Bleep bleep. Hey there. It’s time to get the latest and greatest. That’s right, just swipe on down and I’ll give you all the goodies. Want some bug fixes? Done. Want some UI improvements? Yours! Want some…well, some more bug fixes. Boom baby. You are all familiar with the periodic notifications we all get when software updates come in. Either your phone’s OS, or a few apps here or there, you’ve gotten a few notifications in your time about the latest software to roll out of the developer’s GitHub.
Updates are one of those double-edged sword kinds of deals. One the one hand, getting the latest software is having the new hotness. On the other hand, what if there are changes you don’t like? App and system updates are streaming into your phone pretty much all the time, and the question we’re looking at is, how quickly do you/should you update?
Faster is better
Well, the quick answer is, as soon as possible. There are a few reasons for this. First and foremost, when you get a new update notification, it means the software developer, a.k.a. not you, has found something that needed a tweak. Maybe it was a bug, or a UI feature, or something else. Regardless, the developer has poured over his keyboard for hours, days, or weeks to send you that notification. He/She knows their software better than you do, so grab the update.
Second, you never know what is being fixed. Maybe there’s a security hole that is being patched. Maybe there’s an app from China that’s secretly delivering all your information back to the motherland from every phone you’ve reviewed in the past year. Maybe you’re a little salty about that. Software is no stranger to exploitation, so good developers stay on top of that and issue fixes when necessary.
It’s coming
But the main reason it’s important to update right away is because of inevitability, Mr. Anderson. Eventually, you’re going to have to update, so embrace the future and update now if not sooner. You’re going to have to update eventually, and even if you hate the update, it’s going to happen. It’s like that splinter in your finger that you cover up with a Band-Aid that would just feel better if you tweezed it out.
Of course, it should be mentioned that updates aren’t always the best thing ever. It’s prudent to be careful when you’re using a work device, or a device that has mission critical apps on it. Some OS updates can break functionality in apps. Good app developers are way ahead of that by testing apps against betas and RCs, but still, if you’re dealing with any apps or services that are irreplaceable, it is better to tread softly, grasshopper.
What do you think?
So, given all that, we wondered here at the P-Machine, how often do you update? Are you a right-away kind of person who jumps on that, well, right away? Do you dismiss the notification and forget about it? Do you have it set to automatically update? Spoiler alert, that’s probably the best option. If you don’t know how to set your apps to auto-update, a quick Google search should help you out. I’d also like to welcome you to Pocketnow for the first time.
While you’re here, we put together a little poll for you. We’re just curious how often our readers hit that notification, and when. So, vote down below, and if you have any comments, beliefs, or app-update horror stories, go ahead and share them in the comments. Call it the update support group.
The post How often do you update software/firmware? appeared first on Pocketnow.
