Always give your user the choice

I hate to pick on individual applications for examples of bad UI practices. I especially hate to pick on an application that I really like. But, sometimes these things can't be avoided.

If you have a Mac, and use Google Reader, then there is a great little application called Google Reader Notifier. It works with Growl, a notification system for Mac OS X, to notify you when there are new unread items in your reading list.

I love this program, except for one thing. It periodically checks for an updated version, and when there is an update available, it lets you know via a message dialog. Unfortunately, it makes the assumption that you want to download the new version right now, and the only available button in this message dialog is "Thanks". So polite.
This is not usually a good idea. It's always good to download the latest version of an application, but it might not be convenient for the user at this moment. Most applications that perform update checking give the option of installing it now or waiting until another time. Later on, you would get another reminder of the new version.

Let me reiterate - my intention is not to rip on Google Reader Notifier. As I said, I love it and use it daily. But every application can use some polishing here and there. This is one such area for this app.

So, when developing your applications, please remember - always give your user the choice!