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Messages - topbanana

#1
Quote from: Justin Chalfant (Patch My PC) on January 30, 2025, 09:28:56 AMHey there,

Thank you for taking the time to share your frustrations. I completely understand why you feel this way, and I want to acknowledge the points you've raised. The feature you are referencing in v4 was a key part of Patch My PC for many customers, and it's clear it provided significant value to your workflow.

The decision to not include this functionality in the initial release of v5 wasn't about undervaluing it. It was a matter of prioritization during the rebuild process. That said, we hear your feedback loud and clear, and we are taking it seriously.
So this gives us hope that it will return?
And sooner rather than later, please?
In the mean time, i'll keep using v4.

QuoteOne challenge with reintroducing a download-only mode is that v5 is now portal-based. This makes the implementation a bit trickier since the app itself needs to be installed. That being said, we absolutely recognize the value of this workflow and are evaluating how we can best support similar use cases moving forward.
'Trickier'... but it's obviously possible.  So we look forward to you returning it to us.

QuoteWe encourage you to upvote the idea here: https://ideas.patchmypc.com/ideas/PATCHMYPC-I-5108. This helps us gauge how broadly this feature is needed and prioritize development efforts accordingly.
Most of your users probably don't even know this ability existed in v4!  As it wasn't a default option, as it deleted the installers by default.  Only us in 'the know' knew to turn on this feature, and how valuable it was!
But the fact remains, all software updaters should have this option, and on by default.  It's sick how much data, traffic, time, electricity is wasted by installers being downloaded over and over and over and over and over again on everyone's networks.
The reason you restore this feature, is not because it's gotten lots of votes, it's because this was YOUR defining feature, and it is the CORRECT thing to do!
Please prioritise it for the correct reasons.

QuoteCould you also help us understand your specific use case? How many computers are you downloading this for, and are you using Patch My PC in a company with many computers? The more details we have, the better we can assess how to bring back this functionality in a way that works best for you.
I'm an ex IT guy, but supporting my 3 or 4 laptops, and also the guy that all my mates, mates of mates bring their pc/laptops/everything to fix.  Plus i reinstall my OSs quite often, so i land up using PMPC a fair bit.
I'm also living on an island, where we use mobile data a lot still, only a few have fibre internet.  So downloading data costs money!  And it's not as fast as living in a city, with multi-gigabit internet.  So it costs time.
So PMPC has saved me a lot of time and money.

Also, as is also requested, we need a portable version.
The way i use PMPC 4v is to use a network share, or usb stick, just run the .exe file, check that it's pointing to the share, or the stick and then select and install, or just update from there.  Obviously, if a newer version is needed, it's downloaded and is added to my network share.  Great!
For the portable version, having to specifically set the options to set the download folder, and the do not delete options is annoying.  It'd be best if it just defaulted to the current directory pmpc is in, or at least let us set a pmpc.ini file such that we can set it to current directory, or a relative path, so that if the ini file is there, it'll always run this way.  We need it to be truly portable.  v4 is partially portable.

And please restore the categories.  It still seems malicious that they were deleted from v4.  There's simply no logical reason to remove them, other than to make it harder to use.
Now that you have over 500 apps listed, it's beyond a joke.

QuoteWe truly value your feedback and regret any inconvenience this has caused. It helps us improve and deliver a better product.
Thank you for replying, directly addressing this feature 'loss'.
Losing the ability to do something you've been relying on for years is depressing.
#2
Quote from: Michiel (Patch My PC) on January 21, 2025, 01:50:06 AMHi, thanks for your suggestion! A Feature and Application Request has already been submitted for this, so feel free to upvote it:

Re-add the option for Don't Delete App Installer Files

How can you suggest that we VOTE for the feature you already had???  You deleted it!
You caused us to use more data downloading the installer multiple times from the internet.
You caused us to add more load to the software author's download server.
You caused us to add more traffic to the internet.
You caused us to add more traffic to our own networks.
You caused us to use more electricity repeatedly downloading the same files over and over and over again.
You caused us to waste more time waiting for the installers to download again, and again and again.
You caused us to increase the carbon footprint of installing, maintaining, updating software.

You caused this.
And you suggest that we 'vote' for it???
#3
So, PMPC-HU has completely deleted its most important, most useful, defining feature... the caching of the installers, such that we can download once, install/update many, using a USB stick, network share, etc.  Saving heaps of data, time, money, carbon.

This feature completely separated PMPC from every other application that offered software installing & updating!!!
It's why it got well known, why it such a large userbase!!!

