Ubuntu 11.04 (two issues)

Dear all,

I have been using the new upgrade to Ubuntu for the past couple of days and I must say that I really love this version. I have however two issues that I had never had before.

1. On my laptop when the screen saver kicks in (after a few minutes of idleness), the computer freezes at least once a day (sometimes more often) without any prior warning. Now, this is really a brand new laptop and I have never had problems with freezing before. As soon as the computer remains idle, I fear that the freezing might begin. Is there anyway to address this problem?

2. On my desktop when I start the computer (another brand new machine) in the morning I get as usual to the log-in page. When I enter my user id and password, I get an Ubuntu desktop page that has no icons, menus, buttons, etc. It's just a simple empty space but it is not blank in the sense that the screen does not go black. When this happens I have to force shut down the computer and restart it again. After a couple of times of shutting down and restarting, I do finally get to my desktop page.

Any tips as to how I can address these two annoying issues would be most appreciated.

Cordially,

R