September 27, 2008
From time to time, my computer notifies me of various software updates such as Windows updates, iTunes and Firefox. Should I do these, since I am concerned that they may crash my computer?
Great question, with many answers! In general, I would recommend implementing those software updates. Updates usually contain bug fixes, security patches or functionality updates. For example, Windows released an update recently for Windows Vista that addresses compatibility issues with other hardware, improved reliability and improved detection of malware and spyware infections. Obviously, this is something most users would want to implement.
On the other hand, an update to iTunes from Apple would typically include functionality improvements or new features. The latest version of iTunes (Version 8) features a new way of organizing and browsing your music collection, and a new feature called Genius, which creates playlists of other songs from your library to go great together. Neat, but it also reports back to Apple. So while it may be cool to download the latest version, you can also decide whether to enable the Genius function.
Firefox recently introduced Version 3 for its browser. The most notable change in its feature sets is the Awesome Bar, which is an enhanced address bar on the top of the browser. The Awesome Bar allows it to display recently visited Web sites, as well as those Web sites based on the keywords that you type. Some users have found this feature to be quite distracting, and would have liked to disable this, which is not very apparent how to do.
In conclusion, software updates are a good thing to do, but obtain as much information as you can about what the update is about, and what new feature sets would be installed before saying OK to the download.
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