[wellylug] NZ Ubuntu Repository

[Pete Black]

Its quite possible to selectively install newer packages from more  
recent ubuntu distros (e.g. just pull a specific package from feisty)  
but this approach will not work well where compatibility-breaking  
changes have been introduced, and theres no simple way to know if  
this is the case without trying (and potentially hosing your system)  
- rolling back is usually possible, but isn't something a non-expert  
user should probably consider.

Being an Ubuntu user with modern versions of packages really requires  
a complete upgrade every 6 months or so, and this really isn't spelt  
out very clearly when you install the software. Dapper LTS is the  
first time they have tried a LTS release, which means nobody has any  
idea how best to handle package update policies etc. yet. Certainly,  
if Debian stable is anything to go by, it means you'll be stuck with  
horrendously outdated software for years.

Its also quite possible that a 6-monthly upgrade can break essential  
functionality (e.g. Breezy -> Dapper Xorg issues) but it seems with  
Dapper/Edgy/Feisty and update-manager, that these problems have all  
but disappeared for the majority of users.

Still, if you want to pick and choose from the very latest Linux  
software and have it all 'just work', i'd say thats still not within  
the reach of the non-expert user.

Its better to simply understand this, than to be given a bunch of  
alternatives like 'maintain newer versions of packages by compiling  
yourself', which very few people really enjoy doing. Basically, if  
you like Ubuntu, but want new software, and aren't prepared to futz  
around with apt.conf entries, then upgrade to the newer releases  
regularly. This might potentially (though it seems to be less likely  
with each release - update quality is improving noticeably) break  
your system, but if you're going to be using Ubuntu long term, its  
best to wrestle with the beast and get somewhat comfortable with this  
process. LTS is not a good option unless you want to use the packages  
delivered with the release long term.

Hope that helps,

-Pete






On 21/05/2007, at 8:17 PM, Jethro Carr wrote:

> On Mon, 2007-05-21 at 19:29 +1200, Jeff Hunt wrote:
>> Reading back over everyones' comments, this is like the rest of life.
>> It seems to fall into a grey area where there is a proper way to
>> proceed and something a little different that works. I will box on
>> with the version of Ubuntu that suits me best and do the updates  
>> until
>> it starts to fall apart and rejoin the rest of you at about 'horrible
>> horse'. ;-).
>> Thanks for all the feedback.
>
> hi Jeff,
>
> this is a standard, and desired practise for computer software - think
> about this: You use a program which has all the features you need, and
> you are happy with it.
>
> In a distribution with a backporting policy, if a security or  
> important
> bug fix comes out for the program. the distributors (eg: Ubuntu) will
> take the fix, and put the fix into the older version of the program.
> This is called backporting.
>
> This works well - you get the updates you need, and you know the  
> program
> isn't likely to be broken or changed overnight.
>
> If the distribution didn't have a backporting policy, you might find
> after your next update that the software has changed to a newer  
> release.
> The changes might be a good thing, or they could cause:
> 1) Instability problems
> 2) Removal of features you needed
> 3) User retraining.
> 4) New bugs
>
> Users don't like having their computers change themselves. Waking  
> up to
> find that your webserver is no longer able to display web pages is  
> never
> fun for example. :-)
>
> Most major distributions have a backporting policy, and instead  
> release
> new program version in new releases of the distribution - the user can
> then make a conscious decision to upgrade to the new release, or
> continue using the existing version. Or the user can manually upgrade
> that particular program.
>
>
> Further reading:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backporting
> http://reallylinux.com/docs/choosinglinux.shtml (see Feature  
> Stability section)
>
> cheers,
>
> -- 
> Jethro Carr
>
> www.jethrocarr.com
> www.jethrocarr.com/index.php?cms=blog
>
>
> -- 
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