[ale] AARG! Manual software updates, Sun Java, LibreOffice, help

[Ron Frazier]

On 11/6/2011 11:02 PM, David Tomaschik wrote:
> On 11/05/2011 09:02 AM, Ron Frazier wrote:
>    
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I've been going through my routine pc maintenance procedures, updating
>> everything which connects to the internet for every login on every
>> computer, checking security settings, doing backups and such.  One of
>> the things I'm trying to get away from by using Linux is the Windows
>> pattern of having to update everything in the system manually, which is
>> very time consuming.  I'm running Ubuntu 10.04, and, for the most part,
>> the Apt / Synaptic package manager system handles the updates.  I have
>> two anomalies that are really bugging me.
>>
>>      
> <snip>
>    
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Ron
>>
>>      
> Ron,
>
> For every choice you make in life, there is a price to be paid.  You
> choose to run LTS editions of Ubuntu, and you've explained your
> reasoning before on the mailing list.  Unfortunately, one of the prices
> of running an LTS edition is that you may not have the most current
> versions of software.
>
> At work, we do run 10.04 LTS on servers, and there are times where I
> have to roll new packages to get newer versions of software than is
> available in the repos -- though I try not to, if at all possible.
> Sometimes we just decide to live without a feature or two.  Again, it's
> a tradeoff.
>
>    
Hi David,

I understand what you're saying.  However, if I may indulge in a bit of 
comparative analysis, let's look at the alternatives on the Windows side 
of the fence, when I dual boot.  I'm running a couple of computers with 
Vista and one with Windows 7.  My Son's and Dad's machines run Vista as 
well.  So, 4 of the 5 are running the prior generation of MS software.  
Before I retired it, I had an old laptop running XP.  All those OS's are 
still "supported" by MS.  I think XP support expires in 2013, so I might 
have to update that beast once more before the OS reaches end of life.  
In any case, I'm still getting security patches and bug fixes for the OS 
from the manufacturer for all the old systems, similar to Ubuntu's LTS 
system.  Now, on an application level, almost all the vendors that 
support Windows still support the older systems, even XP in most cases.  
So, when I go to www.java.com and check my Java version, it says (in 
effect) "Oh, you have 6.26 and you need 6.29.  Let me fix that for you.  
Click here."  So, I click there, and if everything works, even my oldest 
systems get updated to 6.29, etc.  Now, as I've said before, I don't 
like the fact that I have to update each thing on Windows separately.  
However, it is undeniably true that, should I wish to spend the time, I 
can have everything in my systems, even on a 10 year old machine, 
running the current OS bug fixes and security patches, and the apps 
running their current versions, and the system fully capable of being 
used in 2011.

So, right now, if I want to have my Linux machine running the most 
current LibreOffice 3.4.3 (I think) and the most current Oracle Java 
6.29, like some of my Windows machines already are, I have to go through 
procedures for those two applications to update them which are 
substantially more difficult than those on Windows.  I had a similar 
problem with Firefox in Linux.  I was stuck on the 3.26 (or something) 
version sequence, and Synaptic refused to even show anything of the 
version 7.x sequence, which is what Firefox is on now.  I solved that 
problem by adding the Mozilla PPA.  So now, just like my Windows 
machine, my Linux machine always has the most current stable version of 
Firefox.  Now I'll admit to not being knowledgeable about all the inner 
workings of Linux.  However, given the availability of the Apt / 
Synaptic package manager system in Ubuntu, or similar ones in other 
distributions, I don't see why I cannot have the best of both worlds, a 
continuously updated and patched OS AND continuously updated and patched 
applications which are always updated to their current rev level, AND, 
done so automatically.  I do understand that there are 200 or so 
distributions.  However, I'm running one of the top 5, so I would think 
the vendors could support those in the way I'm describing.

Sincerely,

Ron

-- 

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new messages very quickly.)

Ron Frazier

770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
linuxdude AT c3energy.com