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Idea #26845: Kernel updates are frequent but most users have no idea if it affects them.

Written by zoubidoo the 4 Jan 11 at 13:29. Related project: Update manager. Status: New
Rationale
If a new kernel is released with bug fixes for various drivers but none of the hardware is in your computer, then why bother with the update? How many kernel updates have you done that made absolutely no difference to your platform? And each kernel update forces a reboot.

This is a kernel-related issue but would improve ubuntu.
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Solution #1: Machine-readable kernel changelog to check if the updates are relevant
Written by zoubidoo the 4 Jan 11 at 13:29.
The kernel changelog should be machine-readable. Knowing what hardware you have, update-manager/apt could check whether the kernel update is relevant and only install if necessary.

Of course some updates affect all hardware, so of course the update is relevant in this case.

But a kernel update because of a fix to isdn drivers is of no relevance to most users. Since we know our platform's hardware it should be possible to determine relevance.

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Auzy wrote on the 4 Jan 11 at 21:56
One reason would be that because you might install the devices later on your computer, and the older ones may have had serious bugs which prevent your computer starting up..


zoubidoo wrote on the 6 Jan 11 at 14:12
@Auzy, valid point. But I also think it is wrong to push for reboots when not necessary.

Linux used to have long uptimes, now we regularly reboot just like we did with windows boxes.

As Linux supports more hardware, changes to the kernel will become more and more frequent, but how often will they really affect your platform?

Take servers for example, they rarely have new hardware added. Some kernel updates may be essential for a server, but most of the time they won't be. How can you tell without wading through pages and pages of the release notes?

To me, it seems more sensible to be able to check easily whether kernel updates affect a platform. When they do, update as usual; when they don't, allow the end-user decide what is action appropriate.

MsG wrote on the 6 Jan 11 at 23:18
They don't force or push you for a reboot, you can use it with the loaded kernel, it won't harm anything.

zoubidoo wrote on the 7 Jan 11 at 12:47
@MsG: I don't understand your comment. What is "it"?

I think you're all missing the point. Can you tell quickly whether a kernel update affects your platform without wading through pages of release notes? This is easy with a machine readable changelog. But hey lets not innovate.

This idea has been killed off without much thought. I'm close to giving up on brainstorm, most of the successful suggestions are little GUI enhancements. I have had ideas voted into oblivion and trashed only to to discover that the feature was already implemented. For me, brainstorm is braindead. ;-D


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