Redhat comes with the nice program up2date to install latest updates. It's got the nice icon on the start bar that says 'updates available' click on it log in and download...
Yum seems to be found nowhere except for the people who know Linux and command line etc...
I try to stick with up2date because I want the nice GUI tools, something Linux is trying (or should be trying) to brag about. However, I get up2date to completely download and install updates maybe one out of a dozen times (broad band connection).
I've been on this list before and noted that most of the 'experts' always answer questions about updates with 'just use yum'...Note, this is my impression, I may be wrong. Also note I define 'experts' as the folks on this list whom always seem to have an answer for every question.
If yum is so much better that the experts just go to it, why is up2date the program on the start bar? Why isn't yum given the nice icon on the start bar by default?
It's much easier to give a clear, concise answer to a question about how something should be installed or updated by giving the exact command-line command that would need to be run rather than to describe a GUI method for doing the same thing, which might involve navigating several levels of menus, clicking several buttons, filling in several fields etc., and may be different for KDE or gnome users. So that's why responses tend to favour the command line I think.
However, there is a command-line version of up2date that could be used in much the same way as yum (indeed, I use it regularly for the RHEL boxes at work) so I think the choice of yum rather than up2date there is more a case of personal preference.
Paul.
