The Pros and Cons of Automatic Software Updates

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The need to find and buy or download updates resulted in people using outdated, and/or buggy software.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."