[Xquartz-dev] Check for X11 Updates option sometimes greyed out

[Jordan K. Hubbard]

Better get used to that (and stop using those high-cost networks!   
Read a nice book instead if you're somewhere that remote!  :-)

This is by far the preferred user experience for 99% of the population  
since background downloads are unobtrusive and can then be easily  
applied on next launch, rather than the usual modal dialog which locks  
you out of the application while it's being updated (people HATE  
those).  Sure, you could put up another dialog asking if you want to  
download it, but then you'd have TWO dialogs: Do you want to download  
it?  Do you want to apply the update?   Just about everyone would hate  
*that* too...

The world is heading in the direction of ubiquitous networking.  That  
is why the iPhone has a "disable data roaming" switch - we realize  
that there are parts of the world where data rates are simply too  
high, in which case using the network *at all* becomes an opt-in  
exercise.  If I didn't have a book to read, I'd leave my network off  
entirely except for those brief periods when I wanted to use it since  
it's silly to expect all the apps to know the cost of a downloaded  
byte and hold off from using it even though it's up and available.

- Jordan

On Aug 18, 2009, at 2:27 PM, Harald Hanche-Olsen wrote:

> What? It downloads without asking first? That's atrocious if true.
> What if you're on a low bandwidth, high cost network? I thought it
> would check, then ask if you want to download the upgrade.