Hi, Jim welcome to the forum yes it's worth using it, the Members have done excellent job of keeping the Shield updated please make sure you updated to
Firmware Version v1.51
http://itus.accessinnov.com/Upgrade-to-1-51SP1-td10.htmlI love to use the Easy guide to updating your Shield from 1.51 SP1 to the latest Hotfixes etc. it will get you up to v8.3.1 were at 8.3.3 v I know Roadrunnere42 working on an upgrade version 8.3.5
http://itus.accessinnov.com/Easy-guide-to-updating-your-Shield-from-1-51-SP1-to-the-latest-Hotfixes-etc-td1037.htmlI believe user8446 and Roadrunnere42 are working on an easier way to update to the Shield