Update Frequency [Answered]

sjtryon

I really enjoy what 1Password does for me. I also appreciate that it is under active development. However, I'm really starting to get worried about the product. The frequency of new updates is really making me question the integrity of the product and it quite frustrating. It feels as though I am asked to install a new update whenever I launch the product. I realize that isn't reality, but it isn't far off. No other product on my computer - and there are MANY of them - requires that much updating. No other product I have ever used in my very long history in the technology sector has ever required this much updating (excepting perhaps Microsoft Windows).



So please help me understand: Are you really that aggressive about providing new features or are you constantly trying to plug holes? Whatever the case, why is there such an active frequency of updates?

F451

I'm just a lowly end user, but you have you been actively a part of the AB's beta program? If so, this frequency is no more than when AB started. There have always been two trains of thought regarding update frequency. Apple holds-off, and even holds-out on betas to developers, but definitely holds-off to normal users. However, when there is a glaring issue, in say the Apple's OS, is can be a pain for users to wait.



AB being a security related organization is more along the lines of "rust never sleeps". They jumped both feet into changing matters when Lion hit the scene. Apple places extensions as the "acceptable" means of dealing with Safari; whereas in the past unacceptable (by Apple) users had hacks such as SIMBL. AB moved their emphasis into the "extension" realm for the browsers they support. Since I've been hanging around the AB crowd from its beginning, only now there seems to have been a little overlap of both beta and release version, but given what they have to accomplish there is really no other means but to get it into the hands of users as users can produce better feedback—quicker. Never have I felt my data compromised through using 1P...and that's all that matters to me.

sjtryon

I stopped allowing beta updates because the frequency was just too much. But even with that turned off, the frequency is still off the charts. I'm just trying to understand what the thinking is about this so that I can be more appreciative of their efforts. As it stands at the moment, the frequency is annoying and still leaves me wondering if they are just solving problems they keep discovering with their application.



Developers had plenty of time to work with Lion before its release in order to make their software ready. But the 1P update frequency was just as robust before Lion so I don't think that is the issue here.



Since so much sensitive information is stored using this application, I'd really like an answer to my question.

jpgoldberg

Hi sjtyron,



Only a very small number of the many recent changes have had to do with security improvements. (For example, changing the browser extension update to fetch from an SSL server. Another is trying to make the locking and unlocking behavior more transparent to the user). What you've seen is the result of major architecture changes. The goal of these changes is actually to make 1Password more resistant to changes in browsers. That is our old way of integrating with browsers, although extremely mature, is not a way that will continue to work in the future.



So the frenetic updates have to do with the fact that we had to throw out a design that had had four years to mature to something that is only just a few months old.



Another thing that made this major change a bit more rapid than others is that we effectively had no real Beta period for the new stuff. Prior to the release of Lion and Safari 5.1 only those who are in the paid Apple Developer Program (as opposed to free members) could test Safari 5.1. So we had only a very small pool of bata testers.



I'm really pleased that we got something out for Safari 5.1 on day one. But it meant that it wasn't very mature on that day. You are still seeing the consequences of that in the frequent updates.



Cheers,



-j

khad

Please also keep in mind that you can change the frequency of the update checks if "Include Beta versions" is not checked. You could set it to "Monthly" if you are not waiting for a specific fix or feature to be rolled out.

[img]https://img.skitch.com/20110909-e6ct6rja2ipuur2x9r19956psm.png[/img]

sjtryon

Jeffrey, thanks for this information. Very helpful. That makes sense - and a sensible explanation like this is really all I was asking for.

hmurchison

[quote name='sjtryon' timestamp='1316106864' post='49320']

Jeffrey, thanks for this information. Very helpful. That makes sense - and a sensible explanation like this is really all I was asking for.

[/quote]



Agreed Jeffrey presented that information in such an excellent way it was easier to comprehend the issue, fix and ongoing development.

I noticed most of the issues on these boards are all browser related and not really about the desktop app itself.