Ubuntu and Windows Updates
August 7th, 2007 by Adar WesleyI just finished installing Ubuntu Linux on my VMWare machine. It was a painless experience (I’m a windows developer with almost zero experience working on Linux), but then I got this little notification:
Let it not be said that just windows has a zillion updates to run when you first install it.
I’m going to be running Tomcat on an Ubuntu installation, so I can run my Grasshopper generated applications (DotJava apps?) there. I’ll be using this manual to do so.
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August 7th, 2007 at 3:06 am
To be fair, Linux updates, whether they be for Suse, Ubuntu or some other distro, are for the entire set of installed applications as well as the OS. Can’t recall whether Windows update now includes updates for Microsoft Applications such as Visual studio, or is it just the OS? Either way, you still have to patch third party apps seperately. Also, the individual updates in Linux tend to be smaller so 109 updates is not as bad as it at first appears.
August 7th, 2007 at 3:35 am
The difference between this and windows updates is that it asks you ONCE whether you want to install, and then downloads every update in one go.
Normally, when setting up a new Windows machine for the first time, I have to windows-update + reboot at least 5-6 times. In ubuntu I don’t need to babysit the machine — I click “OK” once and go do something useful. The difference isn’t in “how many updates there are” — any operating system will have bugfixes and patches, especially considering that in ubuntu the update service is updating every single installed application (and not just the operating system).
Alastair is right about the quantity too; while 109 updates may seem to be a lot, it’s only because you’re updating a virgin machine. In any given week there are updates but it’s normally only a handful.
Enjoy ubuntu! :)
August 7th, 2007 at 4:44 am
I don0t if this has been fixed, but AFAIK Ubuntu updates have a problem: each update contains the whole new version of the software, instead of a binary difference file with only the changes. So it wastes bandwith, which is never desired specially for those without a very good connection. However if I’m wrong in this point please tell me ;-).
August 7th, 2007 at 5:54 am
The total updates siez was over 76 MB, what does that mean? partial or full?
August 7th, 2007 at 6:18 am
It’s true, they are full versions instead of binary diffs. But as a previous poster said, they still tend to be fairly small, since most updates are for key system libraries as opposed to monolithic applications.
You’ll get Ubuntu updates more frequently than Windows updates, because there is no “patch Tuesday” like in the MIcrosoft world; Ubuntu (and other distributors) simply pushes out updates as soon as they are ready.
August 7th, 2007 at 7:28 am
Sandy, thanks for the clarification.
August 13th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
109 updates for “everything Ubuntu” isn’t much on a virgin install. If Microsoft Update would update “everything Microsoft”, it would be possible to compare, but since Microsoft Update only updates Windows, Office, some server components (like SQL Server) and not software like Visual Studio, not to mention all non-Microsoft applications you have installed, it’s not comparable. Plus, you have to remember the reboot hell you have with Windows, something you usually don’t need on Linux. How many reboots did you have after those 109 updates?
August 24th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Asbjørn Ulsberg: No reboots at all. That’s pretty slick, indeed.