Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS Updates

storm5510 · 2023-03-12, 18:12

Ubuntu did another large update today. When it completed, it presented a new dialog which stated three items were to be removed. One of the options was "Remind me later." This is the once I chose. The title of the dialog was "Updates to be installed." A command button was marked "Install." I have a good setup which has run with no issues. I would rather not mess it up. I really do not know what the intent of the dialog is, remove or install. The next time it appears, I will attempt to do an image capture.

kruoli · 2023-03-12, 18:43

What does apt list --upgradable give? It will list possible updates.

storm5510 · 2023-03-12, 23:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by kruoli

What does apt list --upgradable give? It will list possible updates.

Just three:

Quote:

python3-software-properties
software-properties-common
software-properties-gtk

Perhaps these are the same as in the dialog. I should have made a note of them.

M344587487 · 2023-03-13, 19:11

Removing packages is not uncommon, if you didn't remove a program prior (which might orphan a library which for whatever reason could not be removed at the same time) then it's probably just a refactoring or replacement of some functions that eliminated the need for a certain package. get removed automatically often on my machine, presumably yours too.

If you've ever installed complex programs without using the package manager then you're right to be cautious about removing random packages, the dependencies of these programs are not tracked. So odd things like XML/font/glue libraries being removed might suddenly make a particular program no longer work.

In your case apt search describes the packages as "manage the repositories that you install software from", so it's a core OS function that's probably been refactored and is safe to update. Knowing Canonical they might have "conveniently" re-enabled snap if it's been disabled.

storm5510 · 2023-03-14, 00:51

It ran another small update today for Thunderbird Mail and Ubuntu Core. I remember seeing something about "snap" recently, but not the details.

I use this setup for CADO-NFS exclusively. In the past, I have run mprime, mfaktc, and msieve.

Some of the text in CADO-NFS screen output lines seem different than from before the last few updates. I may be wrong, but I would not think an OS upgrade would change anything directly related to a single application. This could just as easily be something I never noticed before. No, I don't sit and stare at it. Just an occasional glance to see if it is still running properly.

It has not repeated the removal request. It is all running fine, and I will leave it alone.

chalsall · 2023-03-14, 00:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by storm5510

It has not repeated the removal request. It is all running fine, and I will leave it alone.

How's Levi?

retina · 2023-03-14, 01:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by storm5510

It is all running fine, and I will leave it alone.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Jim: Hey Bob, my computer says it needs to update. What should I do?
Bob: Is your stuff working okay?
Jim: Yup. Looks fine.
Bob: Then ignore it.
Jim: But what if it is something important?
Bob: If it's important you will already know about it.
Jim: But it might be some new awesomeness I am missing out on.
Bob: If it was so awesome you would already know about it.
Jim: But the computer says do, so I should obey, right?
Bob: Then go for it Jim. If everything breaks then it's on you.

storm5510 · 2023-03-14, 01:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by chalsall

How's Levi?

Off-topic here. New post in "Your Favorite Pest."

Quote:

Originally Posted by retina

If it aint broke then don't fix it.

Exactly!

M344587487 · 2023-05-27, 12:21

That's true to a point, but updating at least every other LTS isn't a bad idea. 4 years is a long time for progress to be made on improving popular FOSS software. Take gedit as a minor but relevant example, the version in Ubuntu 20.04 has an annoying visual bug when editing a file over 1000 lines long (sometimes the entire output is shifted, it looks like one line but when your cursor goes to it it's a different line and lines only update when the cursor is at it). It got fixed years ago but the fix was never picked up by the maintainer of 20.04's gedit as it is relatively rare and doesn't completely break. But if you encounter it often it's painful. Ubuntu 20.04's repos will be littered with examples like that. Also rusticl is coming to mesa and might be able to replace rocm from v23.2 as the opencl driver to use for some possibly all cards, but it'll never come to 20.04.

Even if you ignore user programs as everything is working fine for you, the kernel improves a lot in 4 years. BTRFS with zstd compression and deduplication is a killer feature for me, for others it'll depend on what files they're working with. BTRFS got a nice improvement in 6.3 and it'll tangentially get another one in some months when zstd is updated. Then there's io_uring, which can make certain types of I/O much more efficient. Then there's 4 years of improvements to hardware support, particularly important if you rely on the drivers built into the kernel for GPU which have improved dramatically for AMD and intel (iGPU). Then there's 4 years of accumulated minor optimisations like the one for csum coming in 6.5.

storm5510 · 2023-05-27, 18:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by M344587487

That's true to a point, but updating at least every other LTS isn't a bad idea...

