October 27, 1997
The Software Upgrade Dilemma
By Bob O'Donnell
I'm finding myself running into a vexing problem, and I'm not really sure what to do
about it. The issue is trying to keep up with all the upgrades to the applications,
drivers, and various other pieces of software in use on my personal system. I've got
similar problems with the systems of users I've been dealing with in my small
business-consulting practice and those who listen to my call-in radio show.
The overriding principle I've learned to live by is to make sure you're working with
the most recent versions of applications and drivers. Another option, of course, is to
simply find a well-defined group of applications and drivers, get them to work, and never
change them. However, this isn't a viable choice for me, because like most users, my needs
change over time. I've added both new hardware and new software to meet those needs, which
inevitably results in changes to my system configuration.
Unfortunately, because of the complex, interrelated nature of today's operating systems
and applications, adding or replacing a single piece of that puzzle can often upset the
entire picture. The ridiculous nature of today's Windows applications and especially their
dependence on shared DLL files creates nothing but confusion. (Can anyone explain to me
why PC applications can't just be single, large executable files as they generally are on
the Macintosh, for example?)
Problems that crop up are often due to an incompatibility or some other problem that
directly results from adding or even just upgrading one DLL or other software component.
Many times the answer to these types of problems turns out to be needing a later version
of a different component, which can, of course, lead to yet another round of upgrades.
Eventually, however, you usually reach a point of stability, where all the hardware and
applications that your work depends on function as you need them to. The challenge is
getting to that point.
Several alternatives have been developed to ease or otherwise enhance the upgrade
process. Utility programs such as CyberMedia's Oil Change and First Aid line of products,
for example, are designed to go out to the Net, find the latest versions of products or
drivers that your system uses, download them for you, and then initiate the upgrade
process. But as appealing as the concept sounds, my understanding from a variety of
sources (I only have cursory personal experience with them) is that the implementation
still isn't ideal.
Another increasingly common answer is applications that have the ability to essentially
upgrade themselves. For example, Symantec's Live Update feature, which is found in many of
the company's products, including Norton Utilities, Norton Anti-Virus, and ACT, will
periodically check the Symantec Web site or BBS for upgrades and inform you if updates are
available. My experience with LiveUpdate -- and similar features from other ISVs -- has
been good, allowing me to keep those applications up-to-date.
However, even Live Update has its limitations. For example, a consulting client I
recently worked with to create a custom ACT database needed to upgrade ACT to avoid some
bugs in an earlier version, as well as add a few minor but important feature enhancements.
However, after several attempts to use LiveUpgrade to download the necessary 7MB file over
the single 28.8Kbps modem connection the process still hadn't worked, and I was forced to
bring in the update on a removable media drive. (Admittedly, my client's Internet
connection isn't ideal, but hey, let's face it: That's reality for many small companies.)
Along the way I also discovered that although LiveUpdate works well for individual
machines, it isn't a good solution if you have to upgrade multiple workstations, because
the process doesn't leave a patching utility that you can use on other machines. It simply
fixes the machine it downloads to and then erases the update files.
Microsoft has talked about adding similar functionality to Windows itself by making it
self-upgrading and self-repairing (in the event that someone accidentally deletes or
overwrites a required system file), but that's still a ways off. It did add a Software
Update Channel capability to Internet Explorer 4.0, but it still doesn't even work on
Explorer 4.0 itself. As of this writing (about a week after the company offered a patch to
the browser's security hole, which was found by a German analyst), there's still no way to
upgrade Explorer 4.0 via the browser Channel.
So what we're all left with is a hodgepodge of mostly functional solutions, but no
comprehensive answer to the problem. Unfortunately, I don't see any easy solutions on the
horizon either. However, if the computer industry really wants to make PCs easier to use,
as well as reduce the configuration and troubleshooting problems that IT departments spend
large amounts of time on, then we need an answer, and we need it soon.
©
Copyright 1997, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
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