Up until now Spotify have been unusable in Ubuntu 13.04 “Raring Ringtail”, it always freezes after a while. A workaround has been to use the Spotify web browser based beta-client, but not a fully satisfactory one as my Ubuntu box is my primary music source. Now there may be a partial explanation ( https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pulseaudio/+bug/1085140 ) :

Kai Mast (kai-mast) wrote on 2013-01-08:

#4

If I kill pulsaudio the sound works fine…

It seems like flash, spotify and friends try to connect directly to ALSA instead of pulsaudio. Maybe the ALSA compatibility-layer is broken..

Raymond (superquad-vortex2) wrote on 2013-01-09:

#5

[38887.684479] traps: upowerd[29074] trap int3 ip:7f3a17dbac5f sp:7ffff29bac50 error:0

Klaus-Uwe Mitterer (mitterertux) wrote 21 hours ago:

#6

Kai seems to be right there. Issuing a simple “killall pulseaudio” works.

I will try this, killall pulseaudio in the terminal, for some time to see if it works. It would be great if it does, sloppy though because this bug has been present for a couple of months now. Spotify worked just fine in Ubuntu 12.10.

edit. well, well, this didn’t work for any length of time. It still crashes after a little while, it can be brought up again by killing pulseaudio, but it is very impractical to kill pulse between every song …

edit2. I read a thread at the Spotify-forums about crashes and freezing on SuSe-Linux, in the case of SuSe it was because of linking to a wrong version of libopenssl1. So, I tested what version of libopenssl1 there was on Ubuntu 13.04. It turned out, none. libopenssl1 is replaced by libruby on Ubuntu 13.04, so I installed the latest libruby and apparently the crashes and freezes have been gone now for a quite lenghty listening session. SO, is a missing libruby what causes it? It looks like it is. I’ll be back …

edit3. Well, even with libruby Spotify freezes after a while, but WAY later than before so it’s an improvement. Also, issuing killall pulseaudio now unfreezes it enough to shut it down and start it again for another session. Before one had to kill Spotify itself too, as the process got stuck in the system. Anyway, Spotify is NOT stable under Ubuntu 13.04 which is a bummer!

A nice tip if wanting to get back to a clean version of Ubuntu, if necessary:

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/pureubuntu

Kubuntu:

