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.