04.02
As yet another Java update (only thing more frequent is Adobe) is installed on my work PC, I wonder how many people have disabled auto updates or fail to deploy updates in a “managed” environment. This morning, I woke up, checked my iPad *gasp* and noticed there was an update to the Netflix app to solve a login problem I’d been having. Nice, and a bunch of other apps wanted updates too. Sure, why not? I’d update the lot with a click.
If you’ve spent some time with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview then you’ve seen something similar. The Store tile updates with a number to show how many updates are available, which you can then install with a tap/click.
Metro apps van only be installed/updated via the Store. That means as soon as a publisher has a new version, they load it into the store, and we just update. So in theory, if they fix something (a bug or security issue), we can update with a click.
That should increase our security levels. We’ll be aware of updates via the tile, just like when the AppStore icon on iOS shows a red number in the corner. The question is, will the users click that? Remember that rule #1 says users are stupid.
I hope businesses get a way to force updates. I’d love to see the Windows Update service pull down and install Metro app updates. We can force that nicely, and it would give us a single update mechanism. But the flaw there is those consumer focused WOA (Windows on ARM) tablets with no domain membership. We’ve heard whispers of a business friendly app store. Maybe that will exist, and maybe it’ll give us an update policy engine. Who knows!?!?!? I guess we’ll learn more in the coming months.
But what I do know is, that updates will be easier and quicker for publisher and user alike, and will make the app on the desktop more secure.
Copyright Warning
This blog post is the property of Aidan Finn (@joe_elway / http://www.aidanfinn.com) and may not be reused in any manner without prior consent of Aidan Finn. You may quote one paragraph from this blog post if you link to the original blog post.
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