A couple of rants about Launchpad

[Derek Broughton]

Christopher Chan wrote:

> 
>> Now, I tend to agree that tools that are unsupported shouldn't be
>> included (ie, apt-get - aptitude is NOT installed by default), but the
>> proper
>> upgrade tools work in almost all cases.  Of course, they'll never
>> eliminate all the edge conditions...
>>   
> 
> Great. apt-get not supported? Now that means if I have a hundred
> desktops to look after, I am going to have to go round to each one,
> login and then start the upgrade process.

No, there is an "unattended upgrades" option for servers.  I haven't looked
into it.  Perhaps it uses apt-get, but nevertheless the developers are
saying "don't go manually handling your own upgrades, because we won't
support it", and I agree with them.  They can't possibly come up with all
the potential problems if you start throwing your own sources into
sources.list, and installing all sorts of arcane software. 

> Even if the upgrade process is 
> flawless, this means any huge rollout will be a major pain in the neck
> to maintain.
> 
> 
> Why are great tools like aptitude thrown out in the name of user-friendly?

It's not "thrown out", it's just not supported.  I can still install it -
and always do.  Except for version upgrades, I always use aptitude.  And I
probably will for Hardy - Intrepid, too, since I have to redo it on my new
machine.
-- 
derek