On Updates
The constant maintenance that goes into owning a computer can be enough to make us yearn for the days of slide rules and pencils. Well, not quite, but updates and patches definitely occupy too much of the everyday computer experience.
Today's case in point is my Averatec notebook. I generally use it only one to two days a week. It runs Windows XP Home as the operating system, and the first thing it does when I turn it on is it just has to upload all the weekly Windows patches. I kind of wish it would check before plunging full speed ahead. If I'm on a dialup connection, it can really tie up the narrow bandwidth when I just wanted to check my email. Then of course, the pain continues as it incessantly popups with the "Restart Now vs. Restart Later" screen." It could be viewed as Microsoft sanctioned pushware (insert Oldster's comment about Linux here...).
Even leaving the weekly OS patching aside, then the antivirus software needs to update its weekly signatures. Never mind that I have yet to find an actual virus, it clearly is doing its job. This then takes another minute or two to download and update and install it.
Speaking of security, the antispyware "crew" (more about them in an upcoming article) then starts begging for new signature updates. At least spyware is a lot more real than viruses that seem to exist more in the lab than on any computer I've owned. Then they start with messages and little tray icon yellow exclamation points that I haven't scanned my hard drive in the last 72 hours. There should be an occasional user setting. Not every computer, especially a notebook is up, running and connected 24/7. Maybe they should be smart enough to figure that out.
This doesn't even start to address all the drivers that have updates available for the graphics card, the wireless connection, the audio drivers, and the new version of WinAmp that always is the same anyway. Oh, and let's not forget the browsers with the "great security hole" that develops on a weekly basis. I spent 20 minutes going from Internet Explorer 6 to 7 which prompted this whole affair.
By the time we do all this updating, there's precious little time left for any real computing. I guess I should look on the bright side- at least my notebook isn't infected. This is still a marginal improvement over reloading Windows 95 once a month, but that's another story.
--Jonas
Today's case in point is my Averatec notebook. I generally use it only one to two days a week. It runs Windows XP Home as the operating system, and the first thing it does when I turn it on is it just has to upload all the weekly Windows patches. I kind of wish it would check before plunging full speed ahead. If I'm on a dialup connection, it can really tie up the narrow bandwidth when I just wanted to check my email. Then of course, the pain continues as it incessantly popups with the "Restart Now vs. Restart Later" screen." It could be viewed as Microsoft sanctioned pushware (insert Oldster's comment about Linux here...).
Even leaving the weekly OS patching aside, then the antivirus software needs to update its weekly signatures. Never mind that I have yet to find an actual virus, it clearly is doing its job. This then takes another minute or two to download and update and install it.
Speaking of security, the antispyware "crew" (more about them in an upcoming article) then starts begging for new signature updates. At least spyware is a lot more real than viruses that seem to exist more in the lab than on any computer I've owned. Then they start with messages and little tray icon yellow exclamation points that I haven't scanned my hard drive in the last 72 hours. There should be an occasional user setting. Not every computer, especially a notebook is up, running and connected 24/7. Maybe they should be smart enough to figure that out.
This doesn't even start to address all the drivers that have updates available for the graphics card, the wireless connection, the audio drivers, and the new version of WinAmp that always is the same anyway. Oh, and let's not forget the browsers with the "great security hole" that develops on a weekly basis. I spent 20 minutes going from Internet Explorer 6 to 7 which prompted this whole affair.
By the time we do all this updating, there's precious little time left for any real computing. I guess I should look on the bright side- at least my notebook isn't infected. This is still a marginal improvement over reloading Windows 95 once a month, but that's another story.
--Jonas
posted by digitaldoc at 10:41 PM
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