Why I’m sick of software updates

I totally agree!
There is nothing more infuriating than your computer forever installing new updates – once a month would be far more sensible. 🙂
I’ve also found that sometimes an update can seemingly surreptitiously change some settings so it means items you’ve used previously don’t work until you fathom it out and change them back! 🙁
Certainly not easy when you try to operate a computer with your paws!!!! 🙂 🙂

I think it must depend on the software – I normally only get updates for XP and Adobe reader at around 1 month intervals – WordPerfect updates around every 6 months or more (the rest of the suite never needs updates) – FireFox and Thunderbird every 3 months. Similarly with Paint shop Pro.

Did have Agent (similar to Thunderbird) update to a version that was incompatible to the earlier version – so ditched it.

Daily use of computers and software for around 5 hours daily.

Most modern apps on the Mac give you the option whether or not to check for updates when you start the app. Personally I like to have this set on, but I agree some people may find it annoying – at least we get the choice. Similarly Mac OSX itself gives you a choice of how often to check for updates to the OS itself – mine is set to weekly which seems to be a good balance.
I don’t know how things work in the iPhone and PC world but I would agree with the OP that multiple unsolicited update reminders every day would get annoying.

I’d like to see the ‘helpful’ window, which pops out to tell you that you don’t really need an update or in fact, a particular program, which you never have and never will use. Would you like to delete this now? Oh, yes please…… Hey, I invented it!.

I’m very fed up with software updates that crash my system after installation and take ages to sort, safari and itunes seem to be the culprits, haven’t decided which one yet! I think it’s Safari that’s the problem.

I would use Firefox as a default except that it is now almost unusable due to settings and updates which make it incredibly secure! I now have to confirm every action and process, I know it’s my fault and I can fix it, just don’t have the time…..

Oh and for some reason my main software decided to change to Imperial inches after the last update, reset them…trash the prefs… still pops up and says metric is the invention of the devil..grrr

I was under the impression that one can chose to turn off the update notification facility.

Microsoft normally provides updates on the first Tuesday of every month – Update Tuesday. When it does send out out-of-band updates, it is to plug a serious security problem.

As Internet browsing is a prime time activity, Adobe (Flash), Java and other browser plug-in vendors try to release at the same time as Microsoft. But again, serious security patches may be released at any time.

As much as you like to complain about these updates, think how you would complain if you caught a nasty virus or had your details stolen through known but unpatched security breaches?

You can’t have it both ways. Perhaps your anger should be aimed at the police for not apprehending the criminals that exploit these vulnerabilities.

Keep moaning.

Some of the smaller but most useful programs are updated rather too frequently but as they take up little time to install I can’t say it bothers me. I would rather frequent updates than security being compromised. At least nowadays programs take note of of what is already installed. No longer do the frequent Adobe Flash updates leave the old program in place.
Windows Updates usually take a long time to install and as they are often security related I would be happy to be “pestered” at fortnightly intervals if that would speed the installation process and makes the computer more secure at an earlier time.
I can’t say that I have problems as the result of updates apart from Windows Optional updates to component drivers which often have to be back dated when they don’t work.
I would recommend the free Secunia PSI program to monitor security patches but no doubt that would lead to similar complaints.

Sometimes I find that Windows updates keep wanting to install the same update and you have to tell the update service to hide it. Also you get updates for internet explorer even when you use another browser. I recently got Windows 7 on a PC. I was surprised that an email programme was not bundled with it. I don’t recall about this being reported, when it first came out..

Hate updates as I no longer feel in control – last lot were 27 strong for windows 7 and one of them failed .I have been days dealing with this and it is still not sorted out have had to hide it. How useful is that.

And they always advise that anti virus software is disabled- how do you do that without re-installing.
No one ever says.

Apple regularly inform me of Quicktime & I-Tune updates. The last time I installed an update my PC crashed & I had to reinstall the entire operating system. Fortunately I make a regular backup using Acronis True Image. I cannot praise this backup program highly enough.
I now avoid installing all updates from Apple!

It used to be irritating when Microsoft updates barged in and interrupted work so I chose the option of merely being informed when they are available. Even then they take ages to download etc but since, as a rule, they are fairly infrequent and often improve security I’m prepared to put up with them. The exception is Microsoft Security Essentials which seem to forget that they updated only an hour ago and keep nagging. Another pest is Safari which I uninstalled in favour of Opera more than a year ago but keeps offering me updates.

As someone said, a lot of applications give you the chance to opt for updates or not when first installed. If you want to change your mind later, then there is often a clearly visible entry in msconfig’s list of applications loaded automatically at start-up. You can disable the process and speed up your machine at the same time. Annoyingly, I can’t see how to stop WindowsUpdate interrupting and demanding a re-boot when I am in the middle of watching a television programme on the computer. I want urgent updates, yes, but once I know that there is one waiting to be installed, I’d rather wait until until it is convenient for me. Also, when my new laptop was only a couple of months old, and still with only the original software plus good virus protection, down came an update which stopped Internet Explorer finding any websites. I now use Opera!

So in summary, my attitude is – I’ll put up with updates on the day that they come out for the sake of security, but please – a) get them right and b) don’t re-boot when I’m in the middle of something that can’t be interrupted.

