-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Neal McBurnett wrote on 02/06/14 20:49: > ... > > Is there anything in the official upgrade tools to remind users > about use of ppas, non-repo packages, unofficial desktops or other > potentially problematic bits of software like unofficial programs > which "tweak" UI settings and the like? > > I recall some warning about some such packages at upgrade time, > but I forget when it happens, what it includes, and what advice it > gives.
The alert appears after the release notes, and before the new packages are downloaded. It has primary text "Third party sources disabled", and secondary text "Some third party entries in your sources.list were disabled. You can re-enable them after the upgrade with the 'software-properties' tool or your package manager." It has one button, "Close". There are several problems with this. Is it really necessary for the sources to be disabled? Does that mean software from those channels will be removed too? If so, which software is involved? And if not, if a security update is issued in that third-party source later on, am I just out of luck? Why is there no button for cancelling the upgrade at this point? And if I cancel the upgrade after this point, do the sources remain disabled, and if so, why? Even if the function is unchanged, the presentation could be improved in many ways. Why am I exposed to the filename "sources.list", when I probably added the channel through Software Sources without seeing that filename? What is an "entry", and what does it mean for it to be "disabled"? Which ones were disabled, exactly? Why is a graphical tool referred to by its command-line name? Why is it using Ascii apostrophes instead of quote marks? And what is a "package manager"? > It would seem most convenient to have a safe, stand-alone > application that would just look for such software and give good > advice on what might not work, where folks might go or look for > upgrade paths supported by PPA developers or other organizations, > etc. It would help a lot if it didn't spew out too much > information, e.g. by combining warnings for a set of packages into > an overall warning about a particular desktop or suite of related > packages with similar upgrade issues. > > ... Why would it be most convenient for it to be a standalone application? That would mean that most people upgrading wouldn't see it and therefore wouldn't benefit from it. And if it was intended for use outside the upgrade process, that's what Software Sources is for. It's already a Windows-Vista-like awkwardness that Software Sources is a standalone app instead of a System Settings panel. - -- mpt -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1 Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://www.enigmail.net/ iEYEARECAAYFAlORxkUACgkQ6PUxNfU6ecoznQCfUakY111ONW34sV4wsfphdIFH 4EwAoLuKMvJYZSO668vIRagJz9PrTbes =5FBH -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- Ubuntu-devel-discuss mailing list Ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-discuss