In this internet and app-driven world we are subject to a continual parade of updates and upgrades. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to who have taken some form of issue with updates, and to a certain degree, I share the frustration with always having updates. The reason I don’t actually get frustrated with the updates, however, is that I completely understand the reasoning behind them.
1) They improve your programs – back in the day, you’d buy a program, use it until a newer version came out and then get the new one. The problem was that when you got the new one, you would have to figure out how to use the program all over again. That’s because while you were using the older version, the programmers were thinking of new and different ways that you could use the program and make it cooler and work better. Now, however, when the developers make an improvement, they can push it out to you through the app stores so that you can start using it right away.
2) They fix bugs – App developers, like any other human, make mistakes. Because they make mistakes occasionally, they need to correct their errors. Fortunately, instead of having to live with a mistake until a whole new program comes out, programmers can push out updates for bug fixes as they see them and you as the end user do not have to wait.
3) They make your devices work faster – Similar to the bug fixes sometimes when a program is developed and uploaded it can take a lot of memory and battery power to run. On occasion, there can be a programming fix which will change how much battery power it uses. This has to be implemented through an update.
4) Changes to the OS mean changes to the Apps – When the computer’s operating system gets upgraded the code that the programs use changes as well. This means that there are changes that need to be pushed out to the various applications that you use so that they continue to work correctly. If the programmers don’t make those changes, then the programs will stop working correctly.
5) Changes to the internet mean changes to the Apps – For those of us who spend most of the time on the internet or with our heads in the cloud (systems), It’s important to recognize that the internet itself changes. It gets better, faster more efficient and in some cases more secure. A great example of this is the new laws enacted in the EU earlier this year called the GDPR to protect people’s privacy and data. To keep up, programmers need to be able to make changes to the programs you use which access the internet. This comes through to you through updates.
Something you can do to prevent most of the hassle with updates is set your devices to “auto update” so that when an update comes up, it will automatically update and you don’t have to see that evil number bubble on the top right of your App store icon. One piece of advice that I would recommend is setting your device only to download the updates when you are on Wifi. This will prevent your device from using Data while you are not on wifi. This all can be configured through your settings app on yo0r various devices. Updates are critical, especially if it’s the operating system of your computer. There are times when you will have to shut down your device or computer to have the update take effect. While I realize that can be an annoyance it is, at the end of the day, entirely beneficial.
One of the Baines of my existence for a while is that people with Windows computers did not shut down their computers. Windows and Microsoft would push out updates, but the people who didn’t turn their computers off would be unable to take advantage of this because they would have to shut their computers down. Mac Users, on the other hand, have been better trained to shut down for their updates. With Macs, if you don’t do the updates, then your programs stop working correctly so you would welcome the updates. Previous to Windows 10 the users would be able to go forever without updates. Now, however, Windows 10 forces you to shut down to apply the updates (like Mac does) so that the users actually can take more advantage of the updates and bug fixes. I’ll be talking more about why shutting down is a good thing, but for now, let me just say that updates are good for your system. It’s important to allow them to happen so when you do see that little number above your App store icon, don’t dispart, just hit “apply all” go and get a coffee and let the updates happen.
Do you do all your updates? Do you ever get frustrated by them?
Let me know in the comments section below. If you like this blog post and want to see more, you can follow me on Social Media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @jasonlovefiles) or Subscribe to my blog to get new content delivered directly to your mailbox.