Upgrading to 6.10 and a few other items

[prodonjs]

I just got my feet wet with Kubuntu and Linux in general over the holidays. I am absolutely loving the OS and learning how to take advantage of some of the powerful functionality built into the command line and other tools. It's definitely a learning process for someone coming from purely Windows environments, but I am excited.

Originally I installed Dapper thinking I would be better off with it than with the Edgy system, but now I'm seeing no reason why I shouldn't want to upgrade. I suppose the LTS isn't really relevant or beneficial to me since Linux is basically my sandbox operating system (although I'm finding myself using it more and more over Windows). However, what I wondered is whether or not it is worthwhile to upgrade and whether or not an upgrade would be a clunky solution (I certainly know that with Windows, 'upgrades' from previous versions were disasterous and so much slower than a fresh install but of course that is Windows).

I was also wondering if it was beneficial to get the latest Linux kernel which is 2.6.19. something. I can't seem to find that image on any of the repositories and I'm not sure if that would even be what I want. Plus, I have an Intel Pentium-M Centrino and I was wondering if the i386 image is best, or the i686 image? Basically, I'm just looking to tweak this system as much as possible and get the most bang for my proverbial buck.

I'm also hoping to learn more about Linux and updating and upgrading in the process so I'm anxious to hear some opinions.

[kubicle]

Re: Upgrading to 6.10 and a few other items

Originally I installed Dapper thinking I would be better off with it than with the Edgy system, but now I'm seeing no reason why I shouldn't want to upgrade. I suppose the LTS isn't really relevant or beneficial to me since Linux is basically my sandbox operating system (although I'm finding myself using it more and more over Windows). However, what I wondered is whether or not it is worthwhile to upgrade and whether or not an upgrade would be a clunky solution (I certainly know that with Windows, 'upgrades' from previous versions were disasterous and so much slower than a fresh install but of course that is Windows).

Whether it's worth it to upgrade is a matter of opinion (some people prefer to stay with dapper and some go for newer releases to get newer versions of software packages). Of course at some point the upgrade will come necessary (if you wish to receive further security upgrades).

The upgrade from dapper to edgy has proven problematic for some people (due to some changes to package naming etc.), so if you're not very familiar with linux and troubleshooting possible problems, I'd recommend a fresh install. Work is being done to improve release upgrading (it seems feisty will introduce an upgrading tool to smooth out upgrading).

Upgrading and installing fresh are both rather quick options provided you have a relatively fast connection to download packages/iso-image (compared to windows), so speed difference between the two methods isn't a deal-breaker either way. Upgrading should preserve all your previous settings intact (but you can save most settings on a fresh installation by either backing up /home or having it on a separate partition which you don't format during installation)

I was also wondering if it was beneficial to get the latest Linux kernel which is 2.6.19. something. I can't seem to find that image on any of the repositories and I'm not sure if that would even be what I want. Plus, I have an Intel Pentium-M Centrino and I was wondering if the i386 image is best, or the i686 image? Basically, I'm just looking to tweak this system as much as possible and get the most bang for my proverbial buck.

Sometimes it may be beneficial to compile a kernel that is not in the repos (if you have hardware that isn't supported with the official kernel), but a s a general rule it's better to stick with the kernels and possible kernel updates (usually security patches) that come available from the repos. Newer release versions usually have upgraded kernels (feisty currently uses the 2.6.20 kernel, for example).

Also, dapper+ releases have the 'generic' kernel (which replaces the old 686 and k7 kernels)...and with which you may get some performance benefits compared to the 386 kernel (depending on your hardware).

[prodonjs]

Re: Upgrading to 6.10 and a few other items

Alright, from what I gather it would probably be better just to hold off and wait until Feisty comes out before doing an upgrade/install. I just downloaded the ISO image of Edgy but I'll probably hold off on it because I'm mainly using Linux for a project I'm doing assigned to update a file in the GMP library. I don't want to screw anything up and put my system on hold so I'll probably just stick with what I have for now. When is Feisty schedule for release?

[marshallbanana]

Re: Upgrading to 6.10 and a few other items

When is Feisty schedule for release?

April 19th, note that because the version number for feisty is 7.04 you can instantly tell from this that it will be released in April '07. There is a regular release schedule for new versions of k/ubuntu to come out every 6 months, every april and october (although dapper was 2 months late).