One thing that I see now as a requirement for desktop software is the ability for it to update itself. It should be harder to not update the software then to leave it running with an old version. This is not a new idea, however I only feel that it has really started to come to the forefront in the last couple of years.
Using the latest software is better for everyone: users are using the version with (hopefully) the most bug fixes; the software crashes less so the perception of quality is higher; developers have to worry about less versions to support; etc.
Operating systems can do the same kinds of updates, but commercial ones want you to buy a new version. This leads to a less linear update path which is harder since people upgrade like Win98 -> WinXP. Open source projects pretty much want everyone using the latest and greatest so you get update managers that will upgrade the whole system (link via octonary). I sure that microsoft could make it so that you could update your whole OS, but that's not in their best interest.
I hope that in 10 years the "oh, I've got to update my software" won't be heard. The systems will download, update, and configure themselves based on how you use the computer. We'll notice the tools a lot less because they will all *just work*.
This is one area where Linux really outshines Windows. With most Linux flavours, all the software, not just the core OS components can be upgraded with a couple clicks of the mouse. With windows, each application has it's own updating system, some of which aren't so reliable, and many applications don't have an update system at all. I like being able to run the updates once a week, and know that every piece of software I run is up-to-date. And as bug free as can be.
ReplyDeleteOf course the other opinion is that why should you fix something if it isn't broken. If you aren't experiencing any problems, then why upgrade, because it could introduce bugs. In the end, I think it's better to have updated software then not, because even if you aren't having problems, there could be security holes that need fixing.