elementary
Manually check for updates on metered networks
How about a button checking for updates? I've actually found a "hackish" way to do this, by just update the packages list, in other words just running the command sudo apt update. So there could be a button that says "check for updates", which all it does is run apt update
It looks to me like AppCenter automatically checks for updates the moment you launch it. I don't know if this is an intentional design implementation. However, for people on metered networks I think a feature like this will make sense. Allowing the user to decide when to check for updates seems reasonable.
Perhaps, a setting can be made available in AppCenter that allows the user to decide on whether AppCenter should automatically check for updates or only check when the user clicks the "check for updates" button.
@yeboahnanaosei I actually would suggest a whole software switchboard plugin. There there can be an option there about this too. Mabe there can be some options about 3rd party sources there too. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
AppCenter is designed to be fiddle-free: it checks on log-in, plus when you open the app. I know there is some refinement that could be made, but the reasoning is that if a new app is released and users open the app store to look for it, it needs to automatically check to get the latest data. Not doing that means users have outdated repository information, especially when new apps are being released every day.
If AppCenter checks for updates automatically when you open it, how is having an explicit button to also do that more useful?
The issue I have has to do with being on a metered network; because I'm almost always on a metered network. Here in Ghana data sometimes is at a premium.
Consider the Mail app for instance. There are times when all I want to do is quickly check something out in an old mail. However, when I launch the Mail app, it automatically starts checking for new mail and downloads them. And that costs data.
It will be nice if I could tell the Mail app and for that matter AppCenter: "Hey, don't check for updates automatically anytime I launch or open you up. I'm only here to do something quickly and leave. If I want you to check for updates I will tell you to do so."
With AppCenter, there are times all I want to do is to quickly go in and install an app and not incur extra overhead cost of having to check for updates.
@yeboahnanaosei there has been talk and work around metered connections in GNOME. I'll look into it, but it sounds like this would be a global setting as part of the network settings, then apps would need to check that and potentially behave differently. Which I think makes sense.
I'm going to mark this as blocked for now until the OS has a concept of metered networks.
It turns out Network Manager has a "metered" flag, and GNOME has a "Restrict background data" checkbox for this in their settings already. We don't in elementary OS, so this is still blocked, but it seems like a bit less work.