Updates by approximation
Two hours now. I’ve been sitting in front of a screen, trying to get past the hurdle of system updates. Two machines, which means twice the fun.
I swear, it’s been a few months since my last round in this driver’s seat, but those patches and changes do accumulate. Like dust in the corner of a room. And if someone doesn’t “do it”, then eventually civilization will fail. That’s my story, etc. I had wanted to do an update on the weather station server (meteo.spudman.ca) since the software team had released something with more features, but one thing leads to another. Flash, Acrobat, Java, Silverlight… an ongoing parade of capitalized code.
On the second machine, a more interesting flaw in design. The network adapter is (somehow) tied in with the GPU, and one update undid another. Reboot and lose networking. I’m experienced enough to know that the “good” driver is sitting in one of those dusty corners, so I did the Remove and Renew shuffle. Yes, the networking is back, but it shouldn’t require silly dance steps.
For a minute, I considered moving the whole mess to a fresh, minty start (LinuxMint), but then I remembered that another machine has lost it’s wireless ability, for similar reasons. That project is on hold until “the holidays”, when miracles will happen. Believe me. In preparation, I’ve already submitted my request to use some of the accrued time from that favourite bank (the holiday bank). In just over two weeks, the holly and the ivy will have their place on my virtual mantel.
