[chbot] Updating a program: which Way did I use to install it?

[Mark Atherton]

Cheap, disposable laptop sounds like a wise move to me :)

-mark

On 25/08/2020 1:33 PM, Stephen Irons wrote:
> Clearly I have become an Average Joe User, installing stuff left, right 
> and centre.
> 
> How did I get here?
> 
> I used to be quite disciplined, and only installed stuff from the 
> official repos.
> 
> Then I needed a newer version with a new feature or bug-fix, and I had 
> to use a PPA. And the feeling of trust and confidence went down a bit.
> 
> But sometimes the PPA version did not have the right option, so I had to 
> install from source or version control. I imagine that I trusted those 
> places too.
> 
> Well, two ways (distribution way and source) is managable.
> 
> Other people thought that universal installs were the bees-knees, but, 
> of course, NIH-syndrome meant that we needed umpteen versions of the 
> same thing. Suddenly, there are 3, 4, 5, who knows how many ways to 
> install stuff, and my brain explodes.
> 
> (Also, in my list, I forgot about perl -- they too have a way to 
> distribute stuff).
> 
> (Forgot about Wine too: some programs are Windows only, but run passably 
> under Wine).
> 
> And look where I am now, and I didn't realise how far I had sunk.
> 
> In my defence
> 
> I do at least think about what I am installing and assess what the risks 
> are.
> 
> I feel fairly confident with programs that install as a normal user 
> (AppImage, Python pip, some source packages, downloaded tar files, 
> Windows under Wine). Of course, there is no knowing what they will end 
> up doing, but I think they will only affect My Stuff, not The Whole 
> Caboodle.
> 
> Sometimes, though, it is cheapest in the short term to take the path of 
> least resistance, download and trust to luck. So far, I think I have 
> been lucky. Then again, how would I tell?
> 
> Perhaps it IS time to do a re-install.
> 
> Perhaps it is time to use a separate laptop for work, where we go down 
> some unpalatable paths suggested by commercial reality or economic 
> pressures.
> 
> Stephen Irons
> 
> 
> On Tue, Aug 25, 2020 at 12:41, Volker Kuhlmann <list57 at top.geek.nz> wrote:
>> [...] Oh dear, sounds just like a Microsoft system... *ducks* Looks 
>> like a lack of discipline with system administration. Maybe you want 
>> to start with fdisk and a freshly downloaded copy of $FAVDISTRO? 
>> That's what I'd do. Volker
>> -- 
>> Volker Kuhlmann http://volker.top.geek.nz/	Please do not CC list 
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