Software Update

If you’re used to Windows, then this item should seem familiar: Whenever Apple improves or fixes some piece of Mac OS X or some Apple-branded program, the Software Update program can notify you, download the update, and install it into your system automatically. These updates may include new versions of programs like iPhoto and iMovie; drivers for newly released printers, scanners, cameras, and such; bug fixes and security patches; and so on. See Figure 15-12.

When Software Update finds an appropriate software morsel, it presents this dialog box that offers to install it automatically. (If you see a smaller version of this dialog box, with no visible list of the new components, then click the Details button.)Apple has always created updated and bug-fixing versions of its software components, but they don’t do you any good if you don’t know about them. Software Update means you no longer have to scour Mac news Web sites to discover that one of these components has been released and then hunt down the software yourself.

Figure 15-12. When Software Update finds an appropriate software morsel, it presents this dialog box that offers to install it automatically. (If you see a smaller version of this dialog box, with no visible list of the new components, then click the Details button.) Apple has always created updated and bug-fixing versions of its software components, but they don’t do you any good if you don’t know about them. Software Update means you no longer have to scour Mac news Web sites to discover that one of these components has been released and then hunt down the software yourself.

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