Annoying software: a rogues' gallery

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

I've had experience with all of these except the apple itunes software. So therefore I can add one of my own: HP printer management software. Of the biggest, slowest, buggiest applications I have run across in quite awhile. Tries to update even when you tell it NEVER update, constantly pops up a reminder to align my recently installed ink cartridge everytime the printer is turned on (did the alignment many times but the stupid pop-up must think I'm lying!). My print spooler often stalls and the print queue will not flush no matter what. This usually requires me to shut off the print then stop and restart the Print Spooler service. I keep threatening to uninstall it...but...

They're dead on about the Apple thing. After about 18 times of telling Quicktime that I really didn't want Safari, just the update, I finally just uninstalled it and am doing my best to get by without Quicktime (VLC plays most of the quicktime files, and I've given up on some of the streaming).

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Dead And Alive

Someone on Slashdot was also unhappy with HP printer software, noting that it hogged 10% of the CPU even when no printing was going on.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Me: Do you know what a rogue's gallery is?
My brother: A gallery full of paintings done by that girl from X-Men.

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"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

I don't know - I've seen some good examples of Flash based web design. I blame the designer, not the tool in those other cases.

CJSF

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Two years ago moved from my town
I was looking up past the city lights
But the city lights got in my way

See the constellation ride across the sky
No cigar, no lady on his arm
Just a guy made of dots and lines

-from "See The Constellation"
by They Might Be Giants

I just got a new laptop.

It's full of adware for products I don't need...

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Fields of Space

LOGIC, n.
The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding.

In the Year 2525.

"One small step for (a) man. One giant leap for mankind".

If an astronaut doesn't need good grammar, niether does you.

Host of Seraphim

Sarcasm is an art-form.

Me like...

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Just about any site that requires a laundry list of scripts (mostly miners, etc.) to run. Their nosiness will eventually put them out of business