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Re: Re: Re: Mathematica 7.0.1.0 and some General

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg97314] Re: [mg97233] Re: [mg97205] Re: Mathematica 7.0.1.0 and some General
• From: Murray Eisenberg <murray at math.umass.edu>
• Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:38:54 -0500 (EST)
• Organization: Mathematics & Statistics, Univ. of Mass./Amherst
• References: <goqphr$lt2$1@smc.vnet.net> <200903081050.FAA21483@smc.vnet.net> <200903090602.BAA09141@smc.vnet.net> <op.uqil6xh8tgfoz2@bobbys-imac.local>
• Reply-to: murray at math.umass.edu

But does it SAY that somewhere on the page where one downloads an 
installer, or on a printed piece of paper if one receives physical 
installation media, or in a readme file that accompanies the installer, 
or, ... ?

Does it even say that when you run the installer?  (After I uninstalled 
7.0.0 and ran the installer for 7.0.1, I received no such notice even 
though I still had 5.2 and 6.0.3 installed.)

Why the secrecy?

Is one supposed to intuit the answer?

Hence my complaint -- and it's a complaint, as I said, much more 
generally applicable than about Mathematica.

DrMajorBob wrote:
> I believe, with Mathematica, the procedure is to simply install the new 
> update. If you choose to give it the same name as the old (simply 
> Mathematica, for instance), it overwrites the old. If not, you now have 
> (at least) two versions. File associations should go to the new version, 
> but if they don't, just change them.
> 
> I used to keep old versions, but I no longer do that.
> 
> Bobby
> 
> On Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:02:14 -0500, Murray Eisenberg 
> <murray at math.umass.edu> wrote:
> 
>> Is there some installation instructions I missed that tell you the 7.0.1
>> installer will uninstall 7.0.0?  If so, where?
>>
>> I didn't see such, so I did the same thing I always do when such a minor
>> update arrives: first uninstall the old version and then install the new
>> version.  (With a major version change, of course, I leave the old
>> version installed until I can migrate everything affected.)
>>
>> One of my biggest complaints about software in general is how seldom
>> there is up-front information on how to handle an update/upgrade: you
>> must uninstall the old version first; you may uninstall the old version
>> first; you should NOT uninstall the old version first; the installer
>> will automatically uninstall the old version first; the installer will
>> not uninstall the old version first; the installer will give you the
>> option of uninstalling the old version first.
>>
>> Considering how often many software products come out with updates, new
>> releases, upgrades, etc., and how much effort is often devoted to
>> pushing and selling such new versions, it remains amazing to me at how
>> inattentive so many software publishers are at dealing with this
>> so-obvious matter.
>>
>>
>> Helen Read wrote:
>>  >
>>  > ... And the 7.0.1 installation is pretty easy if you already have
>>  > 7.0.0 installed. If you accept all the default options, it goes ahead
>>  > and uninstalls 7.0.0, sucks up your mathpass and init.m files, and
>>  > installs 7.0.1.
>>
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Murray Eisenberg                     murray at math.umass.edu
Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
Lederle Graduate Research Tower      phone 413 549-1020 (H)
University of Massachusetts                413 545-2859 (W)
710 North Pleasant Street            fax   413 545-1801
Amherst, MA 01003-9305

• References:
  • Re: Mathematica 7.0.1.0 and some General Comments
    • From: Helen Read <hpr@together.net>
  • Re: Re: Mathematica 7.0.1.0 and some General Comments
    • From: Murray Eisenberg <murray@math.umass.edu>