That was a much more constructive message. Thank you, Len. You make some
good points, and we'll discuss them, and see what we can come up with.
Aaron
On 9/6/2011 4:54 PM, Len Burns wrote:
Aaron,
Even Windows gives me the option to control how I manage updates. I can
have them run automatically, at a certain time, or merely apprise me of
the need to install them. I then make the decision as to when this
should be done. Most of the applications you list below, mail clients,
plugins, etc, give one a lot more control over this process than does
WE. The problem here is that you are giving your users, many of whom
are wise enough to make decisions regarding managing their systems, no
choice. You could have this feature turned on by default, but easily
enough make it possible for those who wish to do so to disable it. You
could even require a box to be checked acknowledging the potential
problems that could result from disabling the feature. Those of us who
would be likely to take this step are probably experienced enough to
understand the implications.
I have a client who has very limited use of his hands. It may be
trivial for you to find the 'n' key to kill that alert, for him it is a
tedious task that takes significant effort. He asks me regularly what
to do about this and if there is some way of disabling this. Eventually
when I am on-site, I will go through his apps, one by one, and turn off
updates. This is definitely not something he can do on his own, it
would be a very tedious task. He is not the only one for whom this can
become non-trivial. You might want to consider such factors when you
force an issue such as this upon your loyal customer base. I have
recommended your product many times over the years, but these days it is
no longer such a simple choice.
Regards,
-Len
On 9/6/2011 1:06 PM, Aaron Smith wrote:
On 9/6/2011 3:46 PM, Len Burns wrote:
That you believe you are better able to make such decisions on my behalf is a
paternalistic attitude.
You're reading far more into it than what I think is necessary. In fact,
I feel were heading toward the inevitable clash of the ideologies, so
I'll just finish up with this reply, and then we'll take all comments
that finish out the thread under advisement.
We go by the feedback we receive through our support email, phone calls,
training sessions, and even on this list. What we've found is that the
majority of people have indicated that they want to be notified when
updates are available, even when they're annoyed by them. Because the
end result of not being updated is more of a negative issue than the
annoyance of having to update. In fact, we've had numerous requests that
we just do the updates without even telling you, but we're not quite
sold on that idea.
So when updates become available, we tell people. Just like when updates
are available for my favorite text editor, or any of the various plugins
I have installed for firefox, or when an update to my mail client is
available, or Windows has updates.
Just think: the time it takes to adjudicate on the totalitarian and
oppressive tactic of forcing you to know that new software is available,
you could just do an update.<grin>
Thanks for the constructive feedback.
Aaron
--
Aaron Smith
Web Development * App Development * Product Support Specialist
GW Micro, Inc. * 725 Airport North Office Park, Fort Wayne, IN 46825
260-489-3671 * gwmicro.com
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--
Aaron Smith
Web Development * App Development * Product Support Specialist
GW Micro, Inc. * 725 Airport North Office Park, Fort Wayne, IN 46825
260-489-3671 * gwmicro.com
To insure that you receive proper support, please include all past
correspondence (where applicable), and any relevant information
pertinent to your situation when submitting a problem report to the GW
Micro Technical Support Team.
If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only.
If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to
GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so
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