Hi
Did you choose "Switch universe" or "Switch universe [OSWindow]"?
I don't know about Linux but latest version of Brick with latest vm is stable and confirmed to work on windows and Mac.
P.S. For Bloc related stuff we have discussions-bloc@pharo.org
I took a look at the latest Brick, and did 'switch universe' before opening the Brick examples. Resizing the Pharo window resulted in a black screen. If I first create a Bloc world, resizing works.
(Ubuntu 15.04)
Stephan