No Clippy, I don't want to update
2018-10-16 11:53:03

Maybe it's just us here at the Waxy Apple that are annoyed by the California fruit companies latest attempts to compel users to update their OS, but we assume not. This is not only a problem for computers, but also the iOS devices as well.

It seems that everyday there is a notice in the upper right corner of the screen that wants us to know that a new version of OS X is available. We have to assume that it believes that we forgot since yesterday when it told us the same thing. We are only given the option for 'Not Now' (like we actually plan on doing it later) and 'Details' which launches the App Store so that we can download and install the new OS.

Where is the 'Get Bent', 'Go Away', 'Never Gonna Happen' buttons? If our computers are running 10.11 Apple, do you think that maybe there is a reason we don't want to update to 10.14 besides we forgot or just happen to live under a rock and are not aware of your continued obsession to update the OS every year. Even Amazon has a 'Not Interested' button, where's yours Apple?

We have written about this obsession to release an OS update every fall. No matter what. Fall… New OS X. Here's something to think about Apple, Microsoft released Windows 7 in 2009. Windows 8 was released three years later in 2012 and Windows 10 came out in 2014. Even Microsoft isn't trying to release a new OS every year. Granted, when Microsoft does release a new version of Windows it is generally a larger jump whereas Apple is a more incremental changes (of a bunch of crap that few people use).

Apple, if you would stop rolling out updates every year, then maybe we would be willing to update each time. It's too painful to update every year. We spend the first couple of months dealing with the bugs that you shipped, then a few more months trying to get used to the new features and things that weren't broken that you decided to change. Add a few more months of a return to actual productivity and we are now back to the fall and the whole mess starts over again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Why do you Yanks fell obligated to foist things on people that they don't want?

iOS is no better. In some ways, it is worse. Not only does it seem to constantly remind us that a new update is available, but if we tell it to update overnight, it complains the next morning because it wasn't plugged in to power. Our device had a full charge when we crawled into bed, but it was reluctant to do anything because it wasn't plugged in.

Come on Apple, you've got a bunch of smart (albeit overworked) software engineers, surely one of them can come up with code that takes a look at how much power is available, how much will possibly be needed during the update and make a decision(yay or nay) on actually performing the update.

If in the morning, after our tea, we decide to force the device to update without being plugged in, it works just fine with battery power to spare. Heaven forbid if we don't do the force update because we will constantly be hit with 'Would you like me to update tonight?' and 'Couldn't complete the update because I wasn't plugged in' messages. Ad nauseam, day after day.

We have also noticed that every time that it decides to ask us if we want to update is when we are actually trying to use the bloody thing for something important. 'Oh, sure iPhone, go ahead and update. I was just going to make an emergency call to 999 to report an accident on the M1, but you go ahead and take the time to update yourself first. I'll wait.'

We here at the wax factory have a simple motto that works well - If it's not broken, don't fix it. To be clear Apple, unless you release a new OS that just something so spectacular (not Siri) that everyone will be clamoring to install it, we're not interested, nor should anyone else. Bug fixes are best left to point releases. And let's not even bring up the topic of 'Where the f'ing hell is OS 11?'

It's easy for Apple to tout the numbers of people that have updated to a new OS, but how many of those actually wanted the update verses the ones that just wanted Clippy to STFU.

Instead trying to hit some anniversary date on the calendar, why don't you actually work on releasing something good, something that most people actually want to use and install. But we digress.

Between iTunes insistence on surreptitiously stopping and updating at whatever time of day it feels like and the continual reminders that a new OS is available and 'do you want to update', we are quite overtaken and tired.