[NCLUG] Ubuntu software update policy

[Chad Perrin]

On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 06:48:44PM -0600, Brendan Long wrote:
> 
> Ubuntu's policy is to only do security updates after a release, so if
> 9.04 comes with Pidgin 2.5.5, Ubuntu will patch in security updates for
> 2.5.5 but will never update to 2.5.6 (until you update Ubuntu to 9.10).
> If you want newer versions of packages, you can (exceptionally rarely)
> find it in the backports repo or (fairly commonly) find a PPA. For
> example, the way the Pidgin devs recommend using it on Ubuntu is to
> install their PPA: http://www.pidgin.im/download/ubuntu/ (the actually
> PPA is here: https://launchpad.net/~pidgin-developers/+archive/ppa).

Thanks.  That answers my question quite well.


> 
> The idea behind Ubuntu's policy is that if something works when you
> install it, it will keep working perfectly. I see it as more useful for
> companies or for installing on your grandma's computer (where you want
> everything to keep working with no intervention but don't mind being
> behind). If it bothers you, you might like a rolling-release distro like
> Arch or Debian unstable.

For some purposes (such as an office setting or a nontechnical relative
I'd have to support), I would definitely see the value of that.  In this
case, however, the computer in question has Ubuntu on it because Debian
wouldn't install cleanly on that particular hardware configuration at the
time.  The official Pidgin repo for APT looks like our solution of choice
here; thanks for confirming the selection of that direction to take.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
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