"No. There is nothing worse than to start an application in order to use it, only for it to make you wait while it downloads 250MB of bloat, make a restore point, reboot, etc. Defer the update? Yes, everytime... but what if you're just about to open a file that exploits the application that hasn't been updated for 2 years?"
Sure there is.
Windows system updates.
I've been spoiled on Linux for the last few years, so it was more apparent to me.. But the Windows system update system is comically hideous.
Seriously.. I did a FULL OPERATING SYSTEM AND APPLICATIONS update just yesterday that took less time than the ordinary Windows system updates can take. And ONE reboot.
One 3rd party repo to re-enable.
One package to reinstall.
Everything else unchanged.
And no. It didn't nag me to update to the latest shiny. Didn't "helpfully download it's self", And I can even turn this notification off for ever if I like.. The presence of an OS upgrade is presented in the update application, but not forced.
Windows:-Download patches. Fair enough.
But don't dare to use anything, cos Windows is still crashy sometimes, and a misapplied update is not a new headache.
Then reboot. And hope it comes back as functional. Cos if not.. Reinstall. And did you get disks with your computer? Did you heck. At best, you got an option to burn a set of install disks. But probably not.
And when you reboot.. A potential second delay, followed by stage two installation, and rebooting, and restarting.
Linux:- Hit the update button, and go back to doing what you were doing. I'm running an update right now as it happens.
If something goes wrong, dust off a boot disk, and hit the forums to fix it.
And the time.. Seriously. How long does it take to apply a patch? 20 minutes? half an hour? 2 hours?
Has it crashed, or is it still going. You never know until it's done.
If I turn it off while it is just sat there, will it recover, or will it bugger up my computer. I mean.. A progress bar, even a lying through it's teeth one, or even an "I'm still working" indicator would be a help.
Genuine fact.
I bought a reconditioned Thinkpad last year. And I swear.. The first week of use, I was spending more time patching Windows 7 than I spent using it.
Every time I turned it on.. Updates available.
Every time I shut down. Updates to apply.
Booting Windows off it and putting Linux on made it into a new computer. A pleasure to use. Faster, smoother, and with less hassle all round.
So sorry mate. How ever bad applications are.. And yes, I do remember how bad. Microsoft's very own update system is significantly worse.
Windows users just don't realise how awful it is, because they have nothing to compare to.