Hi @cbirdsong,
the update notice was present in every recent version of Duplicate Post, it was not introduced in this version.
It’s always been used to communicate new features, only the administrators can see it and you can close it until the next upgrade.
It also used to ask for donations, which in my opinion is somewhat naggier that giving people a (completely optional) way to stay updated by newsletter.
Why concentrate on a tiny textbox which goes away with just a click, and nothing about how the plugin works, and if the recent improvements have been useful?