Tech Spec: Software Updates

[Jiri Eischmann]

Hi,
sorry for bringing up something that has probably been discussed here
several times already.

I went across the Software Updates section:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Workstation/Technical_Specification#Software_updates

It's not very descriptive, but I guess by using PackageKit we will also
be using offline updates.
I've told been told theoretical issues of online updates many times, I
don't need anyone to repeat that.

The fact is that the offline updates have been received mostly
negatively by users from what I read on the Internet or hear from people
at events. But what really worries me is a much higher number of users
with broken package databases or even whole systems asking for help on
forums. When we got down to the problem we found out the user
interrupted offline updates (they took too long, or they even got stuck
and they didn't even know the system was being updated).

The offline updates as they are done now seem to be confusing to them. 
I see more and more often advices from experienced users such as "if you
want reliable updates, use yum update" which is probably not the kind of
solution we want for workstation users.

I know we're not switching back to online updates, but we might want to
reassess how they're done now. Maybe making more obvious that the system
is being updated and the process is not yet over, or excluding packages
that really don't need offline update so that the update time is much
shorter?

I must admit that I also have started using "yum update" although I
always used the gui tool on my laptop as the most convenient way to
update.

Jiri