Earlier quoted context omitted.
I haven't been using Windows for a while, but I think there's a way to disable via Group Policy or registry now?
There is. Hard, but possible, just the way it should be.
Enterprise and Education only.
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
461–470 of 645 posts
Re: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
#462Earlier quoted context omitted.
We work at remote sites on cell connections. Part of the reason we moved to Ubuntu from Windows was the ability to control data usage, which is expensive. Automatic updates quickly become a significant slice of the bill when random decisions like these get pushed on users. Ubuntu was supposed to help prevent us from needing to chase this.
Windows lets you set your network connection as metered, and doing so prevents it from applying automatic updates. I recently switched back to linux myself, but there are certain utilities and conveniences and options in Windows that linux distros don't yet provide, and ubuntu definitely is not meant to be light weight in any sense of the term. Is switching to something else an option at this point?
I think part of the problem is that many newish users equate Linux with Ubuntu, good and bad. There are many other options and Ubuntu should not be the default anymore.
Re: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
#463Earlier quoted context omitted.
In your own company you're free to do what you want. I can understand the reason for this. Now that most suppliers treat their devices as 'black boxes' and call home to install updates whenever they want, the security team no longer has visibility nor control over this. So much stuff runs Linux which we don't manage but still has to have full access to our network. And public repositories have been compromised and sp…
> In your own company you're free to do what you want. No, it's corporate MITM specifically which should be illegal.
Yeah, I want traders to be able to communicate and trade freely away from the prying eyes of their... employer?
Re: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
#464Earlier quoted context omitted.
You claim that snap offers real benefits but list none and dismiss detractors as irrational and suggest that instead of complaining about Snap users who have no desire to use snap should invest their own efforts to improve something they have no desire to use instead of being critical. You are correct that this appears to be EXACTLY like the systemd debate. Snap HOPES to provide an easier environment for developers t…
The difference between systemd and snap is that systemd has been validated by almost all the major distro makers. The exceptions are largely people who don’t want systemd precisely because of systemd’s popularity, and they want to retain some diversity in the ecosystem. Canonical could barely get its own users to prefer snaps over the alternatives, which is why they are forcing it onto them.
More people using a system doesn't validate anything by that definition we ought to deprecate linux and mac on the desktop and all just use windows. Concepts and tools require objective validation not popularity.
Re: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
#465Maybe I'm in the minority but I like Snaps. I wish all software would auto-update silently in the background -- when's the last time you even thought about upgrading Chrome? The author of this article claims it's too difficult to find Flatpak apps and that the Ubuntu software center prioritizes Snaps over .deb. Are platforms never allowed to migrate to a new standard? Why is it Canonical's fault that authors of indiv…
> when's the last time you even thought about upgrading Chrome?
Every. Fucking. Week. Because it breaks my session every update thanks to the inane switch to snap.
Re: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
#466Earlier quoted context omitted.
At that point I'll just use Debian.
Debian used not to work easily on hardware that require proprietary drivers, did it change recently ? I left Ubuntu almost ten years ago, after 5 years of using it, when they started using MIR instead of Gnome2 and I replaced it with Linux Mint and I haven't looked back. This whole snap thing looks like the new weird decision made by Canonical to make their faithful users leave :/
It has been decades since I had to provide extra drivers to a Debian install.
It is true that the first-presented installer ISO images on Debian's downloads page lack the worst proprietary drivers, but another couple of clicks takes you to images with them included. So, worst case, you find that the image you have lacks such a needed driver, and you use another image. In practice, I just start with the latter, and have not encountered hardware not covered. For the absolute newest equipment, a "testing" installer may be the right version to use.
The Debian download pages provide installer images for all needs. I have not needed to look at secondary sites, which also exist for specialized needs.
Re: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
#467To disallow control of the updates by the users is probably well-intended as some kind of a trade-off, but what if I don't want a new feature that is coming in the next version? What if I already know it's broken in my system configuration -- I hope for a fix for 60 days, and then what? What if the fix never comes? Does my system stop working?
What if I'm a business relying on that specific version? Do I just say "oh well" and close shop?
And what about airgapped systems?
I understand there's the "security", but then, on the other hand:
1. If snapd gets forked because of this, the snap ecosystem becomes fragmented and Canonical loses control of part of their baby.
2. If snapd stays as-is, and Canonical keeps preventing user control of the update cadence, then people will just run away from using snaps once the magical auto-updates create any high-profile problem. Lxd is a snap as well, so containers will be in the crosshairs.
All in all it feels like a silly decision if you ask me.
Re: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
#468Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you have proprietary drivers, you'll need to prepare a USB stick with them downloaded onto it. They won't be on the installer image. On my older 2011-era laptop, that's the wifi and wired network that need those drivers. It's a bit of a pain.
Generally it's not the drivers but the firmware for those devices, i.e. code that runs inside the device. I think it's an over-zealous position from Debian not to redistribute firmware. Even systems that are very strict about licensing, like OpenBSD, redistribute firmware, because they have some common sense.
Debian does, in fact, distribute firmware. They are just careful to ensure that you are getting it deliberately, and not accidentally.
Re: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS’ snap obsession has snapped me off of it
#469Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I wish all software would auto-update silently in the background -- when's the last time you even thought about upgrading Chrome? Updating everything has always been one click in Ubuntu (and I'm sure there's an option to have it go automatically). > The author of this article claims it's too difficult to find Flatpak apps and that the Ubuntu software center prioritizes Snaps over .deb. Are platforms never allowed t…
The promise is that providers can build one package for all Linux distros, Afaik. Less work for packagers. More packages for obscure distros.
"Less work" undersells it, in my opinion. What snap (and things like it) do is promise to remove the support headache upstream providers get from users still using a version that was current 5 years ago which happened to make it into an LTS distro release because that happened to be the most recent build a packager had working at the time.