Always Upgrade or If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

[wayner]

I have been using Sage for about a year now. When I first started using it I was upgrading whenever a new beta release came out. Same thing when the HD-200s were released last December. I bought 4 of them and for the first few months I upgraded regularly.

Due to laziness I have not upgraded my server software nor my HD-200 firmware for a few months. Everything is working fine and since summer is short here in Canada I have better things to do. T

here seem to be a number of people having issues recently, particularly with their HD-200s. That leads to the question above - if things are working fine and there is no compelling new features in the latest release should you bother? Sure you don't want to fall too far behind the curve but you don't want to be introducing factors that kill the WAF. I have found that generally the releases from Sage are qutie stable, but still, should you take the risk.

[Polypro]

I wouldn't see why you would upgrade if all the features you needed, were taken care of. I *do* upgrade because going back to the previous versions is easy on a PC (copy a folder)...I don't have an extender though, and firmware flashes are *a lot* riskier.

P

[aflat]

You need a third option. "Update when something cool comes out" I updated when the bluray playback was added, and then again when closed caption came out, and then when the RC came out, but I missed all the other ones.

[GKusnick]

My advice would be don't install beta versions unless you're prepared to hold up your end of the beta-test bargain by troubleshooting problems and submitting bug reports. If you want trouble-free operation without having to interact with tech support, stick to non-beta releases.

Which of those you choose to install is up to you. But it's worth noting that in a connected world, sometimes things get broken even if you change nothing on your system (e.g. DST rule changes, analog stations going off the air, etc). So in my opinion it pays to keep current so you don't get surprised by stuff like that.

[Ender]

I usually upgrade to newer versions after they have been out a few days, of course this regimen is tempered by a full backup of my primary HDD. That way if issues arise that I cannot fix in a timely manner, then I can restore the previous install.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

My advice would be don't install beta versions unless you're prepared to hold up your end of the beta-test bargain by troubleshooting problems and submitting bug reports. If you want trouble-free operation without having to interact with tech support, stick to non-beta releases.

But Sage seems to have a bit of a different take on betas than some other software firms. Last December upon release of the HD-200 I believe that the Beta version was required to use the HD-200 so it wasnn't just an option for early adopters. And Sage betas are much more stable than betas from other companies, and are miles more stable than Hauppauge "final" drivers that have issues all over the place.

But the whole concept of beta seems to have changed somewhat. Gmail is still in beta five years after being released and the Win7 beta was much more available and much more stable than previous OS betas from MS.

[QueOnda]

I didn't vote...but I would say both. Don't F with something that works (even though I can't resist in tinkering!!! and if you do upgrade then do a backup to recover if it doesn't work or screw things up.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by wayner

But Sage seems to have a bit of a different take on betas than some other software firms.

But not so different that they expect every user to install every beta as soon as it comes out (which is what your poll asks). If that's what they wanted, they'd call them releases, not betas.

[evilpenguin]

I also do the "Wait two days and then upgrade". I think I've only been bitten by a bad beta once and even then it wasn't so bad.