Software is still not automatically preparing updates
This is a follow-up to #1253 (closed) and #1301 (closed). CC @aday. I tested this with gnome-software-41~beta-0.20210723git60b423c9.fc34. Here is my test procedure. First, restart Software:
$ gnome-software --quit
Reset all update timestamps to July 1, 2021, 00:00:00 UTC:
$ gsettings set org.gnome.software check-timestamp 1625115600
$ gsettings set org.gnome.software install-timestamp 1625115600
$ gsettings set org.gnome.software online-updates-timestamp 1625115600
$ gsettings set org.gnome.software update-notification-timestamp 1625115600
That is more than two weeks in the past, so it should cause Software to prepare updates.
Reopen gnome-software:
$ gnome-software
Finally, I visit the Updates tab to check the state of things. The test fails if the Download button is visible (because this indicates that Software decided not to automatically prepare an update), and passes if the Restart & Update button is visible or if Software is downloading updates. Unfortunately, I see a Download button, so I conclude that Software is still not properly preparing updates, a regression from 3.38.
#1301 (closed) mentions that some new PackageKit API is required to do this properly, but I know this cannot be true because Software 3.38 was able to reliably prepare updates, so it must be possible to fix Software 40 without requiring future PackageKit changes. Automatic prepared updates broke between 3.38 and 40.