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Will Ubuntu be updating the Evolution email client to use the latest version of evolution that works with the Google People API so that I can access the address book in Evolution where my Google contacts are? A response would be appreciated. Thanks.

Melinda
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  • The question includes a false assumption that updating to the latest version is the only way to solve the bug. Instead, Ubuntu developers generally fix bugs like this by patching the current version, then pushing an updated package including the patch. Bumping to a new version tends to cause dependency problems, break workflows unexpectedly, and introduce other unexpected issues. Sometimes bumping to a new version is indeed the best alternative...but it's rare. – user535733 Mar 21 '22 at 20:58

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I got the same issue today, it seems this has been fixed in the latest version of evolution, 3.42. Here's the bugreport for this with details about https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/evolution-data-server/+bug/1952107

It seems that the fix is released today, but I'm not a ubuntu user myself so not 100% sure what the released to -updates, but I think you have to have the updates channel/subdistro enabled to get this update. If you have, just updating your system should be enough, otherwise you might first need to enable the -updates channel: How do I enable automatic updates? (while that is mainly about automatic updates, there's also information about a enabling -updates).

niels
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  • Thanks for the info. I'll check it out. Hopefully Ubuntu will have it applied it in its update soon. – Melinda Jan 25 '22 at 12:04
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So, leaving aside "fixit man" 's rant, if I want to use the contacts capabilities of Evolution and Gmail, I need to install a more recent version than the default. Now, it's not a big deal (I use a filofax for contacts management), but ... off to Synaptic to try to do that. Synaptic only offers the 3.36.5 version. But the gnome website asserts a "flatpack" (some variant on a "snap", or a portabilsed version, if I understand it correctly) of 3.42 at https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gnome.Evolution ... oh stuff it. I need to install the flatpack software package, then reboot. That rings a bell - and I think I've rejected flatpacking before because of that.

Oh well, my filofax hasn't rebooted, so I think that excursion into "contacts management" is firmly in the trash can.

Rockdoctor
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  • Rockdoctor thanks for your post. I did read about flatpack on the GNOME site but I wasn't comfortable with everything that flatpack installs on your system and if I remember correctly it's huge. So I guess I'll wait until either Ubuntu or Gnome gets their act together and allows simple users like myself to get it through the Ubuntu update. Thanks again for your post. – Melinda Mar 01 '22 at 12:42
  • Yeah, that's about my level too. It's hardly an important thing - I can do my email through the website these days. If I went back to working in remote (i.e. extremely restricted internet) sites, I'd look more into offline capabilities, but it's just not that important at the moment. – Rockdoctor Mar 02 '22 at 14:04
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This isn't the first time the "answer" was "Flatpak". I guess Ubuntu is sliding down the slippery slope into what is best described as "The Windows™ Way".

On my work-related 20.04 desktop installation on a MacPro, both Kmail and Thunderbird are hosed too, which is why we should keep commercial solutions OUT of Linux, and only rely on opensource data management solutions.

Joe
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Latest version for Ubuntu 20.04 is evolution_3.36.1-2. Later versions aren't being backported. The later .deb will not install due to dependency issues -- at least by a typical user. This is THE MOST RECENT version available for Ubuntu 20.04 and needs to be FIXED by the Gnome team so the typical user can NOT have errors as noted. OR they need to work with the ubuntu people to get them to make a newer version, (from what I understand, only 3.40 or above) available as a .deb (not snap or flatpack) that will install seamlessly. Many users WILL NOT UPDATE via flatpack or snap and must use the latest available via thier distro's main repository.

fixitmanarizona
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