Have just come online to listen to the podcast. Such a relief to find I’m not alone in my feelings about software updates! I’m as sick of them as you are, Al!

Yes, I got sick of incessant updates and in fact of the whole Windows experience. I bought an iMac. I switch it on and it works. I wish I had bought it years ago.

I’m 64, a simple scientist, and not from the ‘computer generation’, but I do like to be in control/at least know what’s going on: often I lose control with the likes of Adobe, Java etc updates. For me most of these updates do seem to work but the downloading process seems to be random in time in spite of the precise instructions on ‘what to do’. Some download immediately, others at some point during the session, some after re-start (and others don’t in spite of telling me they will!), and some the following day (after several re-starts), and some Never. Also, you’ve got a point Al about frequency: sometimes I wonder if ‘today’s update’ is the the correction for yesterday’s update.

Updates from Microsoft can break your Internet wireless connection WebPages cannot be displayed message in Internet Explorer and wireless connection becomes limited. Another problem windows updates breaks DVD drive windows reports no drive found even if you plug another unit in by USB still the same report from windows or if you use MS fix page from Miscrsoft.com to fix the problem it will report problem can not be fixed. So I have turned off windows updates on my own computer that has stopped the problem from breaking anymore laptops at home or at work.

Software updates were a real pain using a dial-up service, but not with broadband.

I find the Apple Software Update very efficient and I cannot recall a single problem on any of my Macs. If it is not convenient to accept an update when prompted it takes one click to delay the update to a more convenient time.

I find upgrades and problem resolution tasks (esp. as your operating system goes out of style, eg. Vista) onerous, riddled with unfathomable snags requiring first web research then tech support contact and extremely time consuming. Add to this a variable quality wireless broadband connection and huge update files to be downloaded (eg. Vista service pack1 and 2, which I’ve only recently been made aware of, and don’t even work) and I’m a full time nursemaid for about a week. The will to live diminishes one wonders if these devices really are an advance after all. The whole thing is an immense waste of time.

In response to DaveB

It is true that a system can never be fully tested, as a Test Manager, I am aware of this.

However, I do not believe that updates are “essential” per se. They are only “essential” if the product has been pushed to market too quickly and (all too often) it is the test time that is the first to be cut.

It is also only essential if the application is dependant on another application which itself is constantly having updates.

For an example of how things can be done with a “right-first-time” mantra, boot up a ps2 or a ps1. No updates were available to these games and I never had an issue with any of them. The internet is something which has enabled software companies (not the developers themselves) to not do a thorough job and deliver much more quickly. Then where there are problems, this facilitates a support centre, patches, etc to mask the fact that the original was pushed to market too quickly.

Continuous integration of features and Test Driven Development is a good start, as is a business who actually know what they want the product to do.

But seeing as most companies use contractors, it is in their interest to get it done quickly due to cost, but ultimately it ends up damaging the companies reputation when they deliver sub standard software.

The internet has made software companies lazy, not developers. Devs just do what they can in the time with flaky requirements, they should be commended for actually making anything 🙂

It is not the updates that worry me so much as the frequency with which different versions of software are produced. If it is an operating system – and MS seem to bring one out every two or three years – it invariably means most other software has to be repurchased as well.

What is needed is a degree of regulation. No software should be superseded until all bugs with the previous version have been ironed out. New versions should also be a radical (say 80%) improvement upon the version they are to replace.

For years now, software companies have been making fortunes by selling us the same product several times.

I do really dislike software updates. It is impossible as non-tech user to distinguish between the ones that you need and the ones that you do not need, and most of the time for Windows PCs they seem to clog up your operating speed with all sorts of unnecessary things!

I also use an apple computer at home, and I love the fact that I do not get these constant operating systems updates and guess what – the machine is 3 years old and is still as fast as it was when I first got it!

Leen

Another hate. Firefox barges in with updates while I am downloading. At first it appears that the browser has crashed (as it seems to all too often these days) but then it reports that it is updating. Once it’s finished playing it allows the download to resume ~ provided it hasn’t given up. I’ve always liked Firefox but it’s beginning to irritate.

Also Safari, Quicktime and iTunes (& one apparently for mobile computing), which I hardly ever use, seem to ask every other day whether I want to download the latest. If I say Yes, I know that it will take ages to complete and then probably tell me that it can’t do it, so I always click on Quit. But at least these give me the option.

It is funny how old this article is and yet so up-to-date! 🙂 Things just got worse…as I see, the world is goint to the agressive way. First they offer you to update, then they recommend and later they force you to update giving no other option to choose from. And if you think about all the bandwidth (millions of devices do this continuously and somebody has to pay for that!) that these operations need to use, I would not even call them “free” updates…

I am furious about software updates! I write software for a living, and it shocks me how badly designed, and poorly written the majority of software is.
You know, if you want to change the hardware of your computer, than you can individually, and within broad limits change the capacity, performance, power consumption, type and speed of the memory, processor, power supply, main drive(HDD os SSD), and graphic hardware components besides other accessories.
But you can’t decide if you want a feature or not in software. Software is the most complex f****d up, cross-linked, inseparable piece of shit that mankind has ever created. It is written to meet deadlines, and often there is no second thought given into its architecture.

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