Ubuntu Package Updates
In Ubuntu MATE 16.04, Firefox was updated to 49.0. Firefox 48.0 was not updated to 48.0.1 or 48.0.2.
Thunderbird was updated to 45.3.0, which was released more than three weeks ago.
The following major packages are yet to be updated:
- LibreOffice: Installed: 5.1.4, Latest: 5.1.5
- VirtualBox: Installed: 5.0.24, Latest: 5.0.26
LibreOffice 5.1.5 was released July 29.
VirtualBox 5.0.26 was released July 18.
The latest versions of LibreOffice and VirtualBox are 5.2.1 and 5.1.6 respectively. I am not surprised those versions are unavailable because 16.04 is a Long Term Support (LTS) release. Although that would be nice. For a LTS release those versions might be considered new releases rather than maintenance releases. The latest versions within the current minor releases should have been updated because they are maintenance releases.
An option with both packages is download directly from the upstream web site and not use the Ubuntu repository package.
The Ubuntu folks update the kernel every 7 to 10 days or so. Often enough to be more than annoying. Why not the same attention to other packages? To be cynical, possibly because the kernel updates are better public relations (PR) and more newsworthy, providing the illusion of good security practices. Possibly because the Ubuntu kernel developers are more dedicated. Who knows.
Some might argue that an LTS release only guarantees security updates and not all bug fixes. Perhaps the bumps in minor releases are not security patches. Fair enough, but I suspect many if not most people do not envision LTS working that way. I suspect many expect an LTS release to remain current with maintenance releases.
Are the lack of updates causing problems for me? No. Only that maintenance releases are just that — maintenance releases.
This is a cornerstone of the ongoing discussion about rolling releases versus fixed releases.
Even with fixed and LTS releases, I think certain packages should always be updated. The top tier popular packages. Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, and VirtualBox are examples. Perhaps add GIMP, VLC, Audacity, and Pidgin. What is the magical cutoff for which packages qualify? I don’t know. Perhaps a “Dirty Dozen” approach would be sufficient.
I appreciate that fixed and LTS releases are designed with stability in mind. Conversely, I doubt that updating certain popular packages breaks that stability.
Posted: Category: Commentary, Usability Tagged: General, Ubuntu
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