Firmware Updates For Hardware Devices Wave Of The Future?

[ed klein]

It seems to me within the last five years I have been spending a lot of time updating hardware devices for firmware updates.

I seems to me that this is going to be a requirement for future electronic hardware devices.

This is a list of the current hardware devices that I own that REQUIRE a firmware update.

1. Car computer
2. DVD reader/burners in computers
3. Standalone DVD players
4. Standalone DVD recorders

Does anyone own a HDTV that requires a firmware update?

[RFBurns]

Yep. Ive got a Sony SXRD LCD unit that had to have an update for its cable card firmware. The process to update the darn thing wasnt exactly something just anyone could do. You have to have a memory stick reader/writer, the appropriate software/hardware on a PC connected to the internet, download a few files from the support website, write those into the memory stick off the PC, then go through a silly sequential button pressing sequence on the remote to access the cable card firmware update menu which is buried under 4 other main service mode menus.

The thing with these updates, for any device, is the result of the ever increasing demand by the public for "faster is better". Since most of this points to the storage media, many drives, be it for PC or stand alone units, get pushed out into the market while the labs are creating the newer revised blanks, but neglect to keep track of the new items being released and the manufacturers are also not keeping communication lines open to the media labs so that the new units prior to shipping to stores, get the proper firmware to work with the faster revised medium.

In a nutshell....the makers are "leaping before looking". And as a result, we all go down with them!

However here is one thing that just does not make any sense whatsoever.

Why have a 16x speed blank DVD for use in a machine that can only run at 1x?!!! Such nonsense is an example of the leaping before looking. For stand alone machines there is no reason why there is not specific blank media for those units and the faster 16x and up for the PC units. But since they dont think in that fashion, we get to deal with firmware updates and taking chances that a new blank media is going to muck up the works in our brand new drives and recorders!

Oh well....life would be too boaring if there were not something to update!\