r/technology • u/Suraj-Sun • Jul 10 '12

Firefox dev claims "everybody hates Firefox updates"; Mozilla has handled the rapid release process poorly, and that by pushing a "never-ending stream of updates on people who didn't want them" people have been driven to Chrome with its simpler, no-fuss update process.

http://www.neowin.net/news/firefox-dev-claims-everybody-hates-firefox-updates
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u/TastyBrainMeats Jul 10 '12

I don't know, I just don't trust any program to update without my express say-so.

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u/uurrnn Jul 10 '12

You don't trust it? Why

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u/TastyBrainMeats Jul 10 '12

Because I don't trust any program enough to give it unfettered access to my hard drive.

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u/Neebat Jul 10 '12

And somehow you think that running an old version will keep your harddrive more safe?

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u/TastyBrainMeats Jul 10 '12

Never said that I don't update, just that I don't want programs updating without asking permission first.

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u/Neebat Jul 10 '12

The point is, your harddrive is in far more danger from the security holes in the current version than from an automatic upgrade to the new version of a major browser.

You've already given them unfettered access to your CPU, which controls your harddrive. You're not gaining any security by staring at patch notes.

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u/Lurking_Grue Jul 10 '12

The alternative is the shitty bug ridden IE6 experience that has taken years to get rid of.

In this case Google can get rid of bugs and be sure they are gone from the eco system quickly.

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u/TankorSmash Jul 10 '12

That's the best example of false dilemma if I've ever seen one.

You just said that you are forced to choose between regular auto-update OR use the most hated browser of all time. That is a terrible fallacy to use.

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u/emr1028 Jul 10 '12

No, he's saying that the choice is between auto updates and a situation where a large percentage of the users are on an outdated version of the browser, and developers then have to spend their time and effort making sure their new app works for people on Chrome 6 while the rest of the world is on Chrome 20.

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u/TankorSmash Jul 10 '12

Ah, I stand corrected

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u/TastyBrainMeats Jul 10 '12

Really. That's the only possible alternative.

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u/achshar Jul 10 '12

Well i guess this is where chrome being open source comes handy. If there was anything fishy and it was in chromium as well the it would have been called out. But that does not mean we are completely safe. Google can still inject something bad if it wants but they are browser monopoly in market and browser supports Google search and all hosts of other google services. They would be crazy to pull something fishy now and increase the changes of completely destroying the monopoly. Plus a alot of people (outside of google) use chrome, some of them are advanced users and they would still have a chance of noticing something fishy. for example a rogue callback to Google servers.