intertwingly

I previously had installed Ubuntu 12.04 on a NetBook, and my overall impression was simply that it was more stable than its predecessor — particularly for Unity.

For the first time I tried it on a desktop, and to my surprise the following worked:

sudo apt-get install ruby1.9.3

And by worked, I mean not only did it install Ruby 1.9.3, but it made it (and gem, and irc) the default ruby.

For those that still use rvm, (many of the ‘cool kids’ have moved on to rbenv, I noticed a few niggles:

• Don’t follow the instructions and specify --ruby or --rails. You will get a version of Ruby that can’t install gems. Simply omit that parameter.
• Next set the ‘Run command as login shell’ checkbox.
• Then run rvm requirements and install what it tells you to install.
• Finally, run rvm install 1.9.3 to build the latest.

Personally, I follow that up with rvm --default system.  That means that while I have other Rubies available at my finger-tips, the one I generally use is the one provided with Ubuntu.