virtualbox.org

I'm currently running 4.3.0. When attempting to use "Check for Updates...", I'm told I'm already running the current version. I see that version 4.3.2 has been released for OS X, as indicated by various pages on this site (I'm a new user and currently unable to post URLs).

This was also the case when I was running 4.2.18 -- the application wasn't aware that 4.3.0 was released. I was only aware of the release as I checked into the matter for the Mavericks release, wanting to make sure my environment continued to run smoothly.

Currently, I'm checking for "Stable Releases" as per the preference pane. What behavior should I expect here? For the sake of conversation, let's consider the version numbering as major.minor.bugfix. Should I expect to be notified of bug fix releases? Minor releases? Major releases? Should I modify my preference pane setting? (I've tried this, and it has no effect.) What is the difference between a stable release, a new release, and a pre-release, from the application's point of view?

Typically, I run my VMs headless, started via launchd, and only open up the VirtualBox application when I want to check for updates. As it currently stands, I've missed notifications for both bug fix and minor releases when doing this. I consider it appropriate for my environment to keep up with bug fixes, while both major and minor releases require a bit more thought as to their deployment. I would like to understand how this works so I can continue to keep up with updates.

Thanks, and keep up the great work! I appreciate and rely on this software!

I'm curious to know if anyone else is experiencing this?

How exactly is it that no one knows the expected behavior for this? It's a relatively straightforward question.

The DEVs do not enable the notifier on the .0 and sometimes even the .2 releases, if there are still issues that might cause the release to be severely unstable. This does not prevent you from downloading and install the release yourself, if you so desire.

Perryg wrote:The DEVs do not enable the notifier on the .0 and sometimes even the .2 releases, if there are still issues that might cause the release to be severely unstable. This does not prevent you from downloading and install the release yourself, if you so desire.

Thanks for the reply

If I simply want stable releases, what is the best way to keep myself informed about new releases? A mailing list or RSS feed? Manually visiting the site? I don't much care the method, but I want something definitive and repeatable that I can work into my routine.

If you set the VBox notifier properly it will notify you when a stable release is available. Look in preferences -> updates. The default is stable and why you have not been notified about the 4.3.* release yet.

Perryg wrote:The DEVs do not enable the notifier on the .0 and sometimes even the .2 releases, if there are still issues that might cause the release to be severely unstable. This does not prevent you from downloading and install the release yourself, if you so desire.

Understood. Still not clear at all on what defines "stable", but I suppose that is subjective, and I can live with that.

Perryg wrote:If you set the VBox notifier properly it will notify you when a stable release is available. Look in preferences -> updates. The default is stable and why you have not been notified about the 4.3.* release yet.

I've tried checking for updates with the preference set to "Stable Release Versions", "All New Releases", and "All New Releases and Pre-Releases". None of those selections provide me with any notification of an available update at this time. I am running 4.3.0, and 4.3.2 is clearly available. Given your earlier statement, I would expect to be notified if set to "All New Releases", but this is not the case.