@Joss, your answers, also FAQs:
The Boutique will use PPAs directly from the software maker and not through Ubuntu repositories (so it's independent of the official repositories).
For a wide range of software, yes. Although, some software will stick to Ubuntu's repositories and a handful may use a trusted third party one.
The programs available will be Mate's team choice.
Yep. These have been described as the "best in class and as they integrate well with the MATE Desktop."
Mate's team will guarantee the programs are clean/stable.
Yep, @Wimpy has been approving them. Applications only appear based on the current distribution version and architecture. For instance:
- VirtualBox is currently unlisted for Xenial because Oracle do not have a 16.04 source yet.
- VirtualBox is unlisted on the Raspberry Pi or PowerPC as it is not compatible.
The programs installed through the Boutique will be automatically updated/upgraded (if we subscribe to Welcome updates ?)
No. Welcome updates literally only keeps the Welcome / Boutique program up-to-date. That includes the latest software listings (and PPA changes!), translations and documentation.
- As described previously, this is because it's faster to push out an update to a PPA then review/approval by upstream Ubuntu.
- Applications are subject to updates as usual Software Updater either by the PPA the Boutique adds (if applicable) or if a new package is released in the Ubuntu repository.