[Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

Jerome · 2014-04-22 22:51:19

Hi all.

I'm using Jessie/Xfce. I use aptitude for updates. I don't new any other GUI or notifier (who needs a notifier on testing ? there are updates every day...)

But when I install GNU/Linux one someone else's PC, I generally install Debian Testing + Xfce, with Synaptic and update-notifier.

I discoverd recently that update-manager had been removed from Jessie and that update-notifier is now a transition package to gnome-packagegkit.

gnome-packagekit comes with scores of dependencies :

Les paquets supplémentaires suivants seront installés :
  app-install-data apt-xapian-index gir1.2-clutter-1.0 gir1.2-clutter-gst-1.0 gir1.2-cogl-1.0 gir1.2-coglpango-1.0 gir1.2-evince-3.0 gir1.2-gst-plugins-base-0.10 gir1.2-gstreamer-0.10 gir1.2-gtkclutter-1.0 gir1.2-gtksource-3.0 gir1.2-json-1.0 gnome-desktop3-data gnome-packagekit-data gnome-settings-daemon gnome-sushi hwdata libasound2-plugins libclutter-1.0-0 libclutter-1.0-common libclutter-gst-1.0-0 libclutter-gtk-1.0-0 libcogl-common libcogl-pango0 libcogl9 libelf1 libexempi3 libgjs0b libglib2.0-bin libgnome-desktop-3-2 libgnomekbd-common libgnomekbd7 libgtksourceview-3.0-0 libgtksourceview-3.0-common libjson-glib-1.0-0 libmozjs185-1.0 libmusicbrainz5-0 libpackagekit-glib2-14 libpulse-mainloop-glib0 libsystemd-daemon0 libwacom-common libwacom2 libwebrtc-audio-processing-0 nautilus nautilus-data packagekit packagekit-backend-aptcc packagekit-tools pulseaudio pulseaudio-module-x11 pulseaudio-utils python-packagekit python-xapian rtkit

Worse. update-manager would be dangerous.

Looking at it quickly, packagekit looks like a good idea (distro abstraction), so I understand this is the solution of the future. I however don't understand why I'd need all this stuff (pulseaudio ?).

And on packagekit's WP page, it says gnome-packagekit is obsolete...

Recommended software would be Gnome Software, which may correspond to package software-center, but it is not in testing.

Now, I'm lost.

Should I install gnome-packagekit on those computers ? Do you think of an alternative ?

Those of you who use a GUI, which one is it ?

Thanks.

Jerry3904 · 2014-04-23 11:37:23

In MX-14, based on Stable, we use an efficient application developed in-house called MX Apt-notifier, a GUI-terminal hybrid that sits in the Notification Area. It's released under GPL 3 so you are welcome to give it a try.

Last edited by Jerry3904 (2014-04-23 11:39:26)

Jerome · 2014-04-23 11:49:09

I suppose you developed this because you thought there was no viable alternative.

Did you try to have it included in Debian ?

Edit: Just tried it. I wouldn't say it is eye-candy. There seems to be encoding issues with accentuated characters (French locale). Thanks for the information anyway.

Last edited by Jerome (2014-04-23 11:58:35)

Jerry3904 · 2014-04-24 00:16:16

No, it was not designed to be eye-candy, just to work without taking a lot of time and disk space (MX-14 is limited in size to one CD). Wrong distro for eye-candy...

teigaff · 2014-12-15 17:12:46

Jerome wrote:

Edit: Just tried it. I wouldn't say it is eye-candy. There seems to be encoding issues with accentuated characters (French locale). Thanks for the information anyway.

How did you install it under debian? I added the MX-14 repository in /etc/apt/sources.list and did an apt-get install apt-notifier. After that, I disabled the repo in the config.

Is it necessary to have xfce4-terminal installed? I just use urxvt. When I want to do a "View and Upgrade", no terminal will open.

Jerry3904 · 2014-12-15 20:11:29

1) the new version just released with MX-14.3 now has localization for something like 10 languages, including French; it had none before. If there are localization problems, we would like to know. The new version also offers a number of options off a right-click that refine or speed up the process.

2) you can just download the most recent package and install it with gdebi from here:

http://main.mepis-deb.org/mepiscr/repo/ … +2_all.deb

3) I believe it will honor the terminal you select in Settings > Preferred Applications, but have never tried it with a different one than what we ship with.

