Is there any reason for me to update Calibre?

[rosemaryknits]

I don't use my desktop for much any more - it is mainly my Calibre Machine. It is a 10 year old Dell, Windows 7. It is an old and slow machine, but I really don't mind.

I am using Calibre 2.68, and as far as I can tell, it is working perfectly.

I am hesitant to ruin a good thing.... Will installing the newest version of Calibre give me any new abilities? All I really use it for is to... um... run a special plugin, and then send to kindle.

Every time I boot up Calibre, it tempts me with a notification of a new version.

Thanks,
RST

[ilovejedd]

Depends. I do it when I need new functionality (e.g. support for newer devices, bug fixes that affect me, plugin updates that require new versions).

[Adoby]

I think there is an option to turn off the notification about a new version...

Originally Posted by rosemaryknits

Every time I boot up Calibre, it tempts me with a notification of a new version.

Thanks,
RST

Therein lies my primary reason - to shut it up Although now that I've switched from Kindle to Kobo and am using Calibre's features moire as a result, updating does serve more purposes than simply neutering its nagging

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by rosemaryknits

I don't use my desktop for much any more - it is mainly my Calibre Machine. It is a 10 year old Dell, Windows 7. It is an old and slow machine, but I really don't mind.

I am using Calibre 2.68, and as far as I can tell, it is working perfectly.

I am hesitant to ruin a good thing.... Will installing the newest version of Calibre give me any new abilities? All I really use it for is to... um... run a special plugin, and then send to kindle.

Every time I boot up Calibre, it tempts me with a notification of a new version.

Thanks,
RST

If you need to ask, no, there is no reason. Do it in the other way, check if there is any plugin you want to install or check the new features. If something appeals to you, install. In other case, it is not necessary.

[Tarana]

Just be sure to get a couple of flash drives and back up (twice) your ebooks NOW! Don't wait until you start having problems with your 'puter.

[rosemaryknits]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Just be sure to get a couple of flash drives and back up (twice) your ebooks NOW! Don't wait until you start having problems with your 'puter.

Thanks! I'm backing up to a cloud storage. But, this is always good advice!

With the cloud backup, I can use my kindle fire to read pdf books. I just got an hd 10 inch, and while it isn't the sharpest crayon in the box, it is an excellent pdf reader, and with this size, it is almost the same size as an actual hardback book.

My oh my, how I love openlibrary.org.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by rosemaryknits

Thanks! I'm backing up to a cloud storage.

You might also want to backup your calibre configuration, you can find out where it's at by clicking the Preferences->Miscellaneous->Open calibre configuration directory button.

I know of a couple of calibre users who zip the contents of the folder, and then drop the zip it into their library before they back it up

BR

[rosemaryknits]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

You might also want to backup your calibre configuration, you can find out where it's at by clicking the Preferences->Miscellaneous->Open calibre configuration directory button.

I know of a couple of calibre users who zip the contents of the folder, and then drop the zip it into their library before they back it up

BR

Good advice, thanks!

[haertig]

Originally Posted by rosemaryknits

I don't use my desktop for much any more - it is mainly my Calibre Machine. It is a 10 year old Dell, Windows 7. It is an old and slow machine, but I really don't mind.

If your current version of Calibre works for you and does what you need, you don't need to upgrade. The caveat here is that if you use the server and it is available outside of your LAN, you might want to consider upgrading. There may be some security enhancements that you are missing out on.

On a general note, a 10 year old Dell running Windows 7 will certainly be on the slow side. But a 10 year old Dell running Linux will be much faster. If you want to extend the life of your hardware, you might want to consider learning about and switching to Linux. If your 10 year old Dell is still using its original 10 year old hard disk, make sure you are backing that up religiously and frequently. You're pushing your luck with a drive that old if you don't have good solid backups. You might want to consider replacing your hard drive with something like a 256Gb SATA SSD. Your computer is probably SATA II, not SATA III, but you can still install a SATA III SSD since they are backwards compatible. Sounds like 256G might hold all your stuff per the type of usage you mentioned. You should be able to do this for less than $100, and you would definitely notice a speed improvement. Note that because of Windows restrictions, you probably can't just clone your hard disk to a new SSD and have it boot. You might have to call Microsoft and beg them to re-authorize your computer. Or just switch to Linux and say goodbye to those restrictive licensing schemes Microsoft uses.

With a computer that old, you can probably switch to an SSD, add more memory, and upgrade the CPU to a faster one for about $150. I'm not kidding. Those old CPU's are dirt cheap if you can find a faster one that will fit in your motherboards socket. Memory may be cheap, or expensive - it depends on what type you have installed and if you have any open slots. A SATA interface SSD (and mounting bracket) will be cheap if you keep the storage size small. You'll also need some thermal paste and maybe a new cooler (maybe not). Switching to a lightweight Linux distribution on top of those upgrades will give you a very noticeable speed increase for your old computer. I wouldn't put more than $200 into a project like this, above that point it's better to just buy a new computer.