Being pretty much a newbie to this phone modding lark, I've just installed HTC's 2.3 and it works a treat. This might put the cat among the pigeons, but I feel more secure installing a software version from the phone's manufacturer (over-cautiously labelled as 'developer only') than a ROM created by a hobbyist I do not know.
Give HTC a break. The desire is a relatively old phone now. You could criticise them for not putting more memory in it in the first place, but they've obviously tried hard to squeeze 2.3 onto a phone that does not have enough memory. And the way they've released it has real benefits to the consumer - you can completely bypass your network, and their meddling with the firmware on YOUR phone. Sure you have to wipe the phone and plug in a cable, but that was standard for phone updates only a couple of years ago.
The things they've left off are clever too - nothing you will miss, or can't restore yourself easily. No wallpapers, no teeter app, no network bloat. The flashlight app is left out, but they even include that in the zip file as an apk file so you can add it straight in.
If they'd released this to the general public, people would have gone crazy about missing wallpapers etc - they haven't had much choice but to do it this way. To be honest, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. They've tried to take a middle path to please everyone, and they're being shot down in flames for it.
