I just recently upgraded to Ubuntu 11.10. Not a fan of Unity, so I decided to try out the MATE desktop from Linux Mint. I added the Mint repository, grabbed and installed the MATE packages, and got rid of the repo so I wouldn't be downloading any other Mint packages. I did have some glitches with the packages (missing dependency stuff), but I fixed it.

As other users have reported, installing MATE temporarily breaks the Ubuntu Software Center because lsb_release shows the machine as Linux Mint rather than Ubuntu. I can fix it as noted in this answer by editing /etc/*release and /etc/*issue.

Problem is, this only works until I reboot the machine. Every time I reboot, /etc/lsb-release and /etc/issue revert to Linux Mint, breaking Software Center again until I edit them, again.

Can anyone help me pin down what keeps changing these files? Much appreciated, thanks.

Rephrasing the crux of the problem: where do /etc/lsb-release and /etc/issue get their info from? What would cause them to be revised on reboot?