Updates…Even I get frustrated by Updates. Every time I look at my phone, iPad, or computer there seems to be an app (or 20) that need an update. I can understand that sometimes it may seem endless and if you don’t pay attention for a small period of time you spend your life updating things. There is a reason for all of it though. Most of these programs cannot run the way that they are forever. Even if they could, developers are finding new and different ways to make your life easier. There are many ways that this happens;
1) Updating makes your programs work better – regular maintenance of programs makes it so that they don’t break down. You take your car in for an oil change, why not your word processor? Windows programs have FINALLY gotten on the same program that Apple programs have been on for years If you don’t update it stops working. This forces the users to update their programs. Previous to this PC users could be using the same system, program etc. for years and never update (Despite updates and patches being pushed out). The problem with this behavior is that when your computer needed to be replaced you spent a month trying to figure out the new system because everything will have changed. With the gradual updates, it makes the changes a little less jarring when you switch over your hardware.
2) Updating makes you OS run faster – Your Operating System (or OS) worked really well when it first came out. Since then the people who made it have found problems that need addressing or loopholes that need to be fixed. If you don’t get these loopholes are discovered when people use their programs in ways perhaps not intended by the programmer, and it slows the program down. When these issues are reported, the programmer (or team of programmers) will fix it and send out an update that will fix the issue.
3) Updating can protect you from new threats – Every day we hear about the latest and greatest threat that will “bring down all computers and compromise everyone’s security!!!!” There’s a trick to this, however. Most computer companies are not “out to get you” and quite frankly would prefer that you stay a loyal customer and user. They push out updates in order to make sure that the system you’re using is protected from every threat out there today.
Updates are a simple fact of life. We need to do updates in every facet of our lives. We need to eat better, exercise more, spend more time with friends and family etc. but doing this one thing, updating our technology on a regular basis is one of the simplest things we could possibly do. Ensuring that we have the best opportunity to do our best work (and play, let’s be honest here) is the job of the app developers, but it is up to us to take advantage of it.
How often do you do your updates? do your programs work better when you do?
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