Five or six years ago, when you wanted to update any software on
your computer, you first had to know about the update. Many
Macintosh magazines would let you know about Mac OS updates and
occasionally even have them on a CD. If they didn't have them on
CD, you needed to find a way to obtain them.
Apple had many updates available for download - if you knew what
they were called and where to go for them. If it was third party
software you were looking to update, good luck even knowing about
the update in the first place. If it was a minor one, chances were
that most people wouldn't even bother. If it was a major one, it
most likely cost money and was available on store shelves.
If you were on the Web, maybe you used a site like VersionTracker or MacUpdate to learn about
software updates. Enough Mac users are concerned about software
updates to make VersionTracker one of the best known and most
popular sites on the Mac Web.
The need to find and buy or download updates resulted in people
using outdated, and/or buggy software. Microsoft came up with a
good solution for updating their Windows operating system, Windows
Update. When you ran Windows Update, it sent you to a Microsoft
site that would search your computer and let you know about the
latest updates available. Since Windows frequently has updates
(especially security updates), this was extremely helpful. The only
problem with Windows update was that you had to run it yourself; it
was not automated.
Apple included Software Update with Mac OS 9. Much like
Windows Update, it searches your computer to let you know of the
latest updates. Instead of sending you to a website, however, it
was a control panel, and it could be scheduled to run at any
convenient time. However, when Mac OS 9 was released in 1999, very
few people had broadband, so most downloads took a long time. This
meant that people often didn't even bother using this feature, and
Apple didn't offer very many updates with it anyway.
In Mac OS X, Software Update was greatly improved. Now, instead
of just tracking the operating system, all Apple software updates
are shown. Unfortunately, Mac OS X updates are often large
files (the 10.2.4 "combo" update is around 75 MB), and you almost
need to have broadband to download them. (Microsoft also decided to
update its Windows Update, and Windows XP has an option to
automatically check for updates and download and install them at
your leisure.)
Third party applications have had automatic updates for some
time also. For example, AOL Instant Messenger has a feature that
checks to make sure you have the latest version each time you open
it. OmniWeb automatically checks for updates on launch. Microsoft
Word even has a menu option where you can check to make sure you
have the latest updates for it.
Are automatic software updates necessarily a good idea, though?
Some applications constantly bug you until you upgrade. (Others
have no way of letting you know of updates at all.)
There's also always the concern of how much information about
your computer and operating environment is being sent to these
companies. While many companies deny that they collect this
information, it's always possible that it could be done at any
point in the future. Microsoft does it now, sending information
about the media you play using Windows Media Player.
Automatic updaters can also cause someone to update in order to
have the latest version, only to find that the newer version isn't
compatible with other software - and they can't go back to the
older version.
Automatic updaters do have some positive aspects as well. They
help ensure that the software you're using doesn't have serious
bugs in it (at least known serious bugs). They make sure you
know that the updates are available, so even if you don't want to
install them now ("if it ain't broke, don't fix it"), you can get
it later if you find you either need a certain new feature or are
starting to have problems with your current version.
Most importantly for software companies, automatic updates help
streamline support issues. Those who run the automatic updaters
will already have the latest version for tech support to
troubleshoot. And for those who don't, tech support can tell them
to run an automatic update instead of directing them to a website
to download the necessary files.
Automatic updaters also simplify things for you when it comes to
making sure you have the latest. What used to take hours to
research, download, sort, and install now only takes a few seconds
when you click "Update Now."
