Re: Updates - I've previously stated in a request thread for a task tray icon and a resident program that you could fire up and run for this purpose. You could even conceivably close RW and it could download any updates while you're doing something else at a drip-feed.
I am 100% behind you on the live update thing. Revealing a section of map, or a few snippets and then saying "Ok, those with devices may now update them" is rather ordinary as far as revealing goes. And people constantly asking for you to put up a statement, map, picture or other snippet in the Player View so they can re-read it all the time is tedious and jarring to the flow of the game.
As it is, I get the vibe that the basic functionality of the program needs to be ironclad before they do stuff like this, and stuff like calendars and all those doodads will need to be done before they start polishing it up like this.
Sometimes I wish they could have another round of Kickstarter to fund all this other widget gizmo stuff, because now I'm in a position to hop on board with some cash.
(RealmWorks Pro edition, anyone?)