sudo apt-get remove akonadi-facebook akregator amarok amarok-common amarok-utils apport-kde apturl-kde ark audiocd-kio bluedevil calligra-data calligra-libs colord-kde cryptsetup dolphin dragonplayer freespacenotifier gnupg-agent gnupg2 gpgsm gstreamer0.10-qapt gtk2-engines-oxygen gtk3-engines-oxygen gwenview ibus-qt4 kaccessible kaddressbook kamera kamoso kate kcalc kde-base-artwork kde-baseapps-bin kde-baseapps-data kde-config-gtk-style kde-config-tablet kde-config-telepathy-accounts kde-config-touchpad kde-style-oxygen kde-telepathy kde-telepathy-approver kde-telepathy-auth-handler kde-telepathy-contact-list kde-telepathy-data kde-telepathy-filetransfer-handler kde-telepathy-integration-module kde-telepathy-minimal kde-telepathy-send-file kde-telepathy-text-ui kde-wallpapers-default kde-window-manager kde-window-manager-common kde-workspace kde-workspace-bin kde-workspace-data kde-workspace-kgreet-plugins kde-zeroconf kdegames-card-data kdegames-data kdegraphics-strigi-analyzer kdemultimedia-kio-plugins kdenetwork-filesharing kdepasswd kdepim-kresources kdepim-strigi-plugins kdesudo kexi khelpcenter4 kinfocenter klipper kmag kmail kmenuedit kmix kmousetool knotes konsole kontact korganizer kpat kppp krdc krita krita-data ksnapshot ksysguard ksysguardd ksystemlog ktorrent ktorrent-data kubuntu-default-settings kubuntu-desktop kubuntu-docs kubuntu-firefox-installer kubuntu-netbook-default-settings kubuntu-notification-helper kubuntu-web-shortcuts kvkbd kwalletmanager libassuan0 libaudiocdplugins4 libbluedevil1 libcalendarsupport4 libchm1 libcln6 libdebconf-kde0 libepub0 libeventviews4 libfftw3-3 libgpgme++2 libgps20 libgrantlee-core0 libgtlcore0.8 libgtlfragment0.8 libibus-qt1 libincidenceeditorsng4 libindicate-qt1 libkateinterfaces4 libkblog4 libkcompactdisc4 libkdcraw-data libkdcraw21 libkdecorations4abi1 libkdegames6 libkdepim4 libkdepimdbusinterfaces4 libkdgantt2 libkephal4abi1 libkexiv2-11 libkexiv2-data libkipi-data libkipi9 libkleo4 libkmanagesieve4 libkonq-common libkonq5-templates libkonq5abi1 libkontactinterface4 libkpgp4 libkrossui4 libksane-data libksane0 libksba8 libkscreensaver5 libksgrd4 libksieve4 libksieveui4 libksignalplotter4 libktnef4 libktorrent-l10n libktorrent4 libktpchat0 libktpcommoninternalsprivate3 libkunitconversion4 libkwineffects1abi4 libkwinglutils1abi1 libkwinnvidiahack4 libkworkspace4abi2 liblastfm1 liblightdm-qt-2-0 libllvm3.0 libloudmouth1-0 libmailcommon4 libmailimporter4 libmessagecomposer4 libmessagecore4 libmessagelist4 libmessageviewer4 libmuonprivate1 libmygpo-qt1 libokularcore1abi1 libopenal-data libopenal1 libopenconnect2 libopenctl0.8 libopenjpeg2 libopenshiva0.8 libplasma-geolocation-interface4 libplasmaclock4abi3 libplasmagenericshell4 libpoppler-qt4-4 libprocesscore4abi1 libprocessui4a libqalculate5 libqalculate5-data libqca2-plugin-ossl libqgpgme1 libqimageblitz4 libqoauth1 libqtglib-2.0-0 libqtgstreamer-0.10-0 libqtgstreamerui-0.10-0 libqtscript4-core libqtscript4-gui libqtscript4-network libqtscript4-sql libqtscript4-uitools libqtscript4-xml libqtshiva0.1 libreoffice-kde libreoffice-style-oxygen libruby1.9.1 libsolidcontrol4abi2 libsolidcontrolifaces4abi2 libspnav0 libsyndication4 libtag-extras1 libtaskmanager4abi3 libtelepathy-logger-qt4-1 libtelepathy-qt4-2 libtemplateparser4 libweather-ion6 libyaml-0-2 libzip2 lightdm-kde-greeter muon muon-installer muon-notifier muon-updater okular okular-extra-backends oxygen-cursor-theme partitionmanager pinentry-gtk2 pinentry-qt4 plasma-dataengines-addons plasma-dataengines-workspace plasma-desktop plasma-netbook plasma-scriptengine-python plasma-widget-facebook plasma-widget-folderview plasma-widget-kimpanel plasma-widget-menubar plasma-widget-message-indicator plasma-widget-networkmanagement plasma-widget-telepathy-chat plasma-widget-telepathy-presence plasma-widgets-addons plasma-widgets-workspace plymouth-theme-kubuntu-logo plymouth-theme-kubuntu-text print-manager python-pyudev python3-pykde4 python3-pyqt4 python3-sip qapt-deb-installer quassel quassel-data rdesktop rekonq ruby ruby1.9.1 skanlite software-properties-kde systemsettings tasks-icons ubuntu-release-upgrader-qt usb-creator-kde userconfig && sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

Xubuntu:

