I just want to ask before I just start doing. I run Debian on the desktop and server, and the three primary ways to install apps are

• apt-get
• aptitude
• synaptic (gui)

These are at a point where they all consult the same database so they play nicely together. However, I have run into a couple of cases on the N900 which have me wondering if mixing the app manager and apt-get are a good thing.

I wanted to install rsync on the N900. I first went to the app manager, and it wasn't available. The only things listed were librsync1 and librsync-dev. I thought rsync and grsync were available as well, but I don't see them...In any case, on the command line, apt-cache search rsync gives me rsync, grsync, librsync1 librsync-dev rdiff and duplicity.

The other thing is that the app manager currently has no updates available, however, apt-get upgrade gives me over 20 packages (plus 3 or 4 held back). About half are python or python-related, several avahi packages, fcam-drivers, libhildon-extras1 and the like.

Obviously, I don't want to break the device, and since it is so heavily python based, an ill-advised upgrade of 10 or so python packages makes me think thats exactly what may happen.

I know when I had my N810, they said that the app manager was obfuscated to not show "dangerous" packages. Is this the same case? Is it safe to do an apt-get upgrade? And to install packages from the command line? Or will this confuse the app manager?

Thanks,
--vr

not every package is showed in appman.
thats normal.
best example is wget,a really often used app.
the thing with apt-get upgrade i don't know too.
but it doesn't matter if you install vie gui or apt-get.
i use mostly apt-get cause its 10 times faster and it shows me whats going on.
regards

Yeah, I've always used the command line on the desktop, mostly because it is how I cut my teeth on Linux and Unix. Old habits die hard.

Plus I find it easier and faster to do it on the command line than dealing with a gui, and talking someone through something is easier.

This is because application manager only displays the apps in the user/ category, it can install other but only as dependencies or with the .deb.
You should try faster application manager , it is a great application manager with many options, not only faster. It let's you install application from other categories than user/, it support multi-selection and many more...

Okay, cool. I found in FAM the same list of packages. Which still begs the question. Is it safe to upgrade them? perl-base as well as a slew of python packages? If something goes wrong, its gonna go really wrong.

Just as a sanity check, the python package it is upgradeable to is 2.5.2-3maemo4, perl is 5.8.3-3osso13+0m5 Is anyone running these versions?

HAM is very cautious and senses possible conflicts apt-get is unable to regognize in the first place. that could be the reason to not to upgrade.

Personally, I update ~weekly all library/apps for months with extra-devel enabled and I have not a single problem with them for now.
But if you want to do this, make sure that you:
-have read http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras-devel
-make regular backups (with the backup app + copy of the MyDocs/memory card partition) and copy them to another hardware storage than your N900
-are ready to do a full reflash and loose time if something go wrong.

It should be safe - as long as you (or FAM) are using "apt-get upgrade". Using "apt-get dist-upgrade" is [/i]not[/i] safe though (unless you're doing it just after a new firmware release). The perl-base package you point out, for example, will not be installed by "apt-get upgrade" but will by "apt-get dist-upgrade" - the install of that package will force uninstallation of several core packages and will almost certainly break things.

Updating any package can cause breakages though - they can "fix" behaviour that other packages rely on being broken, or can break little-used (and untested) functionality which you happen to depend on. But that's a risk you take whenever you install a package - any install/update could be bringing in newer versions of libraries that other applications use.

i use apt all the time due to its speed and i've never had any issue.
if you look around you'll find a package that allows you to apt-get from ovi as well :-D