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Meme transcription: Anakin & Padme
[Panel 1] Anakin tries selects “Update and shut down” from the Windows start menu.
[Panel 2] Padme, labeled as “Windows”, cheerily says: ”You mean ‘Update and restart’, right?”
[Panel 3] Anakin takes an annoyed look.
[Panel 4] Padme, still cheery, says “I’ll just ‘Update and Restart’.”
The confusing mess that is Windows update feels like the result of a large corporation of many people that are pulling in different directions while they attempt to meet the requirements of users that are completely ignorant and apathetic.
I don't understand why I need to choose 'restart and update'. Why can't this be achieved from shutting down? It's programmed as if shutting down means I'm never coming back to the machine again. Shutdown is the wrong word, it should say Decommission.
Ngl this is a weird question. It’s like asking “why would I ever need to choose 'restart', why can’t the same be achieved by shutting down?”
You really can’t think of a use case for updating and restarting your computer instead of just shutting it down? Remote sessions? Power button in an inconvenient location? The desire to not need yet another input to get what you wanted?
I think it's weird to want to be involved in the update. They want me to sit like a dummy watching the stupid icon spin round for a few minutes. What I have learned or achieved during that time is not edifying in the slightest.
You’re no more involved than
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -yin that you’re sitting watching mostly useless info output to your screen while you wait.It’s essentially just a way of saying “the update is still happening and this is about how far we are in the process” so you’re not just twirling your thumbs at a black screen or nothing but spinning dots.
User feedback is pretty important, be it verbose output of what’s currently happening, or just a progress summary in the form of a total percent complete.
I daresay there are plenty of folks who do want to know about updates and good luck to them. At least Linux users have the opportunity to properly examine what"s inside. Windows and macOS are designed for the lowest common denominator, the people who don't understand what a cancer these proprietary tech companies have become.
Yes, the info can be useful. And technically speaking (on windows at least) you can dig into the logs and see what happened. But yeah, 99% of users don’t know what any of it means, so it makes no difference to them if it’s hidden away.
That said, aiming for the lowest common denominator is a good thing, imho, so long as you’re also providing a way for power users to get at the info being hidden.
That’s pretty much the entire way windows works. Give the tech illiterate a shiny object to stare at, and give power users a way to view what’s underneath.
The last time I paid any attention to the update process was probably ten years ago when Microsoft noticed how much user data was worth on the open market and retrofitted their nascent surveillance apparatus to win7. That seemed to motivate a lot of folks to block the offending updates. Thankfully the EU have regulated their data harvesting 'updates' but it's probably something we should keep an eye while the little number climbs to 100.