Keep Checking for Updates

We're Not Sitting on Our Hands

It's easy to assume that once a piece of software works, it's finished. That's not how we look at it. AutoCast, ClockWork, Librarian, CastAway, SignalCaster, and the rest of the apps in the TuneTracker System are under constant, active development — brand new features and capabilities, real improvements to the tools you already rely on every day, bug fixes as soon as we find them, and ongoing attention to how everything looks, behaves, and feels to actually use.

None of that does you any good, though, if you're running a build from six months ago and don't know any of it exists. That's the point of this article: two minutes on how updates actually reach you, and how to see exactly what changed in each one.

How to Check for Updates

Every app in the TuneTracker System checks for its own updates independently, using Sparkle — the same update framework used by a huge share of professional Mac software. That gives you two ways to stay current:

• Automatically, in the background. Each app periodically checks in on its own and lets you know right inside the app when a new version is ready — no separate downloader, no visit to the website required.
• On demand, any time. Open the app's main menu (for example, the AutoCast menu when you're in AutoCast, or ClockWork, Librarian, and so on for the others) and choose Check for Updates… A quick check runs immediately, whether or not one's due.

Because each app in the System updates on its own, it's worth doing this check across whichever apps you use regularly — not just AutoCast. If you run ClockWork for scheduling and Librarian for your library, give those a check too.

Seeing What's New in Each Build

This is the part people often miss: you don't have to go hunting for a changelog on the website. When an update is found — automatically or via Check for Updates… — the dialog that appears includes the release notes for that build right there, before you decide whether to install it. It'll typically be organized under a heading like What's New or Fixed, with plain-language bullet points describing exactly what changed.

That's genuinely the fastest way to know what we've been working on. A build might add a new capability, smooth out a rough edge in something you use daily, resolve a bug that was quietly annoying you, or just tighten up the interface so it feels a little better in your hand. Reading that dialog for ten seconds before you click install is the easiest way to stay in the loop.

A Habit Worth Keeping

Make a habit of actually reading that update dialog instead of clicking past it. And if it's been a while since you last checked — a few weeks, a couple of months — open each app's menu and choose Check for Updates… today. There's a good chance there's something waiting for you that you didn't know you were missing.