Check for new BOINC update about boinc HOT 21 CLOSED

Commented by Ageless on 9 Feb 38016773 12:53 UTC
Added in 5.8 as an automatic function.

from boinc.

Commented by Ageless on 7 Sep 38550783 00:26 UTC
Could there be some kind of indicator for this in the GUI, not just in the message stream, where it will get lost or ignored? Perhaps with the icon in the tray changing colors, the way Windows Update does?

Or could the new 6.4 or above versions auto-update themselves? [[br]]
Possibly download the new version when there's an internet connection and flag it available for install upon the next restart of BOINC, not unlike Firefox and Adobe Acrobat Reader do? Or is this still considered a security risk?

from boinc.

Commented by Eric Myers on 17 Jul 38561377 17:20 UTC
This feature needs careful thought about the user controls, and it HAS to be under user control for a wide range of use cases.

Some people won't want auto-update. They need an easy way to turn it off.

Some people only want auto-update -- set it and forget it. They need an easy way to turn it on.

Some people will want to do updates manually, but they will appreciate an easy GUI interface, for that -- easier than the initial download and install. They will want some kind of indication that there is a new update (not just in the message stream), and/or a way they can take an action to check for new updates (or verify that they are up to date).

As already mentioned, this exists for other software in the form of Windows Update, FireFox and Acrobat. Add Apple Software Update to the list. We need to design the interface so that it works well (Apple and Firefox do, IMHO, Acrobat does not). Windows Update is widely familiar so perhaps worth emulating, at least in general?

There has to be user control over this functionality or the people who don't like however it's done will be annoyed.

from boinc.

Commented by Nicolas on 14 Dec 38647846 23:06 UTC
Something worth emulating from Windows Updates is the configuration options:

• Download and install automatically.
• Download and notify, but ask before installing.
• Notify, but ask before downloading or installing.
• Disable updates.

from boinc.

Commented by romw on 25 Jan 38648356 00:53 UTC
We currently have a design doc on AutoUpdate.

It hasn't been fully implemented as yet.

from boinc.

Is there any news about this issue? It would be nice to have.

from boinc.

This is still in the design stage. I'm not aware of anyone working on it. And with the current shortage of manpower it doesn't seem likely this can be done for the next release. This feature has a lot of security implications that need to be addressed.

from boinc.

@ChristianBeer Are there some docs about this feature? I see existing code in client to check new updates (and it seems that it's working now) so I can do smth with this case (at least a notification about the new version in GUI).

from boinc.

There is the AutoUpdate stuff which was not implemented and got deprecated 6 years ago.

The other thing is the version check that is already there. You can use this to design a GUI notification. But please think this through and propose your changes before actually doing them. Especially since you need to introduce a new GUI-RPC between Client and Manager. You can do all this in a new issue as this one is rather old and odd to properly read.

from boinc.

@ChristianBeer Thank you. I'll see what I can do here and I'll open a new issue with my propositions.

from boinc.

from boinc.

This code turned out way more complex and brittle than I planned. I didn't fully test it.

There must be external frameworks for auto-update, maybe part of Installshield. If so we should use that instead.

Also, there were security concerns: how to prevent hackers from using the auto-update feature to distribute malware. The existing code doesn't address this, which is a deal-breaker.

from boinc.

@davidpanderson Why we can't just check for the new version using link in cc_config (already implemented) and then just show the notification to the user and link to the download page?
I agree, that auto-update feature is too dangerous but notification about new version is safer: it is up to user's choice whether to download the new version from the given link or not.

from boinc.

from boinc.

My personal opinion is that BOINC doesn't need an auto-update feature. The security measures that need to be taken into consideration and that need to be maintained properly is not worth the gain.

As to InstallShield I also don't see a bright future for this tool with BOINC. It's proprietary software that should not be used together with Open Source software. And it causes lot of problems on Windows from time to time where users need to run a fixing tool or edit registry settings. It's possible this is a general Windows problem but switching to a more open framework would be more future proof.

Also keep in mind this thread does now cover two issues. One is the auto-update feature, the other is the visual notification in the Manager when a new version is available. While I think the first one should be removed from the source code I hope someone will pick up on the second one and implement this to the Manager.

from boinc.

The manager shows a "notice" when there's a new client version available, with a link to the download page. This should be adequate.

from boinc.

This "notice" may not be what users expect nowadays. Granted I'm not the normal user but I would find it nice to have a menu option in the manager to query for updates myself.
@Ageless93 since you originally requested this feature do you find the current implementation enough or should @AenBleidd follow up on the original requirement?

from boinc.

@Ageless93 I saw this code, thanks.

from boinc.

from boinc.

The original request was not about AutoUpdate. The discussion got sidetracked later in the original trac ticket. The original request was:

Would it be possible to add a check for update in the Manager's Help menu?
Many applications have this feature these days.

And the questions now is: Does the current implementation with a Notice in the Manager fulfill this request or do the users want to have an additional way to check for updates?

To further sidetrack this: I find the idea of a user poll about what features should be implemented next into Client and Manager very intriguing. But before we do that we maybe should have a better overview of possible features (I know there is a list in the forums) and feasibility of implementation. This would be a nice way to steer further development of Client and Manager to what volunteers want.

from boinc.

Opened new issue #1768.

from boinc.