In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Firefox as an example of an application that auto-updates itself in a simple and elegant manner, and highlighted some of the things that other software vendors could learn from Mozilla’s example.

Today, let’s look at one of my favorite aspects of modern Linux/BSD distributions - full system updates - and consider how Microsoft could potentially work with ISVs to build a similar mechanism for Windows in the future.

The screenshot on the right shows the Update Manager window from my Ubuntu setup. Notice how it offers to update Firefox and Gimp, both of which are “third-party” applications in the sense that they are not strictly parts of the operating system. In fact, any application that’s installed from Ubuntu’s vast software repository can be automatically updated in the same way. It’s a wonderfully convenient system that ensures that everything on your computer stays up-to-date, down from the OS kernel all the way up to high-level applications like web browsers and image editors.

Windows Marketplace - Evolved:

So how could something like this work on the Windows side? Here’s my idea. Many of you have probably heard of the Windows Marketplace, a Microsoft site that showcases thousands of third-party Windows applications from big and small ISVs. Microsoft could launch a campaign to revamp the Marketplace into a true software repository with the help of prominent software partners. Incentive programs could be set up to encourage smaller ISVs to also get onboard.

Consumers would be able to install third-party software quickly and easily from this repository via a companion utility. Commercial applications would be available for purchase through the Digital Locker and would be installed using the same system. An update utility similar to Windows Update (with BITS support) would then ensure that all these applications are always kept up-to-date.

There’s no doubt that implementing something like this would be a huge undertaking, and there are bound to be roadblocks along the way, but wouldn’t the end-result be great?

Tags: linux, microsoft, programming, software-updates, ubuntu, windows

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Firefox 2.0.0.5 was released earlier this week, which I promptly installed on my computers, and it got me thinking about how software updates are pushed out by various software vendors in the market.

Even though most software updates are delivered via the internet in some shape or form, there’s still a large fraction of applications that don’t include any kind of built-in updating mechanism (which is why tools like FileHippo are so handy). No wonder I come across so many people who continue to run old versions of software on their computers for months, or even years; they simply don’t know that there are updates out there, and who can blame them for it?

Moreover, out of the applications that do include the ability to update themselves automatically, very few manage to do so in an elegant way. Some applications install separate helper utilities that run when the system boots up, and they remain in memory, checking for updates at regular intervals. These tools often slow down the boot up process, consume system resources, and pop up update dialog boxes when you least expect them. Other applications relentlessly notify you of available updates, then force you to manually save and close all your work when you finally run out of patience and give in. I won’t point fingers at any particular apps, but I’m sure most of you can figure out which ones I’m referring to. ;)

For these reasons, I find the Firefox update process so refreshing. It works exactly like one would expect it to, and even goes above and beyond to avoid inconveniencing the user.

• There are no separate memory-resident helper utilities; Firefox automatically checks for updates only while it’s running.
• When an update is found, a dialog box appears, giving the user the choice to download and install the update, or defer the process for later.
• If the user accepts the update, Firefox saves its state (all open tabs), closes, installs the update, and re-opens in the same state as it was before. Brilliant.
• The update mechanism plays well with the User Account Control (UAC) feature in Windows Vista, something that even many commercial applications have yet to achieve.

If only more software vendors would follow Mozilla’s example, the desktop would be a much better place.

In the next post, we’ll take a look at another great software updating mechanism that uses a different approach, but works very well too. Until then, can you think of other applications that do a particularly good job at keeping themselves up-to-date without getting in the user’s way?

Tags: firefox, programming, software-updates

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On Monday’s episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen made up a fictitious URL called ShirtlessHunksBaggingGroceries.com during a segment about the effects of gay populations on property prices.

Needless to say, the domain name was registered shortly thereafter. But even more amusing is the fact that “shirtless hunks bagging groceries” became the fourth most popular search term on Google that day.

Watch out Digg and Slashdot; this is the Colbert Effect!

Tags: colbert, google, humor, television

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Last December, I wrote about the initial release of Live Search for Mobile, Microsoft’s mapping and local search application for mobile phones. As noted in the post, Google only had a slow Java-based client for Windows Mobile devices at the time. Earlier this year, however, a native Windows Mobile version of Google Maps was released, which was a huge improvement over its rather unimpressive predecessor.

Last week, Microsoft improved its offering with the second version of Live Search for Mobile. The update improves performance with better caching, includes user reviews for local search results, and improves upon the GPS navigation features. The most noticeable change, however, is the addition of movie showtimes, powered by data from AMG.

Just like other local search results, movie theater listings can be viewed as a simple, text-only list, or as overlays on a map. Users are given a choice to select either a specific movie to see which theaters are showing it, or a specific local theater to see which movies are playing there. As shown in the screenshot above, the application displays movie showtimes, as well as the address and phone number of the theater so that you can call or get directions in just a couple of clicks. Also included is the option to SMS this information to your friends (with full phonebook integration), which is very convenient.

All in all, a welcome update to a great mobile application.

Tags: maps, microsoft, mobile, windows-mobile

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I’m still primarily a Firefox user myself, but I do fire up IE 7 from time to time. That’s when IE7Pro, a free power-packed browser add-on, comes in really handy. I forgot to mention it here back when I first installed it, but Ed Bott’s post reminded me again today.

IE7Pro brings some of the most popular features from Firefox to IE 7, including inline search (aka find-as-you-type), spell checking, mouse gestures, ad blocking, crash recovery, and even a Greasemonkey-like user-scripts manager with its own repository.

Installing the add-on causes no noticeable performance hit from my experience with it, and it brings a wealth of useful functionality to an otherwise barebones browser. So give it a try, especially if IE 7 is your primary browser.

Tags: browsers, firefox, ie7, microsoft

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I enjoy using Visual Studio as an all-in-one IDE for Windows programming, but when I’m writing code for the web, I prefer simpler text editors. I’ve tried many, and eventually settled on Notepad++ sometime last year.

What I really like about Notepad++ (besides the fact that it’s free) is how lightweight it is. It fires up instantly, just like classic Notepad does, and at the same time includes all the features that I want, including syntax highlighting, auto-completion, brace matching and auto-indentation, tabs, support for regular expressions, macros etc.

As I was working on a project this morning, it occurred to me that I should mention a custom syntax highlighting style called Ruby Blue that I’ve been using (image above, courtesy of the author). It’s quite surprising how beneficial a good font and syntax highlighting scheme can be, and Ruby Blue, coupled with DejaVu Sans Mono or Consolas, works very well for me.

The Ruby Blue style is also available for Vim and TextMate.

Do you have a favorite text editor, monospace font, and syntax highlighting scheme?

Tags: notepad++, programming, text-editors

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Engadget has posted what I would consider to be the most comprehensive and balanced review of the iPhone I have seen on the web so far (and believe me, I’ve read lots of them during the last week). If you have any interest in the iPhone at all, you owe it to yourself to go through this three-part piece that examines just about every aspect of the device’s design and functionality.

I, myself, visited the local Apple store this weekend, where I had a chance to briefly play around with an iPhone demo unit. I was going to publish a rather detailed post with my thoughts, but now there isn’t really much I can add here that isn’t already in the aforementioned review; in fact, I found myself agreeing with almost everything in there.

What I will say is that I think the device met the expectations that I had for it going in. For better or for worse, I’ve always been more of a functionality-over-form kind of person, so while I really do believe that the iPhone is a beautiful piece of engineering with the slickest UI I’ve seen on a mobile device yet, I simply can’t ignore all the shortcomings like many others can. I could live with a software keyboard if I had to, and I could give up 3G for a slower EDGE connection too, but there’s still so much missing from the iPhone that we have come to take for granted on our Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry smartphones.

If I had to sum up my thoughts in one sentence, I’d say the iPhone is a fantastic iPod, a great mobile browsing unit, a decent phone, and a rather poor productivity device, but one that brings them all together in a refreshingly appealing way.

What do you think?

Related Posts: Apple iPhone: Not Quite Flawless…

Tags: apple, iphone, mobile

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