It sounds like this would go well in adept_notifier, which already lets you know when new packages are available. I'm not sure if it belongs on by default or not, that's up for debate, but as a feature it seems perfectly reasonable. I'm confirming the bug.
** Changed in: adept (Ubuntu) Status: Unconfirmed => Confirmed ** Summary changed: - adept does not download packages in the background + Wish: automatically download updated packages in the background -- Wish: automatically download updated packages in the background https://launchpad.net/bugs/49966 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs