Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 29th Oct 2009 15:39 UTC
We're a little late, but Real Life got in the way, so here we finally are. Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced today that Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition has been released. This version focusses on improvements in cloud computing on the server using Eucalyptus, further improvements in boot speed, as well as development on Netbook Remix. The related KDE, Xfce, and other variants have been released as well. Update by ELQ: Just a quick note to say that one of my Creative Commons videos was selected to be part of Ubuntu's Free Culture Showcase package that comes by default with the new Ubuntu version!
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Member since:2009-03-20
Upgrading any OS at all rarely works well.
The recommendation for Linux distributions is to make separate partitions for / (root), /home and swap. When it comes to a new distribution to try, or an upgrade to your existing distribution, then install the new OS with re-format to the root partition (/), and use but do NOT re-format the /home partition.
Sweet. Works every time, no problems normally. Installing a Linux distribution to a freshly-formatted / partition form a LiveCD normally takes only 20 minutes or so.
If you haven't done this separate partitions arrangement, then you can still recover the situation. Using a LiveCD, save everything existing under /home to another backup disk, wipe the first disk and re-partition it to have separate /, /home and swap partitions, restore the contents of /home from the other backup disk, then re-install the new OS to /. After re-boot, re-create your users with the same usernames as before, and accept the existing home directories for them.
The recommendation for Linux distributions is to make separate partitions for / (root), /home and swap. When it comes to a new distribution to try, or an upgrade to your existing distribution, then install the new OS with re-format to the root partition (/), and use but do NOT re-format the /home partition.
Sweet. Works every time, no problems normally. Installing a Linux distribution to a freshly-formatted / partition form a LiveCD normally takes only 20 minutes or so.
If you haven't done this separate partitions arrangement, then you can still recover the situation. Using a LiveCD, save everything existing under /home to another backup disk, wipe the first disk and re-partition it to have separate /, /home and swap partitions, restore the contents of /home from the other backup disk, then re-install the new OS to /. After re-boot, re-create your users with the same usernames as before, and accept the existing home directories for them.
Yes, but wouldn't you have to manually re-install all your software too? (stuff that wouldn't be in the home folder)... and the dependent libraries... and other miscellaneous stuff...
I did a complete wipe when I went from 8.04 to 8.10 and reinstalling and reconfiguring everything was a major pain in the ass.
That's what made me want to do an upgrade this time. Having to reinstall and reconfigure every time there's an update seems like total inefficiency to me.
Edited 2009-10-30 00:15 UTC
Member since:2007-02-17
"Upgrading any OS at all rarely works well. The recommendation for Linux distributions is to make separate partitions for / (root), /home and swap. When it comes to a new distribution to try, or an upgrade to your existing distribution, then install the new OS with re-format to the root partition (/), and use but do NOT re-format the /home partition. Sweet. Works every time, no problems normally. Installing a Linux distribution to a freshly-formatted / partition form a LiveCD normally takes only 20 minutes or so. If you haven't done this separate partitions arrangement, then you can still recover the situation. Using a LiveCD, save everything existing under /home to another backup disk, wipe the first disk and re-partition it to have separate /, /home and swap partitions, restore the contents of /home from the other backup disk, then re-install the new OS to /. After re-boot, re-create your users with the same usernames as before, and accept the existing home directories for them.
Yes, but wouldn't you have to manually re-install all your software too? (stuff that wouldn't be in the home folder)... and the dependent libraries... and other miscellaneous stuff... I did a complete wipe when I went from 8.04 to 8.10 and reinstalling and reconfiguring everything was a major pain in the ass. That's what made me want to to an upgrade this time. Having to reinstall and reconfigure every time there's an update seems like total inefficiency to me. " Meh.
Most distributions, such as Ubuntu or Kubuntu, install almost everything that you would need for a standard desktop out of the box.
On Kubuntu, after a fresh install I install firefox and smbfs and a couple of extra libraries, and that is about it.
If you really want, keep a couple of files from /etc that you find yourself having to reconfigure all the time. I haven't found that to be necessary. I do have an off-system copy of some .ttf files however (saved from a ttf fonts directory several years ago), but it takes only a minute to re-add those files as system fonts.
