Biting the bullet?

[stan]

On Mon, 11 May 2015 17:13:21 +1000
Roger <arelem at bigpond.com> wrote:

> I generally do not upgrade but install new.
> I run 2 partitions on my hd, one has the previous version and the
> other the new install.
> I then install latest versions of the apps I need then copy my
> working files over to  the new install.
> This way I have the backup for a few months, then overwrite that with 
> the next fresh install.

This is the way to go.  Takes all the stress out of the new install.
New install doesn't work? Fall back to the previous working version
until the new version can be fixed.  No loss of access to the web or
email, so getting help is easier, and fixing quicker.

What I'd really like to see is a morph of anaconda that was started as
an executable from a running version of Fedora, pointed at the new boot
and root partitions, and cloned the currently running version as
closely as possible, while the current version was running.  No
downtime to upgrade.  I don't think it is possible with current
computing technology to do this well, as it would require a
sophisticated expert system. But surely it should be possible to format
the partitions, download and install the base system, then install all
packages that are on the current version and available, to the new
version.  It could spit out a list of packages that it couldn't
update.  Then all that is left to do for the user is customization, a
series of steps that each person would keep track of for themselves.
Not painless, but fairly easy.