So, after my back up restoration and updates, at one point during
updating, I got the message that "pro" had to be enabled to be able to
download those. I checked and it looks like I have to register. This
is brand new and something I had not come across before. Safe or not
and is anyone here using it? Are there hidden fees down the road? Just
odd that I've never seen such an update before. Thanks.

Jake M wrote:
> So, after my back up restoration and updates, at one point during
> updating, I got the message that "pro" had to be enabled to be able to
> download those.  I checked and it looks like I have to register.  This
> is brand new and something I had not come across before.  Safe or not
> and is anyone here using it?  Are there hidden fees down the road?  Just
> odd that I've never seen such an update before.  Thanks.

When you install an LTS version of Ubuntu you get a "stable" version of
apps but not necessarily the latest versions. By registering you can get
more updated patches (free for personal use for up to 5 systems) whereas
before you had to either install the newer non-LTS version or wait until
the next LTS release.

--
Take care,

Jonathan
-------------------
LITTLE WORKS STUDIO
http://www.LittleWorksStudio.com

On Thu, 18 Jan 2024 14:55:50 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> Jake M wrote:
>> So, after my back up restoration and updates, at one point during
>> updating, I got the message that "pro" had to be enabled to be able to
>> download those.  I checked and it looks like I have to register.  This
>> is brand new and something I had not come across before.  Safe or not
>> and is anyone here using it?  Are there hidden fees down the road? 
>> Just odd that I've never seen such an update before.  Thanks.
>
> When you install an LTS version of Ubuntu you get a "stable" version of
> apps but not necessarily the latest versions. By registering you can get
> more updated patches (free for personal use for up to 5 systems) whereas
> before you had to either install the newer non-LTS version or wait until
> the next LTS release.

Thanks. I saw that message tonight when updating and wondered about it
too. I'll think about it. I'm on the Windows 11 Insider channel and that
means a reboot about once a week. At least Ubuntu is a much faster reboot
if it needs one.

Am 18.01.2024 um 12:38:36 Uhr schrieb Jake M:

> So, after my back up restoration and updates, at one point during
> updating, I got the message that "pro" had to be enabled to be able
> to download those. I checked and it looks like I have to register.
> This is brand new and something I had not come across before. Safe
> or not and is anyone here using it? Are there hidden fees down the
> road? Just odd that I've never seen such an update before. Thanks.

The universe and multiverse parts of the Ubuntu repo isn't maintained
by the Ubuntu team, it is maintained by volunteers instead.
Most times, no updates will be released for a package in an Ubuntu
version if an important update is available upstream.
Ubuntu Pro now offers you those updates because business customers
requested such a service.

For private users, Ubuntu Pro is for free, but needs registration.

On 1/18/2024 9:29 PM, rbowman wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Jan 2024 14:55:50 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:
>
>> Jake M wrote:
>>> So, after my back up restoration and updates, at one point during
>>> updating, I got the message that "pro" had to be enabled to be able to
>>> download those.  I checked and it looks like I have to register.  This
>>> is brand new and something I had not come across before.  Safe or not
>>> and is anyone here using it?  Are there hidden fees down the road? 
>>> Just odd that I've never seen such an update before.  Thanks.
>>
>> When you install an LTS version of Ubuntu you get a "stable" version of
>> apps but not necessarily the latest versions. By registering you can get
>> more updated patches (free for personal use for up to 5 systems) whereas
>> before you had to either install the newer non-LTS version or wait until
>> the next LTS release.
>
> Thanks. I saw that message tonight when updating and wondered about it
> too. I'll think about it. I'm on the Windows 11 Insider channel and that
> means a reboot about once a week. At least Ubuntu is a much faster reboot
> if it needs one.

The faster reboot, is an older copy of Linux Mint.

Ubuntu, by comparison, is one pudgy boot sequence.
The desktop is a Snap file, as far as I know.

Your Windows 11 may benefit from an SSD. The one improvement
it makes, is boot time, and part of that is the burst of
Defender activity at the start.

Paul

Marco Moock <mm+usenet-es@dorfdsl.de> writes:

> Am 18.01.2024 um 12:38:36 Uhr schrieb Jake M:
>
>> So, after my back up restoration and updates, at one point during
>> updating, I got the message that "pro" had to be enabled to be able
>> to download those. I checked and it looks like I have to register.
>> This is brand new and something I had not come across before. Safe
>> or not and is anyone here using it? Are there hidden fees down the
>> road? Just odd that I've never seen such an update before. Thanks.
>
> The universe and multiverse parts of the Ubuntu repo isn't maintained
> by the Ubuntu team, it is maintained by volunteers instead.
> Most times, no updates will be released for a package in an Ubuntu
> version if an important update is available upstream.
> Ubuntu Pro now offers you those updates because business customers
> requested such a service.
>
> For private users, Ubuntu Pro is for free, but needs registration.

I suppose that some businesses wanted an experience more like what
they'd get with RHEL, but to be honest I hadn't heard anyone saying they
were unhappy with Ubuntu Server in terms of updates and lifecycle.

