Why aren't .Net updates automatic?
Ok...Its taken me a while.....but here it is.
I'm really very interested in why Visual Studio .Net updates aren't automatic. I know....if you change something midstream in a development environment it can have unpredictable results.
I've fought this battle with network administrators many times. I've always won, but it was never pretty. I still fail to see why network admins don't just put the developers on another segment of the LAN and leave them to do their thing.
But, that's not what this blog is about. It's about Visual Studio .Net updates and why they aren;t automated.
Let's even keep things simple and say that VS.Net updates cannot be completely automatic because they may change development systems mid-cycle and screw up some projects. Very well....then would it hurt Microsoft to send out emails to the registered users of VS.Net telling them when a new hotfix was available? How about a popup box alerting developer to new hotfixes for their version of .Net and offering a simple download manager online like Windows Updates?
It's not like they don't know who we are or that a hotfix has been made available. MS could save themselves some time and just purchase KBAlertz. KBAlertz is a free alert system to new Knowledge Base articles targeting Microsoft products - including the .Net framework. I highly recommend all .Net developers to sign up (http://www.kbalertz.com/Default.aspx).
You'd be amazed at how many .Net framework alerts are issued. It seems like one every other day and covers all 3 versions (1.0, 1.1, 2.0) of the .Net framework. You'll see what I mean if you sign up to get .Net framework alerts via the KBAlertz website.
Ok.....Microsoft can't do automatic updates (not even with an "install later" feature) and they can only send spam to our emails....not important security updates to the .Net framework. But, the creamy goodnes doesn't stop there.....
Once you find a hotfix (through much searching or a KBAlertz message) you can't download it. That's right! Microsoft, more and more, is requiring developers (whose time is stretched to the breaking point already and who must compete with much cheaper labor offshore to get projects done on time and within budget) to stop whatever they are doing and CALL Microsoft to get the hotfix!
What the hell is that about? It can't be to stop piracy of the .Net studio....a simple passport check for authorized purchasers could do that.
What would be the reason to not allow .Net developers to download the hotfixes from the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that describe them?
I have to admit that I really have no idea. If you do, please let me know.
Here we have the premire Microsoft development tool (Visual Studio .Net) that doesn't offer automatic updates (something almost every upscale freeware package does now), does not notify it's purchasers of hotfixes that may not only affect their development, but also their company and their very ability to feed and clothe their family AND, once the wretched developer finds out that there is a problem and an available hotfix, the hotfix is hidden behind a wall of voice menus instead of just a link on the Knowledge Base Article.
This makes developers that want to maintian up-to-date systems call Microsoft almost every other day!
Why the hell would they do that? If you know, please tell me.
I'm really very interested in why Visual Studio .Net updates aren't automatic. I know....if you change something midstream in a development environment it can have unpredictable results.
I've fought this battle with network administrators many times. I've always won, but it was never pretty. I still fail to see why network admins don't just put the developers on another segment of the LAN and leave them to do their thing.
But, that's not what this blog is about. It's about Visual Studio .Net updates and why they aren;t automated.
Let's even keep things simple and say that VS.Net updates cannot be completely automatic because they may change development systems mid-cycle and screw up some projects. Very well....then would it hurt Microsoft to send out emails to the registered users of VS.Net telling them when a new hotfix was available? How about a popup box alerting developer to new hotfixes for their version of .Net and offering a simple download manager online like Windows Updates?
It's not like they don't know who we are or that a hotfix has been made available. MS could save themselves some time and just purchase KBAlertz. KBAlertz is a free alert system to new Knowledge Base articles targeting Microsoft products - including the .Net framework. I highly recommend all .Net developers to sign up (http://www.kbalertz.com/Default.aspx).
You'd be amazed at how many .Net framework alerts are issued. It seems like one every other day and covers all 3 versions (1.0, 1.1, 2.0) of the .Net framework. You'll see what I mean if you sign up to get .Net framework alerts via the KBAlertz website.
Ok.....Microsoft can't do automatic updates (not even with an "install later" feature) and they can only send spam to our emails....not important security updates to the .Net framework. But, the creamy goodnes doesn't stop there.....
Once you find a hotfix (through much searching or a KBAlertz message) you can't download it. That's right! Microsoft, more and more, is requiring developers (whose time is stretched to the breaking point already and who must compete with much cheaper labor offshore to get projects done on time and within budget) to stop whatever they are doing and CALL Microsoft to get the hotfix!
What the hell is that about? It can't be to stop piracy of the .Net studio....a simple passport check for authorized purchasers could do that.
What would be the reason to not allow .Net developers to download the hotfixes from the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that describe them?
I have to admit that I really have no idea. If you do, please let me know.
Here we have the premire Microsoft development tool (Visual Studio .Net) that doesn't offer automatic updates (something almost every upscale freeware package does now), does not notify it's purchasers of hotfixes that may not only affect their development, but also their company and their very ability to feed and clothe their family AND, once the wretched developer finds out that there is a problem and an available hotfix, the hotfix is hidden behind a wall of voice menus instead of just a link on the Knowledge Base Article.
This makes developers that want to maintian up-to-date systems call Microsoft almost every other day!
Why the hell would they do that? If you know, please tell me.
posted by Jim Hubbard at 10:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home