Too many update prompts for users - and suggested alternatives. #24823
Description
First, let me say I love VS Code. I love the velocity of the project. I love the monthly release plan and the cadence that it moves at.
What I don't like is the consumption of these updates at an ever-increasing frequency as a user. The promise of Visual Studio Code is a release approximately once a month. But that's (understandably) not reality, because software has bugs and release have unexpected issues in the wild. Let me start with a summary of release history from the past 12 months to serve as data for discussion:
| Month | Count | Releases | 1.*.0 to 1.*.1 release time span |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2017 | 3 | 1.11.0, 1.11.1, 1.11.2 | 1 day |
| Mar 2017 | 2 | 1.10.1, 1.10.2 | 1 day |
| Feb 2017 | 3 | 1.9.0, 1.9.1, 1.10.0 | 6 days |
| Jan 2017 | 0 | (n/a) | (n/a) |
| Dec 2016 | 2 | 1.8.1, 1.8.2 | 1 day |
| Nov 2016 | 3 | 1.7.0, 1.7.1, 1.7.2 | 2 days |
| Oct 2016 | 2 | 1.6.0, 1.6.1 | 3 days |
| Sep 2016 | 4 | 1.5.0, 1.5.1, 1.5.2, 1.5.3 | 0 days |
| Aug 2016 | 1 | 1.4.0 | (n/a) |
| Jul 2016 | 2 | 1.3.0, 1.3.1 | 5 days |
| Jun 2016 | 2 | 1.2.0, 1.2.1 | 13 days |
| May 2016 | 2 | 1.1.0, 1.1.1 | 7 days |
Can we change how releases are consumed here? I don't think the "stable" channel is living up to the name from a user standpoint. I think the code is mostly stable, but not the experience. Users shouldn't get this many update prompts in the normal "stable" install.
I propose the following requirements, as a user consuming updates:
- Should not get a prompt to update two days in a row (this has happened many times)
- Should not get a prompt to update more than once a week on a channel called "stable"
A few ideas:
- A "slow" channel, where releases are only posted if they has been no new release in the past 7 days.
- This would have eliminated the > 1 per month prompts for not-really-stable releases for 9 of the 10 months they happened in the table above.
- Give users an option to configure a similar lag, not prompting for an update until it has been posted for at least 7 days and not obsoleted by a new point release.
- e.g.
update.delayDays, which if configured to 7 days would have the same effect as above.
- e.g.
- Make updates a background post-close operation, simply informing the user in a much more subtle way (0-clicks, auto-dismiss) that an update will occur on next restart automatically.
The bottom line is VS code is a means to an end. I'm trying to do work, and so is everyone else. Update prompts, especially repetitive ones in a short duration get in the way of that and only add frustration. They rarely help me get any work done; it's usually the opposite.
Thoughts? Ideas? Can we improve this?