I have some questions about software sources:

I have some software that I installed after having installed Ubuntu 7.10.
How do I know if the software sources are going to update those programs or if I need to add more software sources?

Is there a way to automatically find all the needed software sources to update all the software that is installed?

Thank you.

Come again?

What do you mean by "software sources"? - Repositories?
If a new version is available in the repos the update manager will tell you about it, if that's what you mean.

It's probably Repositories, but in Ubuntu under the tab Administration, it's called Software Sources.

No, that was not what I meant.
The problem is that I don't know if all the programs I currectly have are upgradable from the repositories that I currently have. Meaning that I may need some other repositories.

One of the very first things to do after installing Linux is to get familiar with the package manager....adpet of Synaptic in the case of Ubuntu.

ALWAYS check the package manager before installing SW--it makes life much easier.

If you got the package from a repository, then the upgrade will be there also. You can enable repositories in you preferences, and you can also add your own.

What if I didn't get it from a repository? Can I search automatically for all the repositories that might be needed for the software I installed?

What is SW?

This does not make sense---a repository is a place where SW packages are stored. SW does not need repositories.

To upgrade SW that was not installed with the package manager, you would first have to register it in the data base. I think it would be easier to remove it and then re-install using the package manager.

If it's not obvious by now: "SW" = Software

The only way, that I know of, to verify that your repository/package manager is delivering the current version of software is to go to the website for that piece of software. You could also try switching repositories - though the repositories are mirrors, so that won't really help. Any packaged software is usually slightly behind the original source - it can take some time to test the software, patch the software and then distribute it to the mirrors. Though I will say that Ubuntu is normally fairly up to date.

Is there a particular piece of software that you think may be out of date?

Boinc manager, for instance. It's .8, while the latest release is .21.

Thank you for your help.