I believe this should be a personal decision and not the consensus of a
group of...... Do the research on your own, present your conclusions to a
group, and make a decision. Don't reverse the first two steps.
Just my opinion.
Dave - W?LEV
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On Thu, Jul 14, 2022 at 10:16 PM Dave Fugleberg <dave.w0zf@...> wrote:
After 35 years in IT, I¡¯ve learned a few things about software/firmware
upgrades.
The decision to update *anything *depends on 3 factors: business need,
supportability, and risk. This is true of your NanoVNA, your PC, your
radio, or whatever...
Only YOU can determine if YOUR 'business need' requires an update- examples
would be desired functionality or usability enhancements, or fixes to bugs
that affect your use of the system.
'Supportability' factors include whether support from the provider is
needed or desired, and what their policies are. Don't expect much help on a
very old version of software that's had a lot of development since that
version was released. If you ask a software provider for help, they will
likely (and rightly) ask you to update to the latest before trying to
troubleshoot your issue. They're not being difficult - they just don't want
to spend time on something that may already be addressed in a newer
version.
'Risk' is the factor that's often overlooked or misunderstood. There are
many kinds of risks. For a standalone device with embedded firmware, the
security risk is pretty low, but there can still be operational risk (not
fit for purpose, etc). That's where 'if it ain't broke...' makes sense.
For a device that's going to talk to a hostile network (which these days
means most any network), the risk of vulnerabilities in old software
increases exponentially. In that case, updates are important whether
business need or supportability suggest a need for an update or not. In
ham radio, some of the latest transceivers with ethernet connectivity come
to mind. I would want some assurance that the manufacturers are keeping up
with security patches, and apply those in a timely manner. Don't forget to
include the risk to others in your risk assessment - unpatched devices on
the internet are routinely used by the bad guys to attack or defraud
others. Don't be that guy.
In summary, the question of when or whether to update any software or
firmware is neither 'apply every update' nor 'never update' - it has to
consider business need, supportability, and risk. You probably do that
without explicitly thinking in those terms anyhow, but deliberately
thinking through it will either confirm or challenge your instinctive
decision.
73 de W0ZF
On Wed, Jul 13, 2022 at 4:20 AM David Wilcox K8WPE via groups.io
<Djwilcox01@...> wrote:
Somehow you all missed my point a few days ago¡.. much of the upgrades in
firmware are beyond the pay grade of many of the initial users. Until one
gets used to using the nano (or your handheld or any new radio tool you
have) and performing the tasks it was originally designed for WHY have
new
features that one doesn¡¯t need or understand? The learning curve of
upgrading (especially if you have never done it before) can be
intimidating
and an error makes your nano useless. It¡¯s always nice to have the
latest
greatest whatever but much of the time it isn¡¯t needed. My initial H4
nano
from R&L Electronics still does all I have needed it for. Someday when I
get snowed in or whatever I might look into upgrading but if I don¡¯t need
the new features why bother?
There are those who need to have the latest greatest and for them that is
fine but many of the upgrades are for special needs that don¡¯t apply to
all
of us. Maybe if I had a local guru walk me through upgrades a few times
I
might change my mind but doing an upgrade just to do it doesn¡¯t make
sense.
If it isn¡¯t broken why fix it? I originally had a guru help me set up my
DMR handheld and hotspot and then he moved away¡.. it still does what I
need even though there have been upgrades to the AnyTone 878. I am still
having fun and haven¡¯t needed to write an email here because I screwed up
and bricked my handheld or nano. The newest young guru in our club goes
through it all so fast I can¡¯t keep up. He¡¯s not a good teacher even
though
willing to do upgrades on some things¡. But not the nano yet, just DMR.
Case in point¡. Windows upgrades! How many issues occur every time that
happens? It sure generates a multitude of emails to the various QRP
groups
I follow. Even Linux seems to have multiple upgrades of each version¡.
What
to do?
Dave K8WPE since 1960 and still having fun with my limited knowledge and
initial firmware.
David J. Wilcox¡¯s iPad
On Jul 12, 2022, at 11:24 PM, Jim Shorney <jimNU0C@...> wrote:
?
But if your wife wants to "upgrade" her shoes do you tell her no? :D
The bottom line with upgrades is stuff works better. Who doesn't want
that? The developers are very quick to fix bugs so you can be pretty
confident that the latest stable version that is out there won't be
buggy.
Could a new bug surface that no one has caught yet? Sure. That is true of
literally everything that uses software/firmware. But it probably won't
be
anything major if it took a while to surface.
73
-Jim
NU0C
On Tue, 12 Jul 2022 04:10:55 -0700
"alex" <alex@...> wrote:
Right. The question should be "am I missing something I want to use
right now or am I using something that has a bug and should be repaired
right now." If you don't know what you're missing and all your tests are
performed well, why should you upgrade. Yeah some bugs might be solved,
but
others could enter just your tests. This is like a married man who wants
an
upgrade of his wife, is it necessary, is it broken?
--
*Dave - W?LEV*
*Just Let Darwin Work*
--
Dave - W?LEV
Mike C.