6 ms·

the linked 2009 wired article quotes adobe saying 'yeah we don't see the need to have an always-on updater process' fast forward to 2020 when (1) adobe has thi

the linked 2009 wired article quotes adobe saying 'yeah we don't see the need to have an always-on updater process' fast forward to 2020 when (1) adobe has this and (2) they still email me every so often to remind me to install their software which (3) I have installed and been using I think life would be better if there were a 3rd-party update service that wasn't trying to also own marketing + distribution (i.e. take 15-30% of the sale and also maintain platform dominance). A tool that was 'just updates' so my other software doesn't get to install a rootkit.

DaSilentStorm 6y ago
Like homebrew maybe? ;-)
- awinter-py 6y ago
  homebrew is non-commercial and updates on-run, rather than in the background, but frankly yes if they had a commercial offering I think they have the brand trust to make this work
  - inimino 6y ago
    They have that trust because all the software installed by homebrew is open source.
    - leipert 6y ago
      Not necessarily all open source, homebrew-cask has been merged into brew and you have e.g. Jetbrains IDEs and Zoom available. Personally I use homebrew-cask to manage almost all applications and their updates, turning auto-updating off in almost all apps. That way I am in control and can update when it is convenient, know if an update broke something, etc. Edit, using: - https://github.com/buo/homebrew-cask-upgrade https://github.com/buo/homebrew-cask-upgrade - https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle
akkartik 6y ago
Situation: there are 14 companies installing rootkits. 14?! Ridiculous. We need a single company that's allowed to install rootkits. Situation: there are 15 companies installing rootkits. How about we just stop digging when we find ourselves in a hole? (Ref https://xkcd.com/927 https://xkcd.com/927)
- awinter-py 6y ago
  yes I get it but none of the proprietary updaters are trying to be a standard or a 3rd-party tool
rangoon626 6y ago
Apple should allow Firefox and Chrome into the Mac App Store as they are, and have the updating done from there. That’s the solution.
- arcticbull 6y ago
  The Mac App Store is for well behaving apps haha. For some definition of well behaving, anyways. This compromise is actually great -- the MAS is available to those who want to live in a cozy little walled garden of perfection. Those who are willing to compromise on security in exchange for apps that have free run of the system are welcome to do that also.
  - saagarjha 6y ago
    The Mac App Store is really for scamware, it seems like…
    - arcticbull 6y ago
      Now that I haven’t heard!
  - hyperdimension 6y ago
    This argument sounds eerily familiar, but I can't quite place it...
    - arcticbull 6y ago
      I know I can’t because the iOS App Store argument is “and you can’t have it any other way.” On macOS for as long as you can have it other ways I’m totally ok with it.
      - hyperdimension 6y ago
        No, I was just being sarcastic because the double-standard mystifies me. I completely agree.
gumby 6y ago
Most of the GUI apps I use on macos update themselves using a framework like sparkle. Just uses an occasional (typically weekly) connection to check if an update is available and doesn’t need its own daemon.
- stjohnswarts 6y ago
  This is the way. Windows is rife with these updater things. It's one of the first things I disable when I'm debugging a friend's Windows computer. I much prefer Mac and Linux because they (mostly) don't do such things, although I still have to keep a windows machine around for various reasons.
taharvey 6y ago
Exactly. It's not just Google. Adobe or any other company installing always running updaters... is just wrong.

DaSilentStorm 6y ago

Like homebrew maybe? ;-)

awinter-py 6y ago
homebrew is non-commercial and updates on-run, rather than in the background, but frankly yes if they had a commercial offering I think they have the brand trust to make this work
- inimino 6y ago
  They have that trust because all the software installed by homebrew is open source.
  - leipert 6y ago
    Not necessarily all open source, homebrew-cask has been merged into brew and you have e.g. Jetbrains IDEs and Zoom available. Personally I use homebrew-cask to manage almost all applications and their updates, turning auto-updating off in almost all apps. That way I am in control and can update when it is convenient, know if an update broke something, etc. Edit, using: - https://github.com/buo/homebrew-cask-upgrade https://github.com/buo/homebrew-cask-upgrade - https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle

akkartik 6y ago

Situation: there are 14 companies installing rootkits. 14?! Ridiculous. We need a single company that's allowed to install rootkits. Situation: there are 15 companies installing rootkits. How about we just stop digging when we find ourselves in a hole? (Ref https://xkcd.com/927 https://xkcd.com/927)

awinter-py 6y ago
yes I get it but none of the proprietary updaters are trying to be a standard or a 3rd-party tool

rangoon626 6y ago

Apple should allow Firefox and Chrome into the Mac App Store as they are, and have the updating done from there. That’s the solution.

arcticbull 6y ago
The Mac App Store is for well behaving apps haha. For some definition of well behaving, anyways. This compromise is actually great -- the MAS is available to those who want to live in a cozy little walled garden of perfection. Those who are willing to compromise on security in exchange for apps that have free run of the system are welcome to do that also.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  The Mac App Store is really for scamware, it seems like…
  - arcticbull 6y ago
    Now that I haven’t heard!
- hyperdimension 6y ago
  This argument sounds eerily familiar, but I can't quite place it...
  - arcticbull 6y ago
    I know I can’t because the iOS App Store argument is “and you can’t have it any other way.” On macOS for as long as you can have it other ways I’m totally ok with it.
    - hyperdimension 6y ago
      No, I was just being sarcastic because the double-standard mystifies me. I completely agree.

gumby 6y ago

Most of the GUI apps I use on macos update themselves using a framework like sparkle. Just uses an occasional (typically weekly) connection to check if an update is available and doesn’t need its own daemon.

stjohnswarts 6y ago
This is the way. Windows is rife with these updater things. It's one of the first things I disable when I'm debugging a friend's Windows computer. I much prefer Mac and Linux because they (mostly) don't do such things, although I still have to keep a windows machine around for various reasons.

taharvey 6y ago

Exactly. It's not just Google. Adobe or any other company installing always running updaters... is just wrong.