Re: [tlug] Modprobe error

["Josh Glover" <jmglov@example.com>]

On 21/07/06, Dave M G <martin@example.com> wrote:

> So, long story short, I set the upgrades to be automatic for "critical"
> upgrades. I don't have the depth of Linux knowledge to make alternate
> decisions anyway.

I personally think this is the wrong approach. The only way you are
going to acquire more Linux knowledge is to start thinking about these
things.

Here is what I do for my home system: I don't update anything. Ever.
With the following exceptions:

1) Remote security vulnerabilities. On services that I am running.
Which on my home system is pretty much limited to Firefox and
occasionally Grip (FreeDB connectivity means connecting over the
network, so a buffer overflow could conceivably get me).

2) A nifty new feature that I have been dying to use.

I never update my kernel on my home system because that requires
everything built against that specific kernel to be rebuilt as well.
Unless there is a remote vulnerability in the kernel itself
(unlikely). Local vulnerabilities? Who cares--the only local users on
my box are myself and my wife, and she already has sudo access to do
anything she wants as root anyway.

I would recommend that you tell Ubuntu to ask you about all upgrades,
and simply discard them unless they meet criteria (1) or (2), above.
Which will be Not Very Often, and will result in you having a stable
box that Just Works when you want to watch TV.

-Josh