Mark Shuttleworth ha scritto:
Alex Launi wrote:On Sat, Jul 4, 2009 at 4:03 AM, Mark Shuttleworth <mark@xxxxxxxxxx <mailto:mark@xxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:Updates-on-login are interesting, but I think fatally flawed because of the common requirement to reboot after updates.This is actually the case where update on login works best. Any other time rebooting is totally interruption. You're working, you need to decide whether or not rebooting is important enough, and then if you do decide to reboot, you need to save all of your state, and actually do the deed. Immediately after boot you don't have this problem. Instead of starting to work and then being disturbed, you delay starting until you can really start, without interruption.'s a fair point.
I agree entirely, and for the gift icon, let me say "me too" even if it's not in vogue right now :) It can be presented in linked documentation with some propaganda sentence like "The ubuntu developers do a hard work every day to ensure that the system you are using, besides being free (link) is also as bug-free and secure as possible, therefore, they have prepared a new update for your system". This would impress positively people, even if perhaps it should be checked with some study.
As the usual nobody who I am, I have two remarks, though.1) how does this work? If the system knows that there are updates, then it certainly knew it before last reboot (network is typically not up at boot for laptots at least). Then if the system knows there are updates, it is good to know it as soon as possible (If I am planning to leave the laptop unattended because I am going away for lunch break, it's a very good time to do updates). So I will somewhat be interrupted before the login. Even if, I may decide to postpone updates, and then yes, being reminded just as I log in is very good.
2) if it's just a reminder in the gdm window it's good. I did not follow all the threads so sorry if this is obvious, but I imagine the gift icon saying "updates available" *and* a checkbox appearing only under the selected user name, when an administrator user name is selected. This naturally requires an administrator password to work (because otherwise the system just won't let you log in as that user otherwise). This covers an interesting use case: the administrator does not use the machine. Not in a professional network, I mean, but in a small business or just in the family. E.g. my mother's laptop in my home town. Then normal users, who would not get update notifications at all, may be informed of updates available and eventually tell the administrator, without this becoming annoying. ***But*** if it has to be a pop-up on login, it will look like the typical microsoft-like pressure on the user to do things. The windows after-login experienec, with several pop-ups coming up trying to get the user to do anything from registering the anti-virus and paying money for that to installing updates, is the typical thing I show to people, just before showing them ubuntu. A pop-up immediately after login would be a big loss in the image of ubuntu to users IM*H*O.
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