Re: [Tails-dev] Installation Assistant (+ ISO Verification …

Giorgio Maone:
> On 30/11/2015 20:32, sajolida wrote:
>> Giorgio Maone:
>>> thank you for your time filing those tickets :)
>>>
>>> However, if you set some kind of priority on them, I'll start from the
>>> highest attempting to fix as much as possible, always aiming for the
>>> full package of course.
>>
>> Ok, so I set elevated prio on:
>>
>> - #10686: Network disconnection shouldn't make download fail in DAVE
>> - #10678: Prevent DAVE from reloading the page every 10s
>>
>> And lowered prio on:
>>
>> - #10685: Change in IDF should reset DAVE (← needs a confirmation)
>
> Confirmed, DAVE currently fetches the IDF (and therefore resets itself)
> every time either the browser starts, or the extension gets
> updated/installed/enabled after being disabled.

Ok, so let's stick to low priority for the beta then.

> Therefore this ticket is basically about forcing the IDF to be reloaded
> every time you load the UI page, or even more often (e.g. by setting a
> timer which reloads it every 3 minutes or so if the UI is currently
> shown), correct?

There might be some ambiguity on what you call "reloading the IDF", so
I'll elaborate just a bit.

The IDF should definitely be fetched again each time the user reloads
the page and the extension should check if the IDF changed. If the IDF
changed, then the state of the extension should be reset ("verified"
should go to "download"). Imagine people who don't close their browser
for days, they might download the ISO image one day, give up in the
middle of the installing instructions and reopen the page 5 days later.
We should ask them to download a fresh ISO in case the IDF changed.

But we shouldn't ask these same people to download again if they reload
the page but the IDF is still the same. During the UX tests, quite a few
people switched from one installation scenario to the another, and
having DAVE still marked as "downloaded and verified" even if you switch
scenario is definitely helpful: people don't have to download and verify
the ISO again to try another scenario.

Now, I'm not sure what should happen if the IDF changes *in the middle
of the download* (you close your tab and open it again) but that's a
corner case and I'm fine with having DAVE validate this download. These
people are unlucky anyway...

Regarding "setting a timer which reloads it every 3 minutes or so" that
would be helpful for people who might keep the tab open for days with an
ISO image already downloaded; as these people are not reloading the
page. But then, how we transmit this information to them might be
complicated. Changing the state of the verification without them
reloading the page feels wrong. I'd say this is a corner case as well,
and I'm fine with not modifying the validation we gave them already.

Ah, and for people who might open the page and not start the download
immediately, then maybe the IDF should be checked upon when actually
starting the download. I don't know when you're doing that exactly in
the process right now.