iOS vs. Windows upgrades

I couldn’t help but ponder while I was upgrading my iPhone to iOS5 this afternoon the differences between an Apple and a Windows OS upgrade.

And mind you, I understand that right off the bat I’m not entirely comparing apples to apples here (pun acknowledged, but not intended!) because iOS is a mobile operating system whereas Windows is on a desktop. Plus of course, the mobile versions tend to always be free because I’ve already paid for the hardware itself, whereas for traditional Windows, the software is really all that they’ve got to charge me for…

But nonetheless, as I flipped through the list of all of the cool, new features that were being added to my already beloved iPhone (notification center, enhanced camera features, automated cloud backup features – the list goes on…), my first thought as I was reading through the list was … where are all of the security updates???

Primarily being a Windows user on the PC, I’m used to OS updates being security patches – in fact, almost exclusively security patches. Really, when was the last time you applied a patch to Windows that wasn’t either a security patch or an update to the Spyware Removal Tool?
(I’m still on XP, by the way)

I honestly can’t think of a single one, which leads me to wonder if maybe that’s why people are always have such a lackluster enthusiasm towards Windows these days … it’s boring! Whereas when Apple updates iOS, yeah, I’m sure there are a bunch of new security enhancements that they bundle in there as well – I mean, the download was 768 MB – but that’s not what Apple chooses to focus on, now is it? Instead, they do all of the obvious stuff (security) in the background and alternatively direct us to the cool, new stuff that we’re going to be able to do once we’ve upgraded!

Again, maybe it’s not a direct comparison, but I think Microsoft could take a cue from Apple here if they would stop focusing on the nitty, gritty, ugly insides that most users don’t even want to hear about (i.e. “What do you mean I’m not secure?!) and instead made those updates actually do something to improve the Windows experience that I already paid big bucks for a couple of years ago!

OR you can bundle it into a new version, stick another $149 price tag on it, and don’t be surprised when my next computer is a Mac. I may be nearly a decade late to make the switch, but hey, better late than never…

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