Keeping computers and devices up-to-date with the latest software is almost always more work than what’s necessary for the user. Some computer software requires you to visit their website to re-download the program while some include a custom software update program that doesn’t actually install it and instead forces you to click “next” 2-3 times, wait, click “next” again, and finally click “finish” (and the developer is hoping that you didn’t see that checkbox for the toolbar that you would never want to install that’s nearly impossible to remove completely if installed on accident). This history of disruptive user interface and overall kludgey-ness has forced people to consider waiting until more substantial updates are released, skip the next version or two, or disable the “check for updates” feature entirely. This isn’t how this system should work, and there’s some developers that actually understand and address this issue so the user doesn’t feel burdened that they’re getting a newer & better version of their software.
Mac users might have used an update framework named “Sparkle” that approaches this common nuisance in a way that alleviates most of these problems. It’s so unobtrusive that users don’t actually know what it’s called unless they actively look it up. Sparkle is available for developers to include in their applications for free so it’s widely used, and therefore a very familiar experience when updating any of the applications on your computer even though they might be made by different people. It offers the user the ability to set the frequency that it checks for updates, and when there’s an update it shows a very concise preview of what is going to change if you install the update. It makes it really clear as to why you might be interested in keeping it up to date at a glance. Once the update is downloaded, you’re able to choose when you want to relaunch the application (if it’s already open) to finish the update process so it doesn’t intrude on anything that you might be doing.
Web browsers have yet to unify the way that they’re updated, and this can really impact the way that websites are designed and created. Website design and programing is at the mercy of the least capable web browser that the users view the site in. This really hinders the capabilities that a website has at it’s disposal. Web technologies can only evolve as fast as the web browsers that access them. This can be really limiting if there’s a need to tailor to users that are running programs from 10 years ago, because at that point the website can only do what was possible 10 years ago.
Internet Explorer (IE) is set up so that the user needs to proactively go out and download the update for the new version. There’s some IE Â users that simply don’t update it and don’t get the new version until they buy a new computer. They might jump from version 6 to 8 while getting that new computer, but that’s a time span of over 7 years between the release dates of those two versions (late 2001 – mid 2009). Safari uses Apple Software Update that prompts you when there’s a new version available, and only requires you to click once to start the update and once when it’s done. Meanwhile, Firefox and Chrome taken it a bit further and have started to make updating to the new version automatic. The user simply opens their web browser to find out that they have already updated, and are now using the most up-to-date version. It does ask if they want to update if there’s a substantial user interface change involved so that the user doesn’t open their web browser to find out that the new version looks completely unfamiliar to them. This process doesn’t require any effort or knowledge of computers on the user’s part and yet it gives them the best experience while accessing the Internet, and also allows designers and programers to make use of newer and better technologies that will only increase the enjoyment of the user.
If you’re interested, this article was the reason that I wrote about this and has some interesting statistics on the updating habits of the users for each web browser.
