Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

Ahh right.

So getting confused and thinking "This is Debian Linux, let's just do 'apt-get upgrade' from XTerm" is a bad idea then?

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

Well, yes. Or rather, dist-upgrade is the really problematic one.

The Nokia package mangement is different from 'standard' Debian packaging due to the special way of sorting packages into those with 'Section: user' and those with 'Section: <anything else>'. The application manager will only let you install the first type, and those with other Section types have to be installed either through red-pill mode or via apt-get (as root). But some of those will collide with the standard packages, being packages used by the SDK in some cases (i.e. scratchbox, meant for the desktop development environment only).

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

'apt-get upgrade' isn't the same thing than 'apt-get dist-upgrade' !

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

apt-get dist-upgrade is typically only necessary on a desktop linux to download and upgrade core system packages .. usually to upgrade to a newer "distribution".. hence the dist-upgrade... this isn't something you just run to run for no other reason than to run it..

I've never tried apt-get dist-upgrade on a tablet... but somehow, considering the package management is unique from a normal distro... this strikes me as a really bad idea, and completely unneccesary.

apt-get upgrade should be all you need to do on a tablet IMHO.

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

If you have the right repositories (only nokia tableteer and extras), I give almost for sure nothing bad will happen.
But if you have other repositories as the maemo SDK, and every repository listed in gronmayer, it could go not very well. And specially if you mix bora/chinook/diablo repositories.

I use Debian Sid and it's very stable (even Sid), but if I add a stupid-user repository and I do apt-get upgrade, bad things could happen even in Debian. Same with the tablets.

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

Yes, as stated above, it really depends on which repositories you have installed. Extras-devel, the SDK repository, and various third-party repositories WILL collide with system packages if you upgrade willy-nilly like that.

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

My understanding was that apt-get will only upgrade a package from the same repository that it was originally installed from and so adding new repositories shouldn't cause problems with apt-get upgrade ... although I may be incorrect on this.

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

Your're right in that you're incorrect on that one... :) at least as far as apt-get is concerned. It will happily take a version from anywhere, as long as it's newer (in-house we use this to get special versions of some software installed and overloading the standard Debian packages). However, the application manager may well be different. In fact it [the strictness] would make a bit of sense, for a device like this.

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade error
 

This isn't entirely true, as apt-get upgrade will always stop upgrading a package the moment this package requires additional, not-already-installed packages (e.g. the upgrade needs some new additional library). For those cases you must either

a) use apt-get install <package> explicitly, this will upgrade the package with its new required additional packages, or

b) use dist-upgrade. Otherwise those packages which now require more additional packages will just sit there forever (marked as 'The following packages have been kept back:'

On this I agree completely though. And particularly with the tablet.