I thought that Ubuntu Pro was an attempt by Canonical to get more
companies to purchase support, and the extra updates you get are an
enticement for the prospective purchaser.

There's probably an element of FOMO too. People see the messages about
how many more updates are available if you buy Pro and eventually
Canonical's recurring revenues go up. :-)

I do think that, if a business is making money using Ubuntu or any other
free software, they should give back to the organization or community
that provides said software. They shouldn't be forced into it, but they
really should want to do it - it makes sense to support things that you
depend upon.

As a home user, I do donate to a number of projects because free
software has made my life much richer and I need to return the favor in
some way. At work, I have always encouraged my employers to support
projects when they use their software.

Bud Frede <frede@mouse-potato.com> wrote:
> Marco Moock <mm+usenet-es@dorfdsl.de> writes:
>
>> Am 18.01.2024 um 12:38:36 Uhr schrieb Jake M:
>>
>>> So, after my back up restoration and updates, at one point during
>>> updating, I got the message that "pro" had to be enabled to be able
>>> to download those. I checked and it looks like I have to register.
>>> This is brand new and something I had not come across before. Safe
>>> or not and is anyone here using it? Are there hidden fees down the
>>> road? Just odd that I've never seen such an update before. Thanks.
>>
>> The universe and multiverse parts of the Ubuntu repo isn't maintained
>> by the Ubuntu team, it is maintained by volunteers instead.
>> Most times, no updates will be released for a package in an Ubuntu
>> version if an important update is available upstream.
>> Ubuntu Pro now offers you those updates because business customers
>> requested such a service.
>>
>> For private users, Ubuntu Pro is for free, but needs registration.
>
> I suppose that some businesses wanted an experience more like what
> they'd get with RHEL, but to be honest I hadn't heard anyone saying they
> were unhappy with Ubuntu Server in terms of updates and lifecycle.
>
> I thought that Ubuntu Pro was an attempt by Canonical to get more
> companies to purchase support, and the extra updates you get are an
> enticement for the prospective purchaser.
>
> There's probably an element of FOMO too. People see the messages about
> how many more updates are available if you buy Pro and eventually
> Canonical's recurring revenues go up. :-)
>
> I do think that, if a business is making money using Ubuntu or any other
> free software, they should give back to the organization or community
> that provides said software. They shouldn't be forced into it, but they
> really should want to do it - it makes sense to support things that you
> depend upon.

Businesses actually prefer support contracts like this as it's a known
mechanism for paying for software. The OSS modem often confuses
procurement/contracts depts and they refuse to sign up.

> As a home user, I do donate to a number of projects because free
> software has made my life much richer and I need to return the favor in
> some way. At work, I have always encouraged my employers to support
> projects when they use their software.

How well does that go?

Am 19.01.2024 um 06:39:30 Uhr schrieb Bud Frede:

> Marco Moock <mm+usenet-es@dorfdsl.de> writes:
>
> > Am 18.01.2024 um 12:38:36 Uhr schrieb Jake M:
> >
> >> So, after my back up restoration and updates, at one point during
> >> updating, I got the message that "pro" had to be enabled to be able
> >> to download those. I checked and it looks like I have to register.
> >> This is brand new and something I had not come across before. Safe
> >> or not and is anyone here using it? Are there hidden fees down the
> >> road? Just odd that I've never seen such an update before.
> >> Thanks.
> >
> > The universe and multiverse parts of the Ubuntu repo isn't
> > maintained by the Ubuntu team, it is maintained by volunteers
> > instead. Most times, no updates will be released for a package in
> > an Ubuntu version if an important update is available upstream.
> > Ubuntu Pro now offers you those updates because business customers
> > requested such a service.
> >
> > For private users, Ubuntu Pro is for free, but needs registration.
>
> I suppose that some businesses wanted an experience more like what
> they'd get with RHEL, but to be honest I hadn't heard anyone saying
> they were unhappy with Ubuntu Server in terms of updates and
> lifecycle.

If they need to use packages in universe, they receive no updates most
time until the next Ubuntu release.
For productive systems, this isn't a good idea.
One example is the cyrus mail system.
Cyradm is broken in 22.04 - not fixed for more than a year.

On Fri, 19 Jan 2024 04:02:01 -0500, Paul wrote:

> Ubuntu, by comparison, is one pudgy boot sequence.
> The desktop is a Snap file, as far as I know.

I'd have to get out a stopwatch to time the reboot. My guess is under 10
seconds. I can live with that.

> Your Windows 11 may benefit from an SSD. The one improvement it makes,
> is boot time, and part of that is the burst of Defender activity at the
> start.

It has a SSD. I only reboot to apply an update. First you watch screens
saying '2% complete' that warn you it may reboot several times. That goes
on forever. When you finally can log in you get 'Hi. Getting things ready
for you'. That's good for a couple of more minutes. I usually hit Restart
and go to lunch.

On Fri, 19 Jan 2024 09:53:46 +0100, Marco Moock wrote:

> For private users, Ubuntu Pro is for free, but needs registration.

