Meme transcription: Anakin & Padme
[Panel 1] Anakin tries selects “Update and shut down” from the Windows start menu.
[Panel 2] Padme, labeled as “Windows”, cheerily says: ”You mean ‘Update and restart’, right?”
[Panel 3] Anakin takes an annoyed look.
[Panel 4] Padme, still cheery, says “I’ll just ‘Update and Restart’.”
Yes, the info can be useful. And technically speaking (on windows at least) you can dig into the logs and see what happened. But yeah, 99% of users don’t know what any of it means, so it makes no difference to them if it’s hidden away.
That said, aiming for the lowest common denominator is a good thing, imho, so long as you’re also providing a way for power users to get at the info being hidden.
That’s pretty much the entire way windows works. Give the tech illiterate a shiny object to stare at, and give power users a way to view what’s underneath.
The last time I paid any attention to the update process was probably ten years ago when Microsoft noticed how much user data was worth on the open market and retrofitted their nascent surveillance apparatus to win7. That seemed to motivate a lot of folks to block the offending updates. Thankfully the EU have regulated their data harvesting ‘updates’ but it’s probably something we should keep an eye while the little number climbs to 100.