Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Tip:
If your Mac supports Power Nap (see
OS X: About Power Nap
) and you enable
it in the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences, your Mac also downloads updates
from the App Store when it's asleep—as long as it's plugged in to AC power.
Update Non-Mac App Store Software Automatically
Software that doesn't come from the App Store must use a separate update mechanism.
Happily, most modern applications contain some sort of update feature. Unhappily, they
don't all work the same way. Some check for updates every time they're launched, or on a
fixed schedule, while others check only on demand; of those that do check automatically,
not all have this feature turned on initially. Some programs can download
and
install new
versions of themselves automatically, while others download a disk image and expect you to
open it and run the installer yourself; still others do nothing but open a Web page with links
to updates you can download manually.
In an ideal world, updates would require no intervention other than a click or two to
confirm that you're aware of, and approve of, the installation; everything else would happen
automagically. Because many applications still lack that level of automation, though, you
may have to perform some extra steps.
For now, do the following. Whenever you download and install a new app that doesn't come
from the App Store, check its preferences to see whether there's an Automatically Check for
Updates (or similar) feature. If so, be sure to turn it on! If you can choose how often to check,
choose the most frequent option. You might also do the same for your most frequently used
apps the next time you open them.
Tip:
Don't just check stand-alone apps for an Automatically Check for Updates
feature; also look for this option in preference panes, status menus, Mail plug-ins,
and other such software. The wording of the command may vary, but such commands
(
Figure 8
) usually appear in the application menu, the Help menu, or the Preferences
window.
