HowTo: manage updates to Ubuntu offline, via memory key or CD/DVD?

[Leo Mauler]

--- On Sat, 5/31/08, Jon Pruente <jdpruente at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sat, May 31, 2008 at 12:13 AM, Leo Mauler
> <webgiant at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > I'll run the updates before I pack up the PCs, but
> > after I install them on-site there is no on-site 
> > method of downloading updates.  Is there a way to 
> > give an Ubuntu update repository a list of installed 
> > software on another computer, and thus download 
> > updates for another system to be transferred to that 
> > system via memory key or even CD/DVD?  I'll continue 
> > to have personal access to both PCs for maintenance.
> 
> Someone did start this idea:
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/OfflineUpdateSpec
> But, I'm fairly sure you can drop the .deb packages on
> a CD or something and just copy them over, like this:
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=342865

Back in 2006 someone at Ubuntu added a nifty feature to Synaptic Package Manager, which allows you to pick out packages you want to install using the offline machine's Synaptic Package Manager, then instead of selecting "Apply" you go into the menus and select "Generate Package Download Script".  This creates "ubuntu.sh" which is a series of wget commands, which you run on a machine with Internet access.  I think the assumption is that somehow you have *some* form of slow Internet on the offline machine, in order to get new package lists from the repositories.

Full description of this feature:
http://beans.seartipy.com/2006/11/03/simple-way-to-update-ubuntu-edgy-with-slowno-internet-connection/

TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/3rk4qk

However, there's no way as yet to do the same thing with the security updates, and the difficulty with security updates is that you frequently don't need all of them (since very few people install ALL of the software packages), but you do need some of them the instant they are available.

Is there some way to download all of the security updates since N days ago?  At this point I wouldn't mind having to put all of them on a few CDs, every now and then, just to get them on-site.