apt-get questions

[EvanPMeth]

i have an ibook with debian installed on it and i am new to apt-get features. My question is, how do i update all the packages. Like lets say upgrade python and gcc to the current release. When using synaptic all it shows is the current version. i tried apt-get update and upgrade. But it still shows the same versions. My guess is i just
dont understand how it works.
Does it depend on what version of debian you have?

[bryansmith]

I assume from your predicament that you are using Debian Sarge. Packages in Debian stable won't change much if at all. You will get bugfixes and updates but that is about it (AFAIK). If you want newer features, you will have to upgrade to Debian testing or unstable. If you want to do this, post back with your /etc/apt/sources.list file and I will give you an updated one for testing and unstable.

Hope that helps.

Bryan

[EvanPMeth]

so the unstable sources provide newer version on the sarge platform. I added the unstable sources and that added a lot of packages including the newer versions. I thought i already had the unstable added i guess i was wrong, thanks for the help.

[bryansmith]

No problem

Just remember, it is called unstable for a reason. Things tend to break (take my word for it). Some people have had no problems running unstable so it tends to be on a case by case basis. But remember, if something goes wrong, that's what we are here for.

Bryan

[antidrugue]

so the unstable sources provide newer version on the sarge platform. I added the unstable sources and that added a lot of packages including the newer versions. I thought i already had the unstable added i guess i was wrong, thanks for the help.

Make sure you are confortable with Linux in general and Debian in particular before upgrading to Debian Unstable.

Unless you have a rightly configured /etc/apt/preferences file, having unstable in your /etc/apt/sources.list is quite a dangerous thing to do. Sooner or later your whole system will break.

Perhaps you can post the result of

cat /etc/apt/sources.list

so we can suggest ways to enhance your system.


If you want more recent stuff, then I suggest your try Debian "Etch" (actualy in testing), which is quite stable these days.

[EvanPMeth]

deb http://3v1n0.tuxfamily.org dapper 3v1n0
deb-src http://3v1n0.tuxfamily.org dapper 3v1n0

## Add comments (##) in front of any line to remove it from being checked.
## Use the following sources.list at your own risk.

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper main restricted universe multiverse

## MAJOR BUG FIX UPDATES produced after the final release
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-updates main restricted universe multiverse

## UBUNTU SECURITY UPDATES
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted universe multiverse

## BACKPORTS REPOSITORY (Unsupported.  May contain illegal packages.  Use at own risk.)
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse

## PLF REPOSITORY (Unsupported.  May contain illegal packages.  Use at own risk.)
deb http://packages.freecontrib.org/plf dapper free non-free
deb-src http://packages.freecontrib.org/plf dapper free non-free 
 
## CANONICAL COMMERCIAL REPOSITORY (Hosted on Canonical servers, not Ubuntu
## servers. RealPlayer10, Opera and more to come.)
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu dapper-commercial main

# Repository for wine
deb http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt dapper main
deb-src http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt dapper main

[bryansmith]

You have Ubuntu installed? That's a different story! They don't change version numbers in their apt repositories. If you want newer stuff, wait until edgy comes out (Thursday) - it will have very recent software.

Bryan

[EvanPMeth]

Ya i havnt had much luck with the ubuntu desktop. Gnome stopped working the day after i installed it. It was probably my fault though so i wont blame ubuntu, but i use BB so it doesnt matter that gnome stopped working.

About edgy:
Would it be worth converting over to edgy if i have dapper right now?
How hard would it be to set it up:
I currently have a seperate partition for my /home. So would it be as easy as just installing edgy or would there be alot to setup.

[bryansmith]

The edgy install will be very similar, if not the same, as dapper. It is up to you if you want to install edgy over dapper. You do have a separate home partition which helps if you do a fresh install. If you want, you can also upgrade directly to edgy from dapper.

Bryan

[EvanPMeth]

what will change if i do will i have to reconfigure my graphics card, wine, xwindows. What is affected by the change or will it just transfer over.