I regularly get prompted to update the software on my iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle and local version of iTunes. I rarely update them; they work fine.
What do you do? Is there a “right” or “best” answer as to whether a person should regularly click Yes on these update prompts?
Thanks.
I am part of a Mac user community on another board, so I generally wait out the business day and watch the threads as the other people update; just in case there’s an issue of some sort. I’ve never had a problem, but i have heard stores of all sorts of software updates breaking plugins, or just plain going awry.
There’s no real harm in not updating I guess, except that by and large, those software updates are done to make your experience better. Sometimes that’s through new features or enhancements to existing features, and sometimes that’s through fixing known bugs.
Also, if you ever you post an any forum asking for help, the first thing you’re going to be told to do is update your iPod software and your iTunes.
I can’t see why you’d hold out really. There’s free updates available to better (or repair) software. Why wouldn’t you update (with or without a delay)?
Some friends of ours recently asked me about trouble they were having with iTunes under Windows XP - an error (11333) would pop up whenever they tried to access the iTunes Store. The iTunes self-diagnostics reported that the connection to the store was fine, despite the fact that it obviously was not.
Googling quickly led me to a number of message boards where others were encountering this problem - and the only reliable solution seemed to be reverting to an older version of iTunes. All accounts of conversations with Apple tech support said that they were “working on it,” but had no immediate solution.
We reverted their iTunes back to version 7.3.1 (from 7.4.2, I believe) and the problem went away.
Make of that what you will. Google “iTunes error 11333” if you’re curious…
Because I use iTunes maybe once every couple of weeks, and it seems like every freakin’ time it wants me to update something I’m unlikely to use with my Shuffle. I don’t need 8 million tweaks to enhance the video and phone features. Plus, the updates require a reboot, and all I want to do is buy a song or two and get on with my life.
Once in a great while, the iPod firmware updates have broken or disabled a previously-working feature. It doesn’t hurt to wait a day or two and see what people are saying before taking the plunge.
An iPod update completely destroyed the viability of my wife’s iPod and I had to buy her a new one. Bad disk boot sector or something, unrecoverable by any means. It could have been a coincidence, but I doubt it, as the two events happened concurrently. We were less than amused.
These are my two big reasons for hesitance. Part of me would prefer to ignore the updates, use my iPod and see which happens first: 1) I need service and have to update my software at that point (but I need service anyway so am committed to some downtime - no big deal); or 2) my current iPod breaks, since they only have a shelf life of a year or two - get a new one and voila, new software…
So far I haven’t read anything that convinces me I should stay on top of this whole update thing…
There’s a difference between updating iTunes and updating your iPod; you seem to be using the term “software” to mean both.
I update my iPod whenever prompted, which is hardly ever. I’ve had my iPod for over a year and I think I’ve updated the firmware two or three times. I see no reason not to take the update, and it’s never broken my iPod (knock on wood).
I update iTunes whenever I feel like it. 
I always eventually update to the latest version, but I might not do it the first 1-5 times that I start iTunes and an update is available. Like you said, sometimes I just want to get in and get out and I don’t want to spend time on the install, reboot, etc. But when the updates are free, I see no reason to not have the latest version of whatever application I’m using.
Except Windows and IE. 