console-setup kernel args no longer recognized

[Pete Ashdown]

Binary package hint: base-installer

In my PXE installer, using "console-setup/ask_detect=false console-setup/layoutcode=us" used to bypass the keyboard question. It no longer does under 11.04 beta1.

[Pete Ashdown (pashdown-xmission)]

This is under 11.04 beta1.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

You need to replace console-setup/layoutcode with keyboard-configuration/layoutcode.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but when I tried to arrange for compatibility there it turned out that it broke other things (bug 698263). I'll add a release-notes task for us to document this.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

Release-noted:

 * Keyboard preseeding that worked in previous versions of Ubuntu no longer works. Instead of `console-setup/layoutcode`, `console-setup/variantcode`, `console-setup/modelcode`, and `console-setup/optionscode`, you need to preseed `keyboard-configuration/layoutcode`, `keyboard-configuration/variantcode`, `keyboard-configuration/modelcode`, and `keyboard-configuration/optionscode` respectively. (Bug:747854)

[shanen (Shannon Jacobs) (shanen)]

I think I'm seeing this problem in the upgrade causing it to ask me to select a keyboard when there should be no change in the keyboard configuration--but at this point I'm expecting Ubuntu to become more useless and troublesome with each so-called upgrade. Look, I'm just trying to do the upgrade, and the first question it asks is for a keyboard, but it does NOT offer ANY option that is recognizably similar to the keyboard they I am using. I wouldn't mind so much if it was some kind of exotic computer, but it is NOT. Just a plain Jane Lenovo X61 ThinkPad. Ever heard of it? Evidently not.

Look, I really want you to succeed (at despicable Microsoft's cost), but you are failing more and more. I have already decided NOT to install Ubuntu on any more machines, because it gets worse and worse each time. At this point I'm still attempting to update some of my VMware installations... Or at least I tried it once. The evidence so far is that I should just give up now and save myself the additional grief.

It's a waste of time, but I'm going to repeat myself: I don't blame you for failing. I think the deep problem is your economic model, which is basically the big donor model for charity. That can work if the donor is rich enough, but he isn't, or if he always makes perfect decisions, but he doesn't. I'm going to try to end on a constructive note that addresses the REAL problem here by suggesting that you need to adjust your economic model to get MUCH more testing into the process. My main conclusion at this point is that you need to insure there is enough testing BEFORE you release ANY upgrade, even if it delays the upgrades. Here's a suggested funding mechanism that would get committed funds from small donors (who would also be potential testers) BEFORE you even start the actual programming:

http://eco-epistemology.blogspot.com/2009/11/economics-of-small-donors-reverse.html