Upgrading to Edgy Eft

[Derek Broughton]

Chris Neary wrote:

> This marries up with what I meant to get across as my point - I've no
> problem with people using Edgy now, but I'm baffled as to the mindset
> of people who upgrade to it before it's released and then magically
> expect (in my eyes) everybody to know why their newly (better than
> new) upgraded system won't work.

"magically" because there is nothing new under the sun (OK, I plagiarized
that line).  Practically nothing we do using Edgy is going to completely
baffle _everybody_ out there.  I tried edgy the first time I found the
archive had been created (completely distressed that I saw no announcement
that it _had_ been!), yet already people had found - and knew the cause
of - the problem I ran into.
> 
> I'm very strict when it comes to upgrading -

I should be.  I'm one of those people who really should NOT be using the
pre-release software.  I only run Ubuntu on one machine, and it's my main
machine.  I don't have a fallback!

> it's a big thing for me because I have a system that is already
> off-kilter with itself with regard to packages that Synaptic refuses
> to be able to update (and tells me so every time I install anything
> through it).

See, now, that's just plain wrong - your system _can_ be fixed, and should
be.  It's not something that is caused (well mostly not :-) ) by installing
beta software, but the longer you leave it in an inconsistent state, the
harder it's going to be to resolve, ime.

> In summary, I would assume that this list is to be used like the
> Dapper board in UbuntuForums is used now (and the Breezy board when
> Breezy was released; likewise for Hoary)

Er, no.  This list has never been release-specific, and I doubt it ever will
be. 

> and perhaps if its not a good 
> idea to post to the -dev list (say the bug has already been reported)

Even a previously unreported bug shouldn't be reported to the -dev list -
that's the way bugs get lost.  The only way you can be sure there'll be
followup (however slowly - I'm still tracking the 9? month old "reportbug"
bug, but it is still active) is to get it into the bug tracking system at
launchpad.net.

> Also when people ask for help after breaking their Ubuntu it feels a
> bit like 'I upgraded ahead of time to the unstable version and XYZ
> doesn't work. Please do the same so your XYZ (and possibly your ABC,
> 123 and ZXYCBA) also breaks so you can help me'.

You just have to realize that there are people here using different
versions.  There's never any need to feel like you're being pressured to
upgrade (though, especially as Edgy's release gets closer, people _will_
suggest that if you have a specific dapper problem, it might be fixed by
upgrading) - there will always be plenty of people here who have already
found the problem, and usually some will have workarounds.

> Is it really bad for me to agree with the point that if you upgrade
> your main Ubuntu box to an unstable version 
...
> you need to accept anything that doesn't work because it's an
> _unstable_ release?

I think it is.  We never need to accept that _anything_ doesn't work - what
we need to accept is that if we use the unstable version, it's our
fault :-) ; and that if we want a fix, we have to be part of the solution.
> 
> There's absolutely nothing wrong with trying a dummy upgrade on a box
> that doesn't really matter of course. That's the fun bit.
> 
> Discuss. ;-)

It's only wrong to install Edgy on a critical box if it either belongs to
your employer or your wife :-)  You might as well just slit your wrists if
they're the same person!
-- 
derek