Firefox to begin silent updates (ala Chrome) 06/2012

[Steltek]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225235/Mozilla_will_start_Firefox_silent_updates_in_June

I really don't like this, and it looks like I may be looking for an alternative browser soon if there isn't a way to block it (I refuse to use Chrome for the exact same reason - I know there are hacks but I don't like to mess with them....).

I keep my software up to date, but absolutely nothing on my system gets updated or otherwise changed until I decide that it needs to be updated. Pure and simple. Giving software vendors the ability to forcibly update end user systems is the edge of a very slippery slope.

 

[lxskllr]

I'd be surprised if you couldn't configure that somewhere.

 

[Steltek]

I'd be surprised if you couldn't configure that somewhere.

I'm hoping that will be the case, but allowing users to do that will defeat what they intend to accomplish (i.e. forcing users to use the most recent version available).

You can't do it with Chrome unless you use a registry hack, turn off the Google update service, or block it with a firewall. None of those are really good options as far as I'm concerned, so I just don't use it much.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Google Chrome was such a PITA w/ that "scheduler". Annoying. FF 12 Beta does it too although I haven't looked in detail yet.

 

[lxskllr]

It all goes through my package manager, so I won't get autoupdate regardless of what they do. Mozilla isn't Google, and that's a big reason I stick with them. They give far more customization, and in the end, they give the source code, so features can be added and removed. There's nothing wrong with autoupdate, but it must be configurable by the user. If it isn't a checkbox, I bet it's in about:config.

 

[wirednuts]

i dunno... there is so many different programs and apps and plugins now, and for all of them to work properly together you pretty much need to keep everything up to date. what sucks is when you have that one program that doesnt get updated often, and of course everything else does which leaves that program disabled until the developers reconfigure it.

makes a strong case for cloud computing :/ very much like where android tablets are at now when you set the apps to auto update

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I've read that auto update will not be required for people who cannot do it for some reason. For most people though this is good news.

 

[Spacehead]

I still don't understand why they don't just leave it as it is. User have the option to auto update if they wish to, or to just be notified.

When i heard this was coming in v10 i was still on dial-up (i just got DSL)& that would be horrible to have a program auto-update. What if i was already in the middle of another download or something?
High speed internet is still not available to alot of people.

 

[n7]

grr..

 

[ultimatebob]

If you don't want the updates, just get the ESR release.