Both commands work perfectly with no output. However, I think we have found the culprit possibly nonetheless.
At the time of installation, I had python2.5 installed in /usr/local/bin because I simply could not wait for edgy to be released. So if, at any point in the install process, a script ran "/usr/bin/env python", it would have invoked my python in /usr/local/bin, which does not contain xdg in its path. -- dist-upgrade to edgy failed on gnome-app-install https://launchpad.net/bugs/67067 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs