Google Update Goes Open Source

[nickb]

Omaha checks for updates in the background, when it won't interfere with the user, even if an application isn't running.

They do the same thing on a Mac and this is why I've blocked it and removed the daemon. Google's explanation for doing it is complete BS. They should do what every other app does: check for updates when you start the app.

http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/02/why-googles-sof.html

[dsil]

I disagree. Whats wrong with their reasoning: "Omaha does not perform updates when an application launches, because we understand people want to use the software when starting it up, not perform maintenance tasks first."

I don't like having to wait for, say, firefox, to install new updates when it starts up. Why not have it update itself when its not in use?

[ossreleasefeed]

I guess seeing that it is open source we can change that behavior now and hook it up to the windows task scheduler to lessen the intrusiveness.

[tdavis]

But you're in the minority. Most people neither know nor care what their computer is doing in the background without their express permission. As long as their applications work, and preferably work quickly, it isn't relevant to Joe Public. Only when so much crap has been installed that the system is rendered unusable do most people start asking, "What is my computer doing?!"

[mellis]

I hope this doesn't lead to one instance of the application for every program that needs updating. What would be more useful is a way for third-party applications to work with the existing Google Update. That way, you could update all your applications from a single interface. This would be a better experience than being asked to update an application it starts (and you're probably in a hurry to start using it).

Of course, you'd need to figure out some standard way of locating available updates. Is there anyone out there doing this sort of thing?

[ankhmoop]

I much prefer Sparkle's approach of opt-in, in-application updates, and I sincerely hope that Mac application developers will not adopt Omaha.

http://sparkle.andymatuschak.org/

[bluefish]

Having a background daemon running to automatically update software without informing the user is a poor solution, but trying to solve the problem introduced by checking for updates on startup and thus interrupting the workflow of the user is a good idea.

[edgeztv]

This is terrible news. If every other windows application starts using their code, you can expect hundreds of megs of RAM flushed down the drain on your system (each google updater process takes up about 10 megs). I hate this process always reviving itself after I kill it. Having multiple instances of it will be a nightmare.