I'll be the first to admit it: updating applications is necessary, but tedious. Opening each program and using its detection system eventually tires any user, and as if that weren't enough, many developers have moved the automatic update functions to the Pro editions of their creations. However, there are tools that are in charge of detecting and downloading new versions. One of them is SUMo, which, by the way, was recently updated.
How many programs do you have installed on your computer? When was the last time you decided to update them? Two typical answers to both questions are "many" and "I have no idea", which highlights the problem of keeping software up to date. Unfortunately, some companies have decided to combat this with highly questionable strategies. Of course, the alternative doesn't seem to work at all. Unless the user shows exemplary discipline, outdated programs will pile up, and when it's time to get your hands dirty, the process is annoying and monotonous.
Batch Updating Programs
That's when resources like SUMo, an acronym for Software Update Monitor, come to the rescue. This program has been around for a long time, and if I remember correctly, it was mentioned in a list published by Edgardo a few years ago. Not without reason, it's a classic that's very easy to use:
- The "Analyze" button will search for all programs present on the main hard drive, and this extends to portable applications stored in secondary folders.
- The "Check" button compares the version number reported by each program with the version number that SUMo has in its database. If the difference isn't that big, SUMo presents the results as minor updates, but if there's already a significant gap between major versions (say, from 4.0 to 6.0), we'll see a warning.
SUMo also has the ability to detect drivers, but this requires a secondary program (DUMo) and personally I think drivers deserve manual attention. The automatic download and update functions are only available in the Pro version of SUMo, which costs 19.99 euros per year. The official page offers a portable edition, which I recommend to avoid built-in advertising.
