In early June we began testing a new way to push out software updates for SCLS-supported PCs and shared some information about where we were going with updates in our Tech News blog post, "Revolutionizing Updates". Here are the highlights:
Change will be the new norm
- We'll be changing how we do updates.
- You'll be getting more frequent updates. Hooray!
- Updates will happen automatically with no notification (exception: we will continue to warn you about Firefox updates)
- Many common programs will always be kept at current versions.
- We won't follow up to get updates to PCs that were turned off. PCs that were off will just wait for next round of updates.
- You will sometimes need to click through Firefox notifications on staff PCs.
- It's CRITICAL to leave your PCs on at night so you'll get the updates.
After doing more testing the past couple of months, we'd like to propose a new update schedule for SCLS-supported staff PCs:
- EVERY Monday night - Staff PCs will receive updates to all the common plug-ins (Flash, Shockwave, Java, Adobe Reader, Silverlight, and Quicktime).
- The 1st Monday of every month - Staff PCs will receive updates to common programs like Thunderbird, iTunes, Gimp, and more.
- No change for Firefox updates - Firefox updates will continue to be announced in advance.
So, as you can see, Monday night will be update night for staff PCs! If for some reason your staff PC or laptop is off on Monday night, just make sure it's on the next Monday and you'll catch any updates you've missed. If you miss the 1st Monday of the month, you can catch those program updates the next month.
Feedback and future plans
We hope that this schedule will balance frequency with predictability. We welcome your feedback and will be evaluating the schedule in a few months to see how it is working out and what adjustments need to be made (we're thinking if there aren't many issues, we could move to even more frequent updates). In upcoming weeks and months, we'll also be finalizing a plan for patron PC updates as well as testing delivery of Windows updates and security patches for all PCs.
What do you think about this proposed Monday night schedule for staff PCs? Is it frequent enough? What concerns do you have? Please leave your feedback in the comments.
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Information about PC updates can also be found on the SCLS website: http://www.scls.info/technology/updates/index.html