START HERE: The upgrade way

Press, 31 January 1989, Page 26

START HERE: The upgrade way

This is the twelfth article by Jordan de Leete in a series for those new to computers or thinking of buying a microcomputer.

In real life, outside the newspaper columns, I am often asked by clients whether it is worth while to upgrade programs to the latest versions. How often has it happened to you: just a few months after buying a package and starting to learn how to drive it, a new version appears, and another $295 is asked to “upgrade.” Is it necessary? There are several reasons for manufacturers’ producing new versions. The first, and most important, is to correct any bugs that have been found in the present version. This is the most important reason as far as the user is concerned, but is rarely advertised! There are always bugs in big programs, and they often take ages to surface. Very often they only occur in some bizarre combination of circumstances, so don’t be too hard on the writers if bugs are still appearing. Another important reason for bringing out a new version is to add new features and generally improve the

product. This is spectacularly evident in the word processor field. New versions of the major packages appear annually or more often, in response to the improvements made by the competition. A third reason is to cope with new hardware and software that the program is running with. Should you upgrade? Generally, yes. Certainly if you change hardware or operating system you will have to get a current version which supports your new system. If the new version has important new features then you should examine them carefully — the most common reason for not using them is laziness in learning how. Less importantly in New Zealand, but still a consideration, is that once a new version is released support from the vendor for the old version is likely to be nil. Another observation: when you see bargain-priced software, check that it is the most recent version. I saw a real bargain price on a package just a month ago-$49.95 against the normal retail of around $250. Not until I checked the labelling on the wrapper was I told that this was version 3 of a product which is now up to version 6!