Ubuntu 18.04: Packages no longer downloadable

Question

I just upgraded from 16.04 to 18.04. Running

ubuntu-support-status --show-all

yielded (besides other output) a section with packages that are no longer downloadable.

I understand that package support might change between Ubuntu version. Still, to my great surprise, three packages I heavily rely on are no longer downloadable: pdftk, sbackup and unetbootin.

Fortunately, this machine has those packages already installed, but how can I deal with this on a freshly installed Ubuntu 18.04?

Is there any way to install packages from 16.04, or do I have to install the packages from other sources / replace them by alternative packages?

Answer 1

Apparently, it is possible to install packages from Ubuntu 17.10 by installing the deb packages and its dependencies manually (https://askubuntu.com/a/1029451).

Alternatively, one could temporarily add the 17.10 sources to apt and then install the packages (https://christiandietze.de/pdftk-with-ubuntu-bionic-18-04/).

Answer 2

I would keep running 16.04 until 18.04 is ready and required packages have been tested by Ubuntu teams and put into regular repositories. Who knows what the problems could be going any other route until it's too late!