

Automatic Updates Are The Future - bretthardin
http://bretthard.in/2012/11/automatic-updates-are-the-future

======
rogerbinns
The author is staggeringly ignorant about Android updates. It is true that you
can do over the air updates, but that of course is only possible if the
handset manufacturer actually releases updates. And in the US (one of the
larger markets) there are all sorts of carrier complications too.

Many manufacturers haven't quite got over their liking of tethering to a
computer to apply software and updates. For example Samsung has Kies (although
you can often do OTA too). For one of my phones (HTC/Tmobile G2), there is an
update available but it can _only_ be installed over a cable from a Windows
computer and completely wipes your device in the process. (I used CM instead.)

The real problem that has to be addressed for his contention about automatic
updates is economic. Things that are sold have the payment upfront (eg
operating systems, phones). There is usually no economic reason to have
updates. The reason why they are done is to avoid losing customers, or because
of (possible) harm to the vendor and their partners. At the moment this is a
strong effect on operating systems, while almost non-existent on Android
handsets.

~~~
redacted
"Staggeringly ignorant"

Did you really need to phrase the criticism this way? It seems unnecessarily
confrontational, and serves only to detract from the rest of your (well-
considered) points.

Why not "The author appears to be unaware of the realities of Android
updates."?

I read HN comments because there tends to be a far higher level of civility
than (for example) reddit technology threads. It is a simple thing to foster a
better atmosphere, but it makes all the difference in the calibre of the
discussion.

~~~
rogerbinns
Yes I did feel it necessary (and accurate) to use that phrasing as a reaction
to the phrasing in the article. Quote:

"Is it hard to update? No! Android devices can be upgraded through the
settings without having to pay for the new version. Here is how simple it is!"

My manner is to be direct and to match the rhetoric of what I'm responding to.
You are right that it can be seen as unnecessarily confrontational - please
downvote as appropriate.

------
jklio
I'm fairly technical, I do a reasonable amount of programming and I've been
using various flavours of Linux for well over a decade, but installing vanilla
Android on a phone where the manufacturer doesn't support it is just
ridiculous. There was a time when I'd be fine to issue endless arcane commands
during an install process, or I wouldn't mind manually partitioning my drive
and setting mount points, or getting stuck into some X config file to try out
some new window manger etc., but now I just want things to work. And that's
_if_ you are supported by CyanogenMod, if you aren't it's just a recipe
involving random .exe files from "HaKerD00dz" with animated gif avatars from
some PHP forum that you have to trust. It's a total mess.

The android OS ecosystem is totally broken on this level by the carriers who
have every interest in making the higher cost phones more attractive by not
updating the Android version on lower cost phones and not updating the version
for existing customers. This issue is exactly why Linus' rant resonated with
people and Engadget's position attracted so much fire. Nobody should be on an
old version of Android. I've got my phone up to Android 4.0 after a stupid
custom process from the manufacturer (which only ran on Windows) but I am
fairly certain it's the last official update I will see for it even though
it's more than capable of running newer versions. However, unless I can get a
source more reliable than some php forum for updating it myself I am unlikely
to update outside of this manufacturer version.

I really hope Google's Nexus intervention clears up this issue and finally
turns the telcos into dumb pipes, but I am afraid it will only make the
carriers offer an up-to-date Android on sale, which then won't be updated
later. This is why the ecosystem for installing vanilla Android needs to be
seriously improved and Google needs to step up to their responsibilities to
provide automatic updating to carriers or a really properly supported
community for mods.

~~~
tjpick
> who have every interest in making the higher cost phones more attractive by
> not updating the Android version on lower cost phones

You'd be better to attribute that to them being under-resourced to deliver
software updates to all models of phones immediately. They focus on shipping
to the high end phones first -- those customers have paid more for that
support. Some low end devices just never get to the top of the priority list.

If you want upgrades, buy the best phone you can. If you are buying low end,
you have to realise that it's essentially locked to the version that it ships
with.

That's my take on it anyway. I don't have any inside information.

------
i386
If that was a window into what its like to own an Android phone, I'm glad I
drank from the river Lethe and kept buying Apple. Malware! In 2012!

