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Q. The
manufacturer of a software program I own just e-mailed me, asking me to
download a "patch" from its Web site to fix problems with the software.
How do I do this?
Steven Simmons, Sacramento CA
A. Usually you just go to the software maker's Web site,
click on the file name (be sure to choose the correct version), wait for
the file to download,1 find the file on your computer and double click to run it.2
Because software makers rush programs to
market and cram in so many features, buggy software is common. When a
new program comes out, wait a few weeks to buy it, allowing enough time
for the inevitable bug fixes to be released, and don't forget to send in
software registration forms, or you won't be notified when a fix comes
out.3
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TOGGLE Editor's Notes:
In the early days of personal computing, errors
or faults in programs were corrected by rewriting or correcting portions
of the program or code that drove the computer. Often this was
accomplished by inserting arcane commands into the "raw" code or
assembly language that was recognized by the computer's Central
Processing Unit (CPU). This was referred to as applying a "patch" to
the code, as though it were a bicycle tire. Nowadays applying such a
correction to a program is much simpler and requires no knowledge of CPU
operations. It is all taken care of automatically by including in the
"patch" the commands required to accomplish the update. All you have to
do is "run" the executable (.exe) file that applies the patch.
Footnotes:
1 Before initiating the
download you will be asked where you want the downloaded software to be
stored, that is, in what directory do you want it to be saved. Commonly
this is the C:\Download directory, but you may choose to put it anywhere
you like. However, you should give this a little thought. It is not
wise to put it in a working directory like Windows because it will
become lost among the many other files there. Put it in a logical place,
like C:\Download, then after you are through with it you can delete it.
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2 If
the program is an executable file, with an .exe extension, you can
simply click on it and it will "run", expanding itself and searching for
the related software and, upon finding it, apply the "patch" to upgrade
your software. Sometimes, however, you may find the downloaded software
is in a compressed format, without the convenient self-expanding
feature invoked to make it an .exe file. Usually such a file will be a
zipped file with a .zip extension. Such a file must be unzipped, i.e.
uncompressed, before it can be run. To do this you must use a utility
file such as WinZip for Windows, or PKZIP which runs in DOS. We have
such utilities in our disk library. Ask our librarian about getting a
copy and how to use it. If it is neither an .exe file nor a .zip file,
ask the librarian or one of our TOG members for assistance or use the
TOG Help Line.
3 An adage of the personal
computing community which sprang from less than positive experiences in
the 1980s is: "Never buy version 1.0 of anything." In fact, however,
version 1.0 is often the second or possibly the third release of the
software, having gone through an Alpha (in-house) test period, then a
Beta test release to selected experts in the field (often several
hundred experienced computer users), and possibly a second or third Beta
test release, before an official version 1.0, incorporating changes
recommended during the Alpha/Beta test periods, is published and sold to
the public. During the Alpha and Beta test periods the "experts" put
the software through its paces trying to make it fail with as many
combinations of commands and demands as they can think of.
A Happy Accident?
During the preparation of footnote 3 about the
Beta testing of software, a typographical error produced the word
"siftware". We like it!
Siftware = Beta test version of software!
It
has all the right connotations of sifting out coarse, unwanted material
(bugs and all their parts) thus improving the quality of the
product--what rockhounds call highgrading.
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