Written by ytene the 30 Sep 09 at 10:02.

My proposal is to ask if it would be possible to program some functionality into the USB Creator such that it could query the contents of /var/cache/apt/ and identify all the contents that have changed since the ISO was cut.

The ideal solution would then be to "update" the ISO image, replacing any updated packages with the latest versions, thus minimising the amount of additional downloading that a new installation would require.

The next alternative would be to offer the user, at the time the USB stick is created, the option to "import" the package contents of /var/cache/apt onto a new area of the USB stick. Perhaps a minor modification in the "Live" installer would permit a check to see if such a folder exists on the installation media and then to import them to the newly built machine.

If you wanted to explore this in a little more detail, consider two import options. One would be to import the most recent versions of just those packages stored on the original installation ISO. The other would be to import *all* the packages found in the local /var/cache/apt file system. This would make it *much* easier for Sysadmins to deploy new machines with all the additional software packages that they may want, from an updated installation media.

Post Script. I haven't looked recently, but there was a time, way back when, that Synaptic permitted me to "export" my package config, then "import" it to a new build and update the image of the second build to be a mirror of the first. This is an extension of that idea, but brings with it the actual .deb package files needed as well.

My proposal is to ask if it would be possible to program some functionality into the USB Creator such that it could query the contents of /var/cache/apt/ and identify all the contents that have changed since the ISO was cut. The ideal solution would then be to "update" the ISO image, replacing any updated packages with the latest versions, thus minimising the amount of additional downloading that a new installation would require. The next alternative would be to offer the user, at the time the USB stick is created, the option to "import" the package contents of /var/cache/apt onto a new area of the USB stick. Perhaps a minor modification in the "Live" installer would permit a check to see if such a folder exists on the installation media and then to import them to the newly built machine. If you wanted to explore this in a little more detail, consider two import options. One would be to import the most recent versions of just those packages stored on the original installation ISO. The other would be to import *all* the packages found in the local /var/cache/apt file system. This would make it *much* easier for Sysadmins to deploy new machines with all the additional software packages that they may want, from an updated installation media. Post Script. I haven't looked recently, but there was a time, way back when, that Synaptic permitted me to "export" my package config, then "import" it to a new build and update the image of the second build to be a mirror of the first. This is an extension of that idea, but brings with it the actual .deb package files needed as well.

Written by Tellur the 24 Oct 09 at 20:42.

The USB Creator essentially makes the USB-stick act just like a normal Live-CD with the additional option of a permanent home folder.
This concept is good for diagnostic purposes but it would be nice, if the creator could actually install a fully featured Ubuntu onto the USB-stick.
Booting from it would then bring up a upgradable Ubuntu where you could also install any package you want. This would also be great for testing purposes where you can check out Beta-Versions without changing your productive system or setting up an extra partition.

But this should only be an option, activated through a checkbox.

The USB Creator essentially makes the USB-stick act just like a normal Live-CD with the additional option of a permanent home folder. This concept is good for diagnostic purposes but it would be nice, if the creator could actually install a fully featured Ubuntu onto the USB-stick. Booting from it would then bring up a upgradable Ubuntu where you could also install any package you want. This would also be great for testing purposes where you can check out Beta-Versions without changing your productive system or setting up an extra partition. But this should only be an option, activated through a checkbox.

Written by adse the 20 Mar 10 at 23:24.

why not both!? ;)

what if we had an always up-to-date usb stick as the source medium for booting into a live environment (naturally with the already existing option of installing ubuntu from within this live environment)

AND

install ubuntu not to a harddrive but to the very same usb pen drive the live environment was booted from (source = destination!). we may need to create a separate partition on the usb pen drive. the usb startup disk creator already allows to reserve space for "/home" on the designated usb stick.

since an installed ubuntu requires just a few gigabytes, a lot of usb sticks should already meet a overall minimum capacity requirement.

in that way we would be able to
a) run live environments like we are used to AND
b) test alpha/beta versions in a more secure way through the separate usb pen drive partition without altering existing installations on the hdd (solution #2).

why not both!? ;) what if we had an always up-to-date usb stick as the source medium for booting into a live environment (naturally with the already existing option of installing ubuntu from within this live environment) AND install ubuntu not to a harddrive but to the very same usb pen drive the live environment was booted from (source = destination!). we may need to create a separate partition on the usb pen drive. the usb startup disk creator already allows to reserve space for "/home" on the designated usb stick. since an installed ubuntu requires just a few gigabytes, a lot of usb sticks should already meet a overall minimum capacity requirement. in that way we would be able to a) run live environments like we are used to AND b) test alpha/beta versions in a more secure way through the separate usb pen drive partition without altering existing installations on the hdd (solution #2).