It is not desgined to replace Synaptic or compete with the 'buntu beauties, but instead to be fast and stay out of the user's way.

Last edited by Jerry3904 (2014-12-17 11:01:21)

sixsixfive · 2014-12-15 20:38:14

for debian use the official way - https://wiki.debian.org/UnattendedUpgrades

Jerry3904 · 2014-12-16 11:34:26

I checked with the developer on the terminal question. He says that the code varies somewhat for each terminal, so at the moment it covers only xfce4-terminal, xterm and konsole (for our users who run KDE4 instead of Xfce on MX-14).

teigaff · 2014-12-17 06:53:31

I'm using the latest version:

dpkg -l | grep apt-notifier
ii  apt-notifier                         1.1.4mcr120+

The terminal I selected in Settings > Preferred Applications is: RXVT Unicode
When I select X terminal and remove xfce4-terminal the apt-notifier will not work anymore. It seems it work only with xfce4-terminal.
xterm itself and urxvt works itself wonderful.

I know: "It is not desgined to replace Synaptic or compete with the 'buntu beauties, but instead to be fast and stay out of the user's way."
And that's the reason I use it.
The "debian way" is not that what I want. I want to do a simple apt-get update && apt-get upgrade. But use the tool as a reminder and do it from time to time.

Jerry3904 · 2014-12-17 11:11:21

I have a nice alias for that so I can just type "up" in a terminal. Line in .bashrc reads

alias up='su -c "apt-get update && apt-get -y upgrade"'

Last edited by Jerry3904 (2014-12-17 13:42:49)

sixsixfive · 2014-12-17 11:51:16

there was also once http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/panel- … tpm-plugin which could use apt to check for package updates

Jerry3904 · 2014-12-17 13:42:10

When I select X terminal and remove xfce4-terminal the apt-notifier will not work anymore. It seems it work only with xfce4-terminal.

Thanks for the bug find and report!

That must have been introduced recently, since it worked earlier. I passed this to the developer, who confirmed the bug and will handle it.

teigaff · 2014-12-17 13:44:50

The apt-notififer is exactly what I need. SmartPM is another package manager. I don't want to install another one. I only want a small application that notify me about new updates. To download and install them with apt-get updet && apt-get install is no problem. It would be nice, if it'll work with xterm or urxvt, too. I've to have a closer look into the script and debug. Maybe I'll found the Point where nothing more happens on my system.

sixsixfive · 2014-12-17 14:01:12

teigaff wrote:

SmartPM is another package manager. I don't want to install another one. I only want a small application that notify me about new updates.

>which could use apt to check for package updates

http://screenshots.debian.net/screensho … _large.png

...anyway I have never tried it but looks like something similar

Last edited by sixsixfive (2014-12-17 14:03:38)

Jerry3904 · 2014-12-17 15:04:27

Though hardly intuitive, developer says there is a way to use xterm by running

update-alternatives --config x-terminal-emulator

and selecting xterm

Last edited by Jerry3904 (2014-12-17 15:05:21)

teigaff · 2014-12-18 18:21:30

Finally there are two solutions:
1) If you have installed xterm, change the default terminal with Jerry3904's code to xterm.
or
2) Adjust the update script /usr/bin/apt-notifier.py in the section DoUpgrade() and add the lines like this:

lxterm) su-to-root -X -c "urxvt \
-e  bash $TMP/upgradeScript"
;;

Hint: the second way is not recommended. In case of an update, the update script would be overwritten with the new one.

Last edited by teigaff (2014-12-18 18:24:24)

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#1 2014-04-22 22:51:19

[Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#2 2014-04-23 11:37:23

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#3 2014-04-23 11:49:09

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#4 2014-04-24 00:16:16

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#5 2014-12-15 17:12:46

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#6 2014-12-15 20:11:29

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#7 2014-12-15 20:38:14

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#8 2014-12-16 11:34:26

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#9 2014-12-17 06:53:31

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#10 2014-12-17 11:11:21

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#11 2014-12-17 11:51:16

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#12 2014-12-17 13:42:10

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#13 2014-12-17 13:44:50

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#14 2014-12-17 14:01:12

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#15 2014-12-17 15:04:27

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

#16 2014-12-18 18:21:30

Re: [Debian] What update manager/notifier are you using ?

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