But now it's deleted this advantage from the rest of the field.
The reason to choose PMPC has almost disappeared.
Especially when you look at how unusable the new dumbed-down version is too... NO CATEGORIES for 500+ Apps!!!  Imagine if the Yellow Pages removed the categories! LOL FFS!

So if PMPC doesn't have the feature we want, need, now we're left with the task of finding an alternative, and to move to that.

Does anyone know of any free software that was equivalent to what PMPC-HU was?
#4
Caching of the installers...
Into a folder of our choosing...
Allowing us to reuse them to update many, many PCs...
Reducing internet data usage...
Potentially saving money...
Reducing network usage...
Reducing time needed for updating...
Reducing the carbon footprint of software distribution/updating...

Why?
#5
There's been zero feedback as to why they've deleted their defining feature.

We need to know why they deleted the installer cache features.
#6
Quote from: Justin Chalfant (Patch My PC) on October 30, 2024, 11:22:52 AMThanks for the request. For new feature requests, we are shifting things over to our ideas portal. I coverted this request to a new idea at: https://ideas.patchmypc.com/ideas/PATCHMYPC-I-5108

If you would like to see this added, could you please submit an idea there instead?
?????????????????

You've deleted functionality from your software!
You've deleted the defining functionality from your software!!!

How can you suggest that we make it a 'feature request', when you already had it, but have deleted it?

PatchMyPC is FAMOUS for downloading the installers into a cache folder of our choosing, then installing them, then allowing us to repeat the installation of the same software on our other PCs, reusing that same installer.  And as an obvious addition, you included the functionality to 'Download Only', so that we could get all the installers we needed ahead of time, before we start updating the PCs that needed updating.

This feature separated it from every other 'software updater' on the planet.

And now you've deleted it.

Why did you delete it?
This question needs to be answered.

#7
As most of us know, the defining feature of Patch My PC was its ability to cache all the installers it downloaded, in a definable path.

This allowed you to run updates on one of your many computers, downloading all the updates once, and then move on to the next, and the next computer, where PMPC would then simply find the already downloaded, cached installer in its cache folder, perhaps on your network share, on the usb stick pmpc is on, etc...  and it would immediately start installing the software updates, or the newly ticked software you wanted to add.

This not only saved time, but it also saved on bandwidth, data.
Some of the apps were hundreds of MB in size.

So with this new version of PMPC, this functionality has been axed.  It can't do it.

Now our task of installing the app on a new pc, or a fresh windows install, or just updating all the apps takes a lot longer.  And it uses up bandwidth of the internet connection you're on.  And it costs data, which is still limited for many, many users, and even costs them money per MB!

And of course, this downloading of the installer EVERY time, on you many PCs adds a carbon footprint.  As Time & Electricity cost energy.
And i don't know about you, but there's a lot of reporting in the news these days about CO2 Emissions... Something that we should apparently be aware of, we should try to reduce...

Did the management consider the carbon footprint when they ordered the axing of the caching function?

It's not just PMPCs defining feature.  It also has real world consequences.

We look forward to the return of this functionality.
#8
I guess i wrote my post in the wrong way...



But i can't seem to edit the post, the edit option is missing in this forum.



Too many user interface designers today are copying this trend in spacing out the user interface far, far too



much... Which just makes it a lot, lot more difficult to follow, to see what you need and to see the state



of the settings/preferences/etc...



I'm not sure where this trend, fashion came from, but it'll hopefully pass sooner rather than later, as



it is really quite ugly.



It is especially problematic, unattractive on smaller monitors, laptop screens, like those who have older 'HD' screens,



which as we know are not the 'Full HD' we'd hope they'd be...  But even with a Full HD, 1080p screen, we often



have to run them with a screen Scale of 125%, or 150%... Which pretty much returns the monitor/screen back to



a similar size to all the crappy 'HD' laptop screens we are lumbered with...



It really does seem like the developers, or to be fair, the managers making these awful decision, just have 4k



monitors, and for them, and their non-technical minds, it looks ok.



But for the rest of us, and for those of us that support computers a lot, that do it for a living, that do this as a



keen hobby, etc. etc. it's just an annoyance, that slows us down, makes using it frustrating, and leads us to look



for alternatives.  Especially when you combine this with the axing of the cached downloads, and the remove of the



categories!



It's as if they've aimed PMPC to the lowest common denominator... created a "My First App Updater"...  Just for



People that have never used software like this before... And they think that the way to make it look simple, or



'clean' (such a horrible word, philosophy), is to just space it out so, so much, and remove all the useful



features, leaving just the minimum viable product!



