When Newer Isn’t Better in Digital Technology

Perspectives for non-profits on upgrading software.NetAction Notes

Technology is constantly changing: processors get faster, hard drives
hold more data, new versions of software are marketed. Keeping your
information technology current isn’t a problem if you’ve got a
generous IT budget. But if you’re a grassroots activist or work for a
nonprofit organization, it’s more likely that you’re working with
older hardware and software that is at least a generation or two
behind the version on the market now.

That might not be such a bad thing when it comes to software. In
fact, installing new versions of software can be a risky proposition,
especially if the software has just been introduced.

One nonprofit organization that I work with learned this lesson the
hard way when they installed a brand new version of a popular
database program. Instead of the quick improvement in their database
capabilities that they had expected, they’ve been plagued with
problems that have even stumped the people providing tech support for
the software. The problems will be solved eventually, but the
nonprofit’s staff is already several months behind in a planned
cleanup of their database that is crucial to their advocacy programs
and fundraising efforts.

Unfortunately, such “bugs” are not uncommon in new software programs.
“Bugs” are problems with the software code that cause the software to
behave in a way that the developer didn’t anticipate. In the worst
cases, “bugs” can crash your operating system or allow malicious
hackers to steal data from your computer or use your hard drive to
attack another server. More often, they are simply glitches that
causes the new software, or some other software you use, to function
improperly.

It would be great if software manufacturers were required to fix all
the “bugs” in their products before they put them on the market.
Consumers certainly expect that of other products. Unfortunately,
existing consumer protection laws don’t require software
manufacturers to ensure that their products are defect-free before
they are sold.

Typically, a software manufacture will release a free “beta” version
of new software before the final product is ready. Users who try the
“beta” version of the software are asked to report the “bugs” they
encounter to the manufacturer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the
“bugs” will be fixed before the product is sold. That’s why the “Read
Me” files that you get with new software programs typically include a
list of known problems. In most cases, the manufacturer simply
reports the problems when the software is released on the market, and
distributes a modified version of the software, or simply a “patch,”
sometime later when the code problem has been corrected. (Microsoft,
for example, frequently releases “patches” to correct problems with
its Internet Explorer web browser.)

These slightly modified versions of the software are the reason the
numbering system for software doesn’t simply go from version 1 to
version 2. If very minor changes are made to the program code, the
manufacturer is likely to label it as version 1.01. A slightly more
significant change is likely to be labeled as version 1.1. Only major
changes that significantly change the software’s features get a whole
new number, such as version 2, and typically that is followed by
another series of minor changes that are released with labels such as
version 2.01, 2.1, or 2.1.2.

If you’re thinking about upgrading one of your essential software
programs, such as your database or word processing software, it’s a
good idea to find out ahead of time how long the product has been on
the market. If it’s a brand new release, such as a version 3.0, you
might want to wait a few months until more experienced users have
identified some of the most annoying or problematic “bugs. ” Consider
delaying your purchase until the company puts version 3.1 on the
market.

If you absolutely have to install the software when it’s first
released, or it’s pre-installed on new hardware that you’ve
purchased, review the “Read Me” file carefully to make sure there
aren’t any known problems that will interfere with your use of the
new program or existing programs that you use regularly. Also, be
sure to visit the manufacturer’s web site periodically and download
newer versions when they’re available.

It’s tempting to want to install a new version of the software you
regularly use, especially if the updated version includes interesting
new features. But chances are you’ll avoid problems if you wait.

Reprinted from NetAction Newsnotes