People frequently ask whether it's worth upgrading a given application. This is especially true with the free network software such as World Wide Web Browsers. New versions frequently have more features. The more feedback developers get from having people use their software, the easier to use and more powerful it becomes.
New versions are generally faster than older versions.
Older programs sometimes stop working on newer computers. As the state of the art grinds forward, older versions of applications will stop working. If you are too many versions behind, it may not be a simple task to catch up your data. It's easier for us at the Computing Center to help you. With several versions of a given application out there, it's sometimes very difficult for us to troubleshoot problems.