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Keeping B3 up to date

Got problems with your B2 or B3? Share and get helped!
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DirkMcStride
Posts: 2
Joined: 28 Sep 2019, 08:52

Keeping B3 up to date

Post by DirkMcStride »

Hello all!

I've been using my B3 for years with no problem. But since the original company went bankrupt there are no more updates to the software as I understand it. Obviously my B3 is getting more prone to attacks by the minute with software not updated in years and years. SMB V1 isn't helping either. What is the recommendation? Are there updated repositories available? Should I install some other image on it?

I'm not a Linux user as such; I bought this as it was a very neat solution that just worked. I can work with Linux, but I have no interest in putting any serious time into it. So if there is a reasonably easy solution I'm all for it, but if you have to go full Linux fanboy mode to keep it updated I'll have to choose some other option.
Gordon
Posts: 1461
Joined: 10 Aug 2011, 03:18

Re: Keeping B3 up to date

Post by Gordon »

I don't think Excito was actively maintaining the software even when they were still in good financial shape. ;)

Key thing here is that most Linux distributions like Windows will at some point require you to install a new version, at which time you are likely to loose many of your settings, if not all. And of course you may find that the newer release of the operating system no longer support legacy third party software like the B2|3 GUI.

If you visit the development board on this forum you will find a couple of options for running a newer version of Linux on your B3:
  • The latest Debian release: Buster
  • RedSleeve: an ARM specific port of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Arch Linux
  • Gentoo Linux
  • Bubbagen: my personal edition of Gentoo Linux featuring the full B3 experience and GUI
Except for Debian these are all offered as "live trials" so you can get a look and feel of how the system behaves without harming the original system or any of its data.

Arch and Gentoo are so-called rolling releases. In essence this means you can keep your system up to date without ever needing to upgrade it. The turn side is that if you do not keep track of updates and at one point you want to install an additional feature the compatible version may have become unavailable and bringing the whole system up to date can have become impossible. That said, there is no reason why you could not treat a rolling release similar to a fixed in time release - if it ain't broken...
DirkMcStride
Posts: 2
Joined: 28 Sep 2019, 08:52

Re: Keeping B3 up to date

Post by DirkMcStride »

Thanks for the info!

Bubbagen seems interesting as it's essentially the same thing but updated. And if I run into problems help won't be far away :)
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