Only in some cases. The last time I tried updating to 22.04, CADO-NFS refused to compile. Apparently, it could not find what it needed. I have left it as is with 20.04.4 LTS. Once compiled, the frequent update patches do not seem to affect it.

chalsall · 2023-05-27, 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by M344587487

That's true to a point, but updating at least every other LTS isn't a bad idea.

I tend to agree. But storm5510 also has a strong point.

It it 'aint broken, don't fix.

I'm currently working in a space where security is (of course) paramount. "New features (even timezone updates) are far from our primary concern.

Can you "Zero day" me over TCP/IP? Even on the same subnet?

Bring it on.

2023-03-12, 18:12	#1
storm5510 Random Account Aug 2009 Not U. + S.A. 2⁶×43 Posts	Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS Updates Ubuntu did another large update today. When it completed, it presented a new dialog which stated three items were to be removed. One of the options was "Remind me later." This is the once I chose. The title of the dialog was "Updates to be installed." A command button was marked "Install." I have a good setup which has run with no issues. I would rather not mess it up. I really do not know what the intent of the dialog is, remove or install. The next time it appears, I will attempt to do an image capture.

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2023-03-12, 18:43	#2
kruoli "Oliver" Sep 2017 Porta Westfalica, DE 3²×173 Posts	What does apt list --upgradable give? It will list possible updates.

2023-03-13, 19:11	#4
M344587487 "Composite as Heck" Oct 2017 2·11·43 Posts	Removing packages is not uncommon, if you didn't remove a program prior (which might orphan a library which for whatever reason could not be removed at the same time) then it's probably just a refactoring or replacement of some functions that eliminated the need for a certain package. get removed automatically often on my machine, presumably yours too. If you've ever installed complex programs without using the package manager then you're right to be cautious about removing random packages, the dependencies of these programs are not tracked. So odd things like XML/font/glue libraries being removed might suddenly make a particular program no longer work. In your case apt search describes the packages as "manage the repositories that you install software from", so it's a core OS function that's probably been refactored and is safe to update. Knowing Canonical they might have "conveniently" re-enabled snap if it's been disabled.

2023-03-14, 00:51	#5
storm5510 Random Account Aug 2009 Not U. + S.A. 2⁶·43 Posts	It ran another small update today for Thunderbird Mail and Ubuntu Core. I remember seeing something about "snap" recently, but not the details. I use this setup for CADO-NFS exclusively. In the past, I have run mprime, mfaktc, and msieve. Some of the text in CADO-NFS screen output lines seem different than from before the last few updates. I may be wrong, but I would not think an OS upgrade would change anything directly related to a single application. This could just as easily be something I never noticed before. No, I don't sit and stare at it. Just an occasional glance to see if it is still running properly. It has not repeated the removal request. It is all running fine, and I will leave it alone.

2023-05-27, 12:21	#9
M344587487 "Composite as Heck" Oct 2017 2·11·43 Posts	That's true to a point, but updating at least every other LTS isn't a bad idea. 4 years is a long time for progress to be made on improving popular FOSS software. Take gedit as a minor but relevant example, the version in Ubuntu 20.04 has an annoying visual bug when editing a file over 1000 lines long (sometimes the entire output is shifted, it looks like one line but when your cursor goes to it it's a different line and lines only update when the cursor is at it). It got fixed years ago but the fix was never picked up by the maintainer of 20.04's gedit as it is relatively rare and doesn't completely break. But if you encounter it often it's painful. Ubuntu 20.04's repos will be littered with examples like that. Also rusticl is coming to mesa and might be able to replace rocm from v23.2 as the opencl driver to use for some possibly all cards, but it'll never come to 20.04. Even if you ignore user programs as everything is working fine for you, the kernel improves a lot in 4 years. BTRFS with zstd compression and deduplication is a killer feature for me, for others it'll depend on what files they're working with. BTRFS got a nice improvement in 6.3 and it'll tangentially get another one in some months when zstd is updated. Then there's io_uring, which can make certain types of I/O much more efficient. Then there's 4 years of improvements to hardware support, particularly important if you rely on the drivers built into the kernel for GPU which have improved dramatically for AMD and intel (iGPU). Then there's 4 years of accumulated minor optimisations like the one for csum coming in 6.5.