As a techie, it doesn’t seem weird to get excited over software updates. Especially one as big as the OS5 update for Apple products, and the ever growing dessert platter that Android pushes out, like Ice Cream Sandwich. But to everyone else who don’t give a crap, they are perfectly fine not updating their stuff and moving on with their lives. Now I guess I’m just showing my geekiness when I find it ludicrous that a person doesn’t want to update their software. I can’t wrap my head around people who are fine living in the world of yesterday. Maybe I’m just a hipster/elitest/insert descriptive noun here, but even as a tech nerd, I have to admit, it’s a weird phenomenon to not want to see that little pop up window saying that an update is required.
When I used to play World of Warcraft, each expansion and each update leading to that expansion was an event. People would get excited by the new features, or complain about the ones that were going away, and it was all just fun. Hard to get betas in the video game world were sought after, people would root or jailbreak their devices to try out the potential new upgrades, and it’s all intangible. Sure one can argue that an interface is something you can touch, but is it really? I’m beginning to think that those people who don’t care about updates are more sane than those who do.
Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.netWith the new iOS update coming out, my “excitement” grows. Now I guess excitement is WAY too strong of a word, but I am looking forward to ths update. I want to have the new and fantastic and I have to admit, I’m tempted to update my iPad when I wake up in the morning. I want to see the shiny new interface and the over 200 new things that are supposed to be tucked away in there. But that’s what got me thinking in the first place. What must it be like to be in the shoes of someone who doesn’t care about updates? Is life bliss in that security risk laden ignorance? Can one simply exist with a device that’s over 2 years old, let alone 5, without ever hooking it up to a computer and seeing if it needs to be updated (is there a synonym to the word update?)? Yep, that’s what I think about sometimes. I wonder what it’s like to be on that other side.
If you really think about what it’s like to be a “layman” or a non-techie, it must be nice not to get anxious about the next OTA software update, eagerly anticipating the new bells and whistles. It has to be more peaceful not knowing that every couple of months there’s a new improvement, a new thing to download, and a new world to get used to. There has to be a joy in knowing that you don’t have to wait months, even years for the next big thing that you want, like the iPhone 5 or Windows 8. I think we tech nerds are freakin’ NUTS!
Every device I own, I ensure is up to date. I click that update button at least once a week, expecting one thing I own to say, “Hey, it’s your lucky day! It’s time to spend time away from your gadget, and render it unusable as it installs the latest and greatest.” I bet people who are reading this have no idea what I’m talking about and I’m just a big lunatic. A man who not only obsesses over leveling up characters, but also obsesses over keeping my software up to date. I wouldn’t be surprised if few understand, let alone have felt, that euphoria of watching the progress bar move from 0% to 100%. Yep, I think I’m fargone.
So now, I sit at my desk, eagerly awaiting the new update for my iPad. I’m excited to play around with it, I am tapping my fingers, becoming impatient. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. All I know is, is that technology has made me bonkers, as I look forward to days like this, where I can revel in the joy of watching my tablet get that update. The price I pay, for being a tech geek.
