Synaptic vs MintUpdate

[rhodry]

Just wanting to confirm my understanding of something here if I may.

I keep my Felicia system updated & according to my icon the system is up to date.

However, when I am Synaptic Package Manager and look in the 'Status - Upgradeable' view, I see a number of upgradeable packages including some newer kernel files and x-server versions and a couple of other things. Now , in MintUpdate, I have it set to look for Levels 1-3 updates & not 4 or 5. I am assuming therefore that updates to the kernel, x-server and other such major packages would be seen as Level 4 or 5 by MintUpdate? Is that right?

If so, a couple of extra questions please:

Is there somewhere to look at "Release Notes" for these updates so as to determine if I want to make them. I like to keep my systems up to date but I believe in caution to some extent - " if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of thing; "leading edge, not bleeding edge". OK, enough cliches!

2ndly, when I'm looking for a package I will use Synaptic, but, if I know what I want, I tend to be a CLI kind of guy. I am therefore quite familiar with using 'sudo apt-get update/upgrade/dist-upgrade' in various distros. I am wondering what are the MintUpdate equivalents of this. ie., if I did issue the cli commands, what am I doing in terms of MintUpdate. I assume, for example that 'sudo apt-get dist-upgrade' is equivalent to Level 1-5 update?
Can anyone clarify this please?

And slightly related; is there any preference in Mint between use of apt-get &/or aptitude for cli package management? I do know they can behave differently in terms of dependencies.

Thanks in advance.
Rhodry.

[rivenought]

Yes, you are correct on your assumptions. It is always good to read the instructions as you did.

The mintUpdate application is the safest and preferred method of updating in Mint. Levels 1 and 2 are safe. Level 3 are OK, and you can pick and choose what you need. Levels 4 and 5 can make drastic changes to your Mint system, so use those only if you are experienced at fixing what might break. It happens.

You can use Synaptic to add packages, as well as mintInstall. Upgrading via Synaptic can be done, but as you noticed, the Level 4 and 5 packages are in there ready join the party. It is suggested to NOT use Synaptic for wholesale upgrading of everything.

Using the command line is quite similar. If you do the apt-get update, apt-get upgrade, and the apt-get dist-upgrade, you will wind up with all sorts of Ubuntu packages and other festive surprises. It is up to you, but that can be too much fun when just starting out in a distro such as Mint.

Others will have opinions to share soon enough. These are just mine, but they work for me, and my machines do not spontaneously combust. Have fun.