sudo apt-get remove abiword abiword-common abiword-plugin-grammar abiword-plugin-mathview alacarte bison blueman brltty-x11 catfish espeak exo-utils flex fonts-droid fonts-lyx gigolo gmusicbrowser gnome-system-tools gnome-time-admin gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs gthumb gthumb-data gtk2-engines-pixbuf indicator-application-gtk2 indicator-sound-gtk2 leafpad libabiword-2.9 libbison-dev libdigest-crc-perl libexo-1-0 libexo-common libexo-helpers libfl-dev libgarcon-1-0 libgarcon-common libgdome2-0 libgdome2-cpp-smart0c2a libglade2-0 libgnomevfs2-0 libgnomevfs2-common libgnomevfs2-extra libgsf-1-114 libgsf-1-common libgstreamer-perl libgtk2-notify-perl libgtk2-trayicon-perl libgtkmathview0c2a libgtkspell0 libido-0.1-0 libindicate-gtk3 libintl-perl libjpeg-progs libjpeg-turbo-progs libkeybinder0 liblink-grammar4 libloudmouth1-0 libnet-dbus-perl liboobs-1-5 libotr2 libots0 librarian0 libsexy2 libtagc0 libthunarx-2-0 libtidy-0.99-0 libtie-ixhash-perl libtumbler-1-0 libunique-1.0-0 libvte-common libvte9 libwv-1.2-4 libxfce4ui-1-0 libxfce4ui-utils libxfce4util-bin libxfce4util-common libxfce4util6 libxfcegui4-4 libxfconf-0-2 libxml-parser-perl libxml-twig-perl libxml-xpath-perl lightdm-gtk-greeter link-grammar-dictionaries-en m4 orage parole pastebinit pavucontrol pidgin pidgin-data pidgin-libnotify pidgin-microblog pidgin-otr plymouth-theme-xubuntu-logo plymouth-theme-xubuntu-text python-configobj rarian-compat ristretto screensaver-default-images scrollkeeper shimmer-themes system-tools-backends tcl8.5 thunar thunar-archive-plugin thunar-data thunar-media-tags-plugin thunar-volman ttf-droid tumbler tumbler-common xbrlapi xchat xchat-common xfburn xfce-keyboard-shortcuts xfce4-appfinder xfce4-cpugraph-plugin xfce4-dict xfce4-indicator-plugin xfce4-mailwatch-plugin xfce4-netload-plugin xfce4-notes xfce4-notes-plugin xfce4-notifyd xfce4-panel xfce4-places-plugin xfce4-power-manager xfce4-power-manager-data xfce4-quicklauncher-plugin xfce4-screenshooter xfce4-session xfce4-settings xfce4-systemload-plugin xfce4-taskmanager xfce4-terminal xfce4-verve-plugin xfce4-volumed xfce4-weather-plugin xfce4-xkb-plugin xfconf xfdesktop4 xfdesktop4-data xfwm4 xscreensaver xscreensaver-data xscreensaver-gl xubuntu-artwork xubuntu-default-settings xubuntu-desktop xubuntu-docs xubuntu-icon-theme xubuntu-wallpapers && sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

Lubuntu:

sudo apt-get remove abiword abiword-common abiword-plugin-grammar abiword-plugin-mathview ace-of-penguins audacious audacious-plugins audacious-plugins-data blueman catfish chromium-browser chromium-browser-l10n chromium-codecs-ffmpeg elementary-icon-theme fonts-lyx galculator gdebi gdebi-core gecko-mediaplayer giblib1 gnome-desktop-data gnome-icon-theme-full gnome-mplayer gnome-system-tools gnome-time-admin gnumeric gnumeric-common gnumeric-doc gpicview gtk2-engines-pixbuf guvcview hardinfo indicator-application-gtk2 leafpad libaacs0 libabiword-2.9 libass4 libaudclient2 libaudcore1 libavcodec53 libavformat53 libavutil51 libbinio1ldbl libbluray1 libbs2b0 libcddb2 libcolamd2.7.1 libcompfaceg1 libcue1 libdca0 libdirectfb-1.2-9 libenca0 libept1.4.12 libexo-1-0 libexo-common libexo-helpers libfaad2 libfluidsynth1 libfm-data libfm-gtk-bin libfm-gtk-data libfm-gtk3 libfm3 libgdome2-0 libgdome2-cpp-smart0c2a libglade2-0 libgmlib0 libgmtk0 libgmtk0-data libgoffice-0.8-8 libgoffice-0.8-8-common libgsf-1-114 libgsf-1-common libgsm1 libgtkmathview0c2a libgtkspell0 libguess1 libid3tag0 libimlib2 libindicate-gtk3 libjpeg-progs libjpeg-turbo-progs liblink-grammar4 libloudmouth1-0 libmenu-cache1 libmms0 libmodplug1 libmowgli2 libmp3lame0 libmpg123-0 libmusicbrainz3-6 libnet-dbus-perl libobrender27 libobt0 libonig2 liboobs-1-5 libopts25 libots0 libpisock9 libpostproc52 librarian0 libresid-builder0c2a libschroedinger-1.0-0 libsdl1.2debian libsidplay2 libswscale2 libtidy-0.99-0 libtie-ixhash-perl libts-0.0-0 libuniconf4.6 libva1 libvdpau1 libvpx1 libvte-common libvte9 libwebcam0 libwv-1.2-4 libwvstreams4.6-base libwvstreams4.6-extras libxfce4ui-1-0 libxfce4util-bin libxfce4util-common libxfce4util6 libxfconf-0-2 libxml-parser-perl libxml-twig-perl libxml-xpath-perl libxvidcore4 lightdm-gtk-greeter link-grammar-dictionaries-en lm-sensors lp-solve lubuntu-artwork lubuntu-artwork-12-10 lubuntu-core lubuntu-default-settings lubuntu-desktop lubuntu-icon-theme lubuntu-lxpanel-icons lubuntu-software-center lxappearance lxappearance-obconf lxinput lxkeymap lxlauncher lxmenu-data lxpanel lxpanel-indicator-applet-plugin lxrandr lxsession lxsession-data lxsession-edit lxshortcut lxtask lxterminal mplayer2 mtpaint ntp obconf openbox openbox-themes pcmanfm pidgin pidgin-data pidgin-libnotify pidgin-microblog plymouth-theme-lubuntu-logo plymouth-theme-lubuntu-text python-pysqlite2 python-support python-xklavier rarian-compat scrot sylpheed sylpheed-doc sylpheed-i18n sylpheed-plugins synaptic system-tools-backends transmission tsconf uvcdynctrl uvcdynctrl-data wvdial xfburn xfce-keyboard-shortcuts xfce4-notifyd xfce4-power-manager xfce4-power-manager-data xfconf xfonts-100dpi xpad xscreensaver xscreensaver-data && sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop && sudo /usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm-set-defaults -g unity-greeter

