware that runs debian wheezy. I wanted to have all the benefits of ubuntu's large community (PPAs for a lot of sofware etc, plus I do generally agree with the direction that ubuntu is heading in), but the lack of stability was just killer.
I think the gloom around Ubunutu is a overly pessimistic, but if you're really intent on switching you should consider KDE. The current version is really elegant and usable--I really like it. Fedora is a good distro for KDE.
