Upgrades, schmupgrades

Definition: Take the old bugs out, put new ones in

I hate software upgrades. Hate them with a passion because no matter what you do, something's gonna get knackered up and then not only did you have to spend the time downloading the damn thing, then you got to figure out how to get everything to work again once the update is in.

My least favorite update is my firewall and I always procrastinate when it comes to updating that. Firewall update invariably means nothing works properly and the installation is annoying because they don't give you an option as to whether you want to restart your computer or not, especially if you're like me and edging closer to bedtime and all you wanted to do was make a quick check of your email. But ZoneAlarm doesn't make it easy, no no no, not after an update. Here's a quick run down of all the stuff that just goes bananas after an update.

My FTP dies which means I can no longer update my website if the firewall is up. My web-based email accounts just surrender to ZoneAlarm, though gmail, bless its searching soul, has started offering helpful "Third Party Software Interference" tips. For some reasons, CSS-based sites go nuts, pictures on cute baby blogs disappear, and meanwhile, ZoneAlarm is sitting there all pretty and proud of itself saying, "We just blocked another pop-up. Lollipop?"

I'm too exasperated to deal with Zone Alarm today, so I turned it off, and turned the Windows Firewall on instead. How's that for a turnabout in events? Microsoft instead of third party software. Times like this, I'm going with the dude who lets me check my email. Thank you, Bill!