Edubuntu:

sudo apt-get remove alacarte arkose arkose-gui atomix atomix-data avogadro-data binfmt-support blinken blt breathe-icon-theme bridge-utils calibre calibre-bin cantor cantor-backend-kalgebra celestia-common celestia-gnome cgroup-lite cli-common cloud-utils cups-pk-helper debootstrap desktop-profiles dia-common dia-gnome dia-libs distro-info distro-info-data edubuntu-artwork edubuntu-desktop edubuntu-docs edubuntu-fonts edubuntu-menueditor edubuntu-wallpapers epoptes epoptes-client euca2ools fonts-beteckna fonts-bpg-georgian fonts-breip fonts-century-catalogue fonts-dkg-handwriting fonts-droid fonts-dustin fonts-ecolier-court fonts-ecolier-lignes-court fonts-freefont-otf fonts-inconsolata fonts-junicode fonts-levien-museum fonts-levien-typoscript fonts-linex fonts-linuxlibertine fonts-mgopen fonts-oflb-asana-math fonts-oflb-euterpe fonts-okolaks fonts-opendin fonts-rufscript fonts-sil-andika fonts-sil-doulos fonts-sil-gentium gamine gamine-data gbrainy gcompris gcompris-data gcompris-sound-en gimp gimp-data gir1.2-gconf-2.0 gir1.2-panelapplet-4.0 gnome-applets gnome-applets-data gnome-icon-theme-gartoon-redux gnome-panel gnome-panel-data gnome-session-fallback gobby-0.5 gobby-infinote gsfonts-x11 human-icon-theme human-theme icc-profiles-free imagemagick imagemagick-common indicator-applet-complete inkscape kalgebra kalgebra-common kalzium kalzium-data kanagram kbruch kdeedu-kvtml-data kdegames-data kgeography kgeography-data khangman kig klettres klettres-data kmplot kolourpaint4 krosspython kstars kstars-data ktouch ktouch-data ktuberling kturtle kwordquiz laby libamd2.2.0 libanalitza4abi1 libanalitzagui4abi1 libapparmor1 libappindicator0.1-cil libavcodec53 libavogadro1 libavutil51 libbabl-0.1-0 libblas3 libblas3gf libbonobo2-0 libbonobo2-common libbonoboui2-0 libbonoboui2-common libboost-graph1.49.0 libboost-python1.49.0 libboost-regex1.49.0 libcfitsio3 libchm1 libcln6 libdbus-glib1.0-cil libdbus1.0-cil libdxflib-2.2.0.0 libfftw3-3 libftgl2 libgc1c2 libgconf2-4 libgconf2.0-cil libgdiplus libgegl-0.2-0 libgfortran3 libgimp2.0 libglade2-0 libglib2.0-cil libgmime2.6-cil libgnome2-0 libgnome2-bin libgnome2-common libgnomecanvas2-0 libgnomecanvas2-common libgnomeui-0 libgnomeui-common libgnomevfs2-0 libgnomevfs2-common libgnomevfs2-extra libgps20 libgraphite3 libgsasl7 libgsl0ldbl libgsm1 libgtk2.0-cil libgtkglext1 libgtksourceview2.0-0 libgtksourceview2.0-common libgtkspell0 libidl-common libidl0 libindi-data libindi0b libindicate-gtk3 libinfgtk3-0.5-0 libinfinity-0.5-0 libjavascriptcoregtk-1.0-0 libjs-sphinxdoc libjs-underscore libkdeedu-data libkdegames6 libkeduvocdocument4 libkunitconversion4 liblapack3 liblapack3gf liblqr-1-0 liblxc0 libmad0 libmagick++5 libmagickcore5 libmagickcore5-extra libmagickwand5 libmarblewidget14 libmikmod2 libming1 libmono-addins-gui0.2-cil libmono-addins0.2-cil libmono-cairo4.0-cil libmono-corlib4.0-cil libmono-csharp4.0-cil libmono-i18n-west4.0-cil libmono-i18n4.0-cil libmono-posix4.0-cil libmono-security4.0-cil libmono-sharpzip4.84-cil libmono-system-configuration4.0-cil libmono-system-core4.0-cil libmono-system-drawing4.0-cil libmono-system-security4.0-cil libmono-system-xml4.0-cil libmono-system4.0-cil libmuparser2 libnetpbm10 libnova-0.14-0 libntlm0 libopenal-data libopenal1 libopenbabel4 liborbit2 libpanel-applet-4-0 libpodofo0.9.0 libptexenc1 