When the Mountain Lion operating system (OS) came out, I was really surprised by how many Mac users downloaded it right off the bat. Apple reported 3 million downloads in the first four days of its release! Maybe I’m still stuck in my PC-using days, but there’s never been anything about a new OS that made me do the “I want it, gotta have it, let’s go get it” dance. Plus, a new OS can be a bit tricky since not everything is optimized for it at the time of release.

Sure enough, there were changes to Mountain Lion that made even Dashlane stumble, despite our efforts to make the two play nice. (Luckily, we quickly got it up and running again.) But, a comment by one of our Board of User members, Brian, who was also surprised by all the early-OS- adopting, got me thinking about the old saying, “It pays to wait.”

Sometimes, it surely does. While Brian is the kind of person who likes to be on the bleeding edge of new technology, he recommends waiting a month after the release of a new OS before jumping on the bandwagon. “That way, all the major kinks are worked out and you know what kind of surprises you’re in for.” After listening to his story about how one of his coworkers upgraded his PC to the latest Windows version–which caused said coworker lose compatibility with a program that they use daily–I’m convinced that a month is worth the wait.

But there are certain products that depend on people taking a leap of faith right off the bat–Dashlane being one of them. Brian, who’s an early adopter of Dashlane and several other software, says that there a lot of benefits to adopting early, like access to new releases. “It’s worth it to get new releases, test them, and play a bigger part in developing the product. It adds to the fun and sense of community. But, one of the pitfalls is that I often get used to living with bugs. Bugs become the norm, and you come to expect them when–as with a seasoned product–you shouldn’t.”

So, where do you draw the line? When do you adopt early and when do you wait? I did a little office/Dashlane user poll to see what others thought, and here’s what we came up with:

When to adopt early:

• New apps that sound promising and require little risk or expense to try out
• Pets, since our very own Rudy is an adopted pup
• New mobile phone plans — sometimes the promotion is as good as it sounds

When it pays to wait:

• Devices like computers, phones, tablets, e-readers, etc. There’s always a newer one around the corner, which makes it worth the wait
• New operating systems
• New software packages, like the new Office Suite
• Cars, which sometimes get recalled
• New technologies that require a lot to gain traction, like 3D TVs — not everyone is on that bandwagon and it’s more expensive initially

Do you have any examples where it pays to adopt early? Or, do you have a story about a product that you wish you’d waited before getting? Let’s hear your stories :)

Also, if you would like to join our Board of Users and play a bigger part in the development of Dashlane, please email community@dashlane.com.