I found I already had an account on Ubuntu One that I'd forgotten about.
'sudo pro attach' with the token enabled the updates. Nothing in the list
was earth-shaking.

It did say

The current kernel (6.5.0-14-generic, x86_64) is not supported by
livepatch.

The supported kernel list ends at 6.2 so I'll ignore that. All I got was
ESM for apps and infrastructure.

On 1/19/2024 3:49 PM, rbowman wrote:
> On Fri, 19 Jan 2024 04:02:01 -0500, Paul wrote:
>
>> Ubuntu, by comparison, is one pudgy boot sequence.
>> The desktop is a Snap file, as far as I know.
>
> I'd have to get out a stopwatch to time the reboot. My guess is under 10
> seconds. I can live with that.
>
>> Your Windows 11 may benefit from an SSD. The one improvement it makes,
>> is boot time, and part of that is the burst of Defender activity at the
>> start.
>
> It has a SSD. I only reboot to apply an update. First you watch screens
> saying '2% complete' that warn you it may reboot several times. That goes
> on forever. When you finally can log in you get 'Hi. Getting things ready
> for you'. That's good for a couple of more minutes. I usually hit Restart
> and go to lunch.

You have a failing Upgrade in the pipe ?

Windows is "keep a screwdriver handy -- some assembly required".

[Picture]

https://i.postimg.cc/X7ZYmqfg/Win10-MBR-4441-OK.gif

*******

If it is annoying you, try this.

[Admin window]

DISM /online /cleanup-image /revertpendingactions

If one activity is stuck in the pipe, that can unroll it.

If you use the command prompt window in Troubleshooting from
a Windows 10 installer DVD, you can do this to stop an
update and this may allow access long enough to carry out
further actions (with network cable disconnected).

DISM /image:c:\ /cleanup-image /revertpendingactions

Paul

On Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:31:55 -0500, Paul wrote:
>> It has a SSD. I only reboot to apply an update. First you watch screens
>> saying '2% complete' that warn you it may reboot several times. That
>> goes on forever. When you finally can log in you get 'Hi. Getting
>> things ready for you'. That's good for a couple of more minutes. I
>> usually hit Restart and go to lunch.
>
> You have a failing Upgrade in the pipe ?

Only once. A 'Windows Next' patch slipped out from the Windows 12 branch.
It failed on Windows 11 of course. While you can defer automatic updates
for 18 hours you can't turn it off completely so every night it would try
again and fail.

Again, the machine is on the Insiders program so an update occurs about
once a week. The normal channel updates are a lot less frequent but still
take much longer than Linux.

On 1/19/2024 8:25 PM, rbowman wrote:
> On Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:31:55 -0500, Paul wrote:
>>> It has a SSD. I only reboot to apply an update. First you watch screens
>>> saying '2% complete' that warn you it may reboot several times. That
>>> goes on forever. When you finally can log in you get 'Hi. Getting
>>> things ready for you'. That's good for a couple of more minutes. I
>>> usually hit Restart and go to lunch.
>>
>> You have a failing Upgrade in the pipe ?
>
> Only once. A 'Windows Next' patch slipped out from the Windows 12 branch.
> It failed on Windows 11 of course. While you can defer automatic updates
> for 18 hours you can't turn it off completely so every night it would try
> again and fail.
>
> Again, the machine is on the Insiders program so an update occurs about
> once a week. The normal channel updates are a lot less frequent but still
> take much longer than Linux.
>

The Insider program, those are Upgrades once a week. Each week,
you're getting a different version of OS. That's actually an easier level
to patch at. The difference is, you are migrating all the applications
from one OS version to the next, and that takes time. If your Insider had
a lot of programs installed by you, each of those could be pretty slow.
Each week, it is writing out a Windows.old of 15-20GB.

12345.678
^^^^^
Upgrade ^^^
Update

When Windows installs files during an Update, unlike Linux, some of the
files have unresolved dependencies, and there can be a "pool of garbage"
floating in the machine. This is why Cumulatives from two years ago,
can suddenly be seen listed as having "just installed". The way they
manage the computer, is at a different level of granularity than Linux.
And at its base, there is an O(N^2) aspect to it they cannot hide.

Paul

Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> writes:

> Bud Frede <frede@mouse-potato.com> wrote:
>
>> As a home user, I do donate to a number of projects because free
>> software has made my life much richer and I need to return the favor in
>> some way. At work, I have always encouraged my employers to support
>> projects when they use their software.
>
> How well does that go?

Mixed results. My current employer has started doing this for some
things, but not all of my past employers were receptive.

Bud Frede <frede@mouse-potato.com> wrote:
> Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Bud Frede <frede@mouse-potato.com> wrote:
>>
>>> As a home user, I do donate to a number of projects because free
>>> software has made my life much richer and I need to return the favor in
>>> some way. At work, I have always encouraged my employers to support
>>> projects when they use their software.
>>
>> How well does that go?
>
> Mixed results. My current employer has started doing this for some
> things,

Such as?

> but not all of my past employers were receptive.

Yeah, I suspect that's common. Business doesn't really fit into the OSS
model.