It kinda does seem like PMPC Home Updater was just 'too good', and perhaps it was stealing business away from their



corporate, pro version... So they knee-capped it... First they removed the categories, which just makes it an



absolute nightmare to use, to consistently, accurately, efficiently, speedily tick the selection of apps you



wish to install...  Then, with this release, they deleted the killer feature, the caching of the downloaded



installers, to a defined locations, that allows the admin to carry around everything already downloaded, and



to save an enormous amount of bandwidth, data, which we have to remember, is not universally 'Unlimited', and



often capped at a disastrously small amount, and for others, simply costs them money for each MB...  And to round



this knee-capping off... They just spaced out user interface, to make it look unattractive, to make it look like



software designed for pre-schoolers, and novice pc users, or for mac users perhaps? ;-)



So.  This new version of PMPC-HU isn't what it used to be.
It could correct its shortcomings...  It could re-add the caching, and the categories...  And it could AT LEAST add the option to change to a compact UI.
This would return it to its former glory, and with the huge added benefit of the greatly expanded list of apps.
Just giving it up and going to a command prompt to type 'winget upgrade --all' just seems the more logical choice...

Fingers crossed!!!
#9
General Questions (Free Home Updater) / Compact view
December 21, 2024, 05:34:31 AM
The spacing between each application is tripple, quadruple line spaced.  Most of the application's window is empty, wasted whitespace.
This spacing makes it much harder to scan down a list of things.  Especially when you realise that when we're reading, we're actually recognising the 'shape' of the word, not reading each letter.  And in a compact list, this is much easier to spot.
This same 'feature' was also introduced to Windows File Explorer, and the massive kick back forced them to, correctly, give us a Compact View.

This would necessitate reducing the icon size, but we're not scanning down looking at the icons, we're trying to read the application's name.  The old version number, new version number looks ok stacked, in a smaller font size, so perhaps you could compact the lines such that they're tight up against these version numbers, with the thin separator line still in place.

This issue is obviously made 10,000x worse by the fact that you removed the categories back in 2022, which was a horrific, horrible move.

Please, at least give us the option to change the line spacing to compact.
Remember, FUNCTION FIRST, then make it look nice.
#10
In 2022, you deleted the Categories.

That made finding, ticking all the individual pieces of software we need much, much more difficult.  And our user experience much worse, much more frustrating.

But, there was the promise of a new version in the works!  Perhaps categories would be reintroduces then???

NO.
No they weren't.

And to make the situation much worse, we now have a much expanded list of software to choose from (which should be seen as a wonderful thing, yeah???!).

Now we've got no chance of finding the 10-20 apps we need, without going cross-eyed, and spending half an hour trying.  Or, just giving up, and having to relaunch PMPC later to find the ones we'd missed.  Wasting our time.

It doesn't have to be this way.  It shouldn't be this way.
The Yellow Pages isn't just an alphabetical list of every business, is it? No.  That would be ridiculous.
PMPC not having categories is ridiculous.

And wrt the manager that made the decision to remove the categories back in 2022, please promote them to a position where they can't do any more harm.  They obviously have never done any IT Admin work, let alone use the this software in the real world.


Please do the correct thing and reintroduce them.
A good number of correctly names categories, so we can find what we need.

Please.
#11
There simply isn't a reason to use PMPC if it's not saving the downloaded installers.
We might as well just use WinGet, or any of the other similar 'tick from a list & install' utilities.

Saving the installers was the defining feature of PMPC.

This makes me very frustrated.  Angry even.
#12
I second this.

Especially as it now has its version 2 windows installer out properly now.
#13
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease may we have this?

I just want to have a USB stick with PMPC and 100 applications on it, plug it in, start pmpc, select the items i want and have it find the local copies and install them (updating if required)


This can only happen if pmpc looks in the folder it's currently in for the software...  The path, drive letter, network address will change a lot!

Please just make it look in the current folder or one in a path relative to it!

Pretty please?
#14
What an absolute mess this now is.

Before, I'd open it, browsers: check, check... multimedia: check, check... Utilities: Check, Check, Check... Etc...  Done.  Awesome.

I never really had to think...  Everything was logically sorted and it gives you an easy pattern to follow... Which is what you need if you're doing this stuff a lot... Which almost all of us PMPC users are...

Now:  Open it...  Errrr...  brain ache.  Dyslexia doesn't help...  Miss many items...  Have to open it later when i know there missing...  Swear A LOT!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

The ONLY issue with the categories, was that the utilities one was a little too big... It needed to be split up a bit.  That's all.

This is an absolutely amazingly useful bit of software!
But completely buggered by the removal of categories.

I hope that the person that suggested this change, and the manager who signed it off both have to wear a dunce's cap for one whole month.

I look forward to our beloved PMPC returning to its former glory.