libqalculate5 libqalculate5-data libqimageblitz4 librarian0 librecad librecad-data libruby1.9.1 libschroedinger-1.0-0 libsdl-image1.2 libsdl-mixer1.2 libsdl-net1.2 libsdl-pango1 libsdl-ttf2.0-0 libsdl1.2debian libseccomp0 libswscale2 libtidy-0.99-0 libumfpack5.4.0 libunique-1.0-0 libunique-3.0-0 libva1 libvpx1 libvte-common libvte9 libwebkitgtk-1.0-0 libwebkitgtk-1.0-common libwebp2 libwmf-bin libwxbase2.8-0 libwxgtk2.8-0 libx264-123 libxcomp3 libxml++2.6-2 libyaml-0-2 liferea liferea-data lightspeed lmodern luatex lxc lybniz marble marble-data marble-plugins melting metacity mono-4.0-gac mono-gac mono-runtime netpbm nxproxy opendict otf-freefont pairs parley parley-data pastebinit pdfmod pencil perlmagick plymouth-theme-edubuntu python-avogadro python-beautifulsoup python-boto python-cherrypy3 python-configobj python-crypto python-cssutils python-dateutil python-distro-info python-dnspython python-feedparser python-gevent python-gnome2 python-greenlet python-m2crypto python-mechanize python-netaddr python-numpy python-paramiko python-pyorbit python-pyparsing python-pysqlite2 python-repoze.lru python-routes python-support python-tk python-uniconvertor python-utidylib python-vte python-webob python-wimpiggy python-wxgtk2.8 python-wxversion python-x2go python-xlib python-yaml rarian-compat ri-li ri-li-data rlwrap rocs ruby ruby1.9.1 screen scribus scribus-ng scrollkeeper socat step tcl tcl8.4 tcl8.5 tex-common texlive-base texlive-binaries texlive-common texlive-doc-base texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-base-doc texlive-luatex texlive-xetex tipa tk tk8.4 tk8.5 tomboy ttf-adf-accanthis ttf-adf-baskervald ttf-adf-berenis ttf-adf-gillius ttf-adf-ikarius ttf-adf-irianis ttf-adf-libris ttf-adf-mekanus ttf-adf-oldania ttf-adf-romande ttf-adf-switzera ttf-adf-tribun ttf-adf-universalis ttf-adf-verana ttf-aenigma ttf-ancient-fonts ttf-atarismall ttf-bengali-fonts ttf-devanagari-fonts ttf-engadget ttf-essays1743 ttf-femkeklaver ttf-georgewilliams ttf-goudybookletter ttf-gujarati-fonts ttf-isabella ttf-kannada-fonts ttf-marvosym ttf-oriya-fonts ttf-radisnoir ttf-sil-doulos ttf-sjfonts ttf-staypuft ttf-tamil-fonts ttf-telugu-fonts tuxmath tuxpaint tuxpaint-data tuxpaint-plugins-default tuxpaint-stamps-default tuxtype tuxtype-data ubuntu-edu-preschool ubuntu-edu-primary ubuntu-edu-secondary ubuntu-edu-tertiary vim vim-runtime x11vnc x11vnc-data xaos xplanet xplanet-images xpra xserver-xorg-video-dummy xvfb xvnc4viewer yorick yorick-data yorick-z && sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/usbcoreblog/archive/2012/06/27/how-to-determine-whether-a-usb-3-0-device-is-operating-at-superspeed.aspx
In my case it was, with my Seagate Expansion Desktop 3TB-drive! 

It seems to work alright so far, one has to use a special sauce link-button in the article found from the link below for it to work:

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/11/how-to-test-spotifys-new-web-player

Anyway, if this turns out well it means there will be no future need for a Spotify Client, as Spotify can be accessed and used from any modern web-browser. This may be good news for the Linux community, if not for anyone else, as the Spotify client has been seriously buggy in it’s later iterations and frequently crashes on modern Linux distributions. This may be the salvation for us. What do you think?