Re: How to check new commit availability without full fetch?

Nicolas Pitre [off-list ref] writes:

quoted

I am sure I am not the only one with such an itch.

Maybe you are. There is very little point knowing that the remote repo 
has new commits if you're not going to fetch them, so I don't understand 
why you need this.

A feel good factor is in play?  IOW, "I am short of time, so I won't be
able to really afford to 'git pull' and test the result of re-integrating
my changes to what happened on the other end.  If I can learn that there
is nothing happening over there, then I won't have to do anything and know
that I am up to date."