how to review info for yum updates?

[Joe Smith]

Frank Cox wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 22:40:18 -0400
> Joe Smith <jes at martnet.com> wrote:
> 
>> I'm uncomfortable with the level of information readily available when 
>> an update comes down the pipe. What can be done to improve the situation?
> 
> Subscribe to the fedora-package-announce mailing list.

Ok, I just went through this with the 20-or-so updates that came out 
today, and this is not the answer. Not even close.

Aside from being inconvenient in general, the package announce list 
shows every update, so you have to wade through lots of stuff you don't 
care about. Also, it seems there is a lag--some of the packages in my 
yum screen were not in the list archive. Maybe it's a lag between the 
mail list and the archive.

An RSS feed would be a little better; there are some old ones still 
visible, but they're apparently all dead.

All the information is there already, it just isn't tied together and 
presented effectively. The only piece that's missing (in some cases) is 
a short summary of the purpose for the update.

The only missing piece is a key or update ID that can tie an update 
package to the update information, so the update agent can retrieve the 
info to present.

Maybe I'm the only one that thinks this is important, but this process 
could really be first-class with just a little coordination. Not only 
would it be helpful to administrators, but it would help newbies become 
more familiar with what packages are installed and what they do.

And it would give even non-geeks a better sense of ownership of their 
computer--a complete win over the monopoly's "you don't need to know 
that" culture.

<Joe