The first thing I always do is disable auto-updates. Auto updating does not deserve the level of trust we put it in it. Just a few months ago, Google's creepy invisible updater rendered people's Apples unbootable if they didn't have SIP enabled, which many people including myself have good reason not to[1]. Thankfully, I had already blocked Keystone Agent with an immutable folder.
This auto-updating treadmill we've been sold on is really beneficial for developers, but it causes some major problems for end-users.
I have honestly lost track of the number of times I have had an update cripple a device. My iPad got ruined, my PS3 lost Linux, iTunes removed p2p music sharing in a deceptive update, Cisco gutted residential routers and forced people onto their crummy new platform[2]... I could go on and on. And this isn't even counting Android. I had a friend lose Miracast support in an Android update, minutes before he had to give a presentation.
And those are all examples of updates functioning as intended, even though they are against the interests of the users. I can add more citations if anyone is curious.
So no, if you use your device for anything important, then don't update it until you've made a backup, and had a chance to read up on any potential problems. It really says something that in this day and age, I've had to become much more vigilant about backing up my data than ever before.
Because forcing everything to be evergreen means that they only have to support the latest version. They can also corral users away from less common and older platforms.
One thing I really don't like about it, is how it forces you to spend more money on the latest hardware you don't need. Something is broken when I can't use a three year old phone to pay a parking ticket in my city. And they can just scoff at me and say that it is my fault for daring to go two years without buying a new device.
Being evergreen means that any vulnerabilities in DRM and platform integrity are swept away under a tide of updates. As long as you are constantly pushing updates, and making it very hard for people to use an out of date version, you don't have to worry nearly as much.
Finally, in the bigger picture, it strategically makes sense because it keeps your competitors aiming at a moving target.
Why do you think it is easier to install an older operating system than it is to install an older version of Chrome? Do you really think it is solely about your security and safety? Of course not. They don't care about end user security or privacy nearly as much as they do about keeping their platform secured. In fact, it is still easy to buy out a trusted Chrome extension and attack users. There is still no possible way to disable extension updates. Google knows about this and they won't change their architecture in any major way; they just keep the updates and revocations rolling and rolling, and any users who are hurt by this are an acceptable loss.
It's two-edged. On the one hand it's easy because you only get to target one version of your software. On the other hand your developing environment can suddenly change, what worked fine yesterday requires a complete rewrite the next day.
On the one hand it's easy because you only get to target one version of your software.
I feel like Microsoft somewhat had that problem solved --- if I just want to create a basic Windows GUI app, and know that I don't need any of the newer features, I can create one binary which will work from Win95 onwards.
On the other hand your developing environment can suddenly change, what worked fine yesterday requires a complete rewrite the next day.
I've seen that happen with most of the other platforms; and relevantly to this article, Apple is a good example of constant breaking change.
This auto-updating treadmill we've been sold on is really beneficial for developers, but it causes some major problems for end-users.
I have honestly lost track of the number of times I have had an update cripple a device. My iPad got ruined, my PS3 lost Linux, iTunes removed p2p music sharing in a deceptive update, Cisco gutted residential routers and forced people onto their crummy new platform[2]... I could go on and on. And this isn't even counting Android. I had a friend lose Miracast support in an Android update, minutes before he had to give a presentation.
And those are all examples of updates functioning as intended, even though they are against the interests of the users. I can add more citations if anyone is curious.
So no, if you use your device for anything important, then don't update it until you've made a backup, and had a chance to read up on any potential problems. It really says something that in this day and age, I've had to become much more vigilant about backing up my data than ever before.
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21064663
[2]: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/06/29/1425210/cisco-pushi...