I do find it advisable to edit /etc/adduser.conf. In that file I enable the default user groups that I want. Then adding my users back again is simply a matter of typing "sudo adduser username" and then their password for each user. I do believe there is a "newusers" script that you can run if you have a lot of users, that will take as input a copy of the old file from /etc/passwd, so saving that file as well could save you time for a new install.
Member since:2005-11-05
Upgrading any OS at all rarely works well.
The recommendation for Linux distributions is to make separate partitions for / (root), /home and swap. When it comes to a new distribution to try, or an upgrade to your existing distribution, then install the new OS with re-format to the root partition (/), and use but do NOT re-format the /home partition.
Sweet. Works every time, no problems normally. Installing a Linux distribution to a freshly-formatted / partition form a LiveCD normally takes only 20 minutes or so.
The recommendation for Linux distributions is to make separate partitions for / (root), /home and swap. When it comes to a new distribution to try, or an upgrade to your existing distribution, then install the new OS with re-format to the root partition (/), and use but do NOT re-format the /home partition.
Sweet. Works every time, no problems normally. Installing a Linux distribution to a freshly-formatted / partition form a LiveCD normally takes only 20 minutes or so.
FWIW, that has not been my experience. I've updated Debian from testing to unstable or from stable to testing numerous times with no problems. Recently, I've upgraded SuSE 11.1 to various stages of the 11.2 beta (now RC) without problems too. While I have had times when the process has foobared, this hasn't been for two or three years now and I suspect that distros have generally got better at dealing with big, system-wide upgrades.
I agree that a fresh new install may well be a better option in some circumstances, or may be unavoidable because, for example, you wish to change the filing system. But increasingly, I think it is worth having a go at upgrade in situ, although as always you need to back everything up in case it all goes wrong.
Member since:2006-01-03
Member since:2005-07-06
This time I went even further, even though I have partitioned as you recommend here.
I usually just reinstall on my «/» partition, leving all my previous settings and then run s script I've hacked together to get things such as java, flash, dvcss2, all the codecs, fonts and a few apps I like to have (as skype & google earth...), but aren't installed by default on UNR (oh, yeah my main computer is an EEE 900). You can find the script at the following address: http://nalle.no/apps/standard-installapps-ubuntu As I said, it's just a hack, but it'll give you all the extras.
This time I did a clean install; only copying back again .mozilla, .mozilla-thunderbird and .evolution (yeah, I use them both, and I did backup my /home-partition). That way all I get to see how the interface looks by default, as I usually configure my interface quite heavily.
Usually I do this only on LTS-releases, but 9.10 had been hyped so much that I felt I just had to....
Edited for typos....
Nalle Berg
./nalle.
Edited 2009-11-01 06:56 UTC
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 23:22 UTC
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:04 UTC
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:01 UTC
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 17:52 UTC
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:38 UTC
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:30 UTC, submitted by JRepin
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 22:06 UTC
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:45 UTC
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 15:53 UTC
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"More News »
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Member since:
2007-02-17
Upgrading any OS at all rarely works well.
The recommendation for Linux distributions is to make separate partitions for / (root), /home and swap. When it comes to a new distribution to try, or an upgrade to your existing distribution, then install the new OS with re-format to the root partition (/), and use but do NOT re-format the /home partition.
Sweet. Works every time, no problems normally. Installing a Linux distribution to a freshly-formatted / partition from a LiveCD normally takes only 20 minutes or so.
If you haven't done this separate partitions arrangement, then you can still recover the situation. Using a LiveCD, save everything existing under /home to another backup disk, wipe the first disk and re-partition it to have separate /, /home and swap partitions, restore the contents of /home from the other backup disk, then re-install the new OS to /. After re-boot, re-create your users with the same usernames as before, and accept the existing home directories for them.
If the new OS doesn't work for whatever reason, then just get the previous version Live CD and revert to that. It will take another 20 minutes, but you have lost nothing but less than one hour of your time.
Edited 2009-10-30 00:10 UTC