Upgrade your Precise based distro "X" and stay with Precise LTS

You have your Precise based 5 year LTS "X" distro, but you don't want to go the new "X" with the Quantal base with only less than 1.5 years already. Some of these "X" distros a spewing out "release candidates," "development releases" with the Quantal, long after Quantal was released--20 days ago.

Examples;

1) Mint 13 Maya to Nadia. There is no absolute need to wait for Mint 14 as the only things that change would be found in the Nadia repo. All you have to do is change one word in your sources list--Maya to Nadia--and update and upgrade your installation. What would you have? New Cinnamon or Mate with Precise 5 year LTS. If there is another new repo in the future, within this 5 year time, all you have to do is, change the name nadia to the new name and update/upgrade.

2) Snowlinux "cream" to "white"; the same action as above, and you'd have "white" packages, but with the Precise 5 year LTS.

3) Zorin OS - they are not changing their few (five?) "modifications" for few years, even though you can see the "updated" word in Launchpad. Anyway, those are pretty insignificant applications.

4) Pinguy, Luninux, Pear, etc don't have their own repos or packages, so if the users of them likes to stay in the safety of 5 year LTS, thay can do that.

Well, if you want to be in the Quantal,and feel the Quantal expereince, you can do that by downloading and installing the new "X" distros, only you won't have the 1.5 year Ubuntu support, because already 20 days had gone, and by the time the rest of "X" Quantal based distros would be released, there maybe only 17 months or less of that support.

Controversial? Maybe...

Just to prove what i wrote above.
Here is a screenshot of Linux Mint 13 with Cinnamon 1.6.6+nadia.
You'd notice the lsb-release state thatit is Linux Mint 14 Nadia, while the Installation has Precise Pangolin base!

Now, you'd understand what makes a new "X" distro gets its name, even though in this case, the whole thing was done by Cinnamon Maya changing itself to Cinnamon 1.66+nadia, which rewrote the lsb-release and other files.

That's what happens with Ubuntu based "X" distros, and all they do is change names of repos and upgrade them, only sometimes their applications fail. This Mint 14 Nadia RC is an example. The Cinnamon 1.6.6+nadia is buggy yet. And now, I know what's buggy. Most probably they'd have to do some work with the Nadia apps, before Mint 14 would be released.

Now, if you take Snowlinux 2 "Cream" with Precise and change "wream" to "white" in the sources list, you'd get Snowlinux 3 "White", but with the Precise Pangolin base. And, with 5 year LTS!

In Pinguy and Zorin, there is nothing to change to keep the 5 year LTS. Only update and upgrade as it is. Pinguy doesn't have repos/packages, while Zorin's are pretty old!

So much for new releases of Ubuntu based "X" distros!

And here is another screenshot of the results of apt-get update of my Precise-Nadia Linux Mint 14!:)

If I want to use Mint, I can keep this updating for next 4.5 years, while Mint 14 Nadia would stop being supported in one year and 5 months!

So, I shall have the longest supported Mint 14 in the world!:)

That's why I am more interested in Ubuntu and its derivatives, than all these Ubuntu-clone makers. Actually, they are application makers and sometime desktop environment makers.

The only fresh wind is Bodhi, who went in a pioneer way and keep on making packages for it. And, Bodhi won't make another distro until the next LTS. (I hope!)

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So, I shall have the longest supported Mint 14 in the world!

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Congratulations?

mixing repos like that is a great way to BORK your system

Technically, this type of upgrading will not give you the same thing as installing a new release. If you look in Synaptic at the installed packages you will find some differences. The dependencies change from Cinnamon 1.4 to 1.6. For example, there are some compiz packages installed in Mint 13 that are not installed in Mint 14. Just changing repos could lead to an unstable system

It is better to wait and install newer versions of Cinnamon and Nemo from the backports repo because the packages are built to work in that particular release.

Also, if you compare a system that has been upgraded by changing repos you will notice that the system has a lot more packages installed than a clean install. I would rather spend 10 or 15 minutes to install a new release rather than hours cleaning up a mess and fixing things. I just back up my data and copy it into the new install.

These are of course my opinions. If I do not want to reinstall the system for a long period of time I use a distro like PCLinuxOS because it is a rolling release by design. Doing a lot of changing to an LTS release defeats the whole purpose of it's design.

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Originally Posted by exploder

Technically, this type of upgrading will not give you the same thing as installing a new release. If you look in Synaptic at the installed packages you will find some differences. The dependencies change from Cinnamon 1.4 to 1.6.

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Did you look at the screenshots? What Cinnamon do you see there?

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It is better to wait and install newer versions of Cinnamon and Nemo from the backports repo because the packages are built to work in that particular release.

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Nemo is there, pal. I am not that keen about Nemo. I prefer Nautilus 3.6.1.
The packages built for Cinnamon-1.6.6+nadia are in the repos, and that's all you get in the "new" Mint 14, other than 12.10 Quantal. Did I say anything about Quantal, or 5 year LTS with Precise?

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Also, if you compare a system that has been upgraded by changing repos you will notice that the system has a lot more packages installed than a clean install.

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Did you read the topic subject? I am talking about 5 year LTS with Precise and also with Cinnamon-1.6.6+nadia! Did you see the name change to Linux Mint 14 Nadia done by the Cinnamon-1.6.6+nadia?

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I would rather spend 10 or 15 minutes to install a new release rather than hours cleaning up a mess and fixing things. I just back up my data and copy it into the new install.

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Please read the topic subject! This is not about installing the "new release" with Quantal, okay?:)

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These are of course my opinions. If I do not want to reinstall the system for a long period of time I use a distro like PCLinuxOS because it is a rolling release by design. Doing a lot of changing to an LTS release defeats the whole purpose of it's design.

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Well, I am talking only about Ubuntu clones! The Precise LTS was there and I didn't change that, I only changed the name maya to nadia....Apt did the rest of the work.:)

While, Mint would release the next Mint 15 and still won't cover the 5 year LTS, my installation would be supported by Ubuntu!

Do you think, the Mint devs are upgrading the Maya repo, or only working on the Nadia repo? Do you think they are interested in the 5 year LTS for Mint 13 Maya, or in churning out new numbers 14, 15, 16 etc? Its all about profit, pal!

They need Ubuntu to come out with new releases every six months, all these Ubuntu clone makers!:)

I'm not going to use this Precise-Mint 14 Nadia, but make a live distro out of it and keep it away until the Mint 15 -girl name- repo would show up. I have no other use for Mint releases at all. I can take Quantal and make myself a Mint 14 any time, just adding the Nadia repo and update, upgrade. By the way, I have done that, all the way to Raring. My post is somewhere in Ubuntu Forums, most probably in the Ubuntu+1.

By the way, my install doesn't differ at all from the future Mint 14 Nadia, except mine is based still on Precise Pangolin.

Here's another screenshot.

I am not saying only about Mint, but about all Ubuntu based "X" distros/OSs. I have done an upgrade on Peppermint 3, Zorin 6, Snowlinux, Pinguy, Luninux to Raring. Now, I have done Mint 13 with Precise to Mint 14, but without Quantal.

By the way, I don't how to program in Python, or any such language, so I am not geeky.

See, Linux is all about files!

Good day!
Wish you guys nice experiences!

PS: ZevenOS had been discontinued, so I made this;
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2082728
and it is done as a tribute to that unique distro and its developer Leszek Leszner!

Installed Linux kernel 3.7 to my Precise-Nadia Mint 14.
Every application works well. No crashes yet...:)

So, when Mint 14 finally comes out, I'd have a more modern installation than the Mint devs. And, if someone says that I don't have Quantal base as it would be in the upcoming Mint 14, I'd need about few minutes to make it Quantal. Of course, after I make a live iso.

I am waiting for the last day before the release to make that live iso. It would be updated until then.:)

You can experiment with other Ubuntu clones, if you like. I don't want to do that as I won't be using any of them. This one I did for fun!:)

I think, I proved a point--Linux is all about files.

Good day!

Have you only been doing this with Ubuntu based distros?

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Originally Posted by wojox

Have you only been doing this with Ubuntu based distros?

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Yes, of course!:)

Mint is Ubuntu based...