I have been using ubuntu since 9.xx, upgraded through 11.04 and was really happy with gnome2/3.

Then the dreaded 11.10 shipped with unity which is not a serious desktop. I used gnome classic for a while but found it not full featured, and recently found xcfe4 which has answered my prayers.

When I log in, the desktop goes through three different backgrounds. First is the stock ubuntu purple, then it goes to the xcfe bacground I set when first installing, then when I launch nautilus, it changes the display background and folder options.

I actually prefer the nautilus display options, and would like it to display immediately upon login without the other garbage.

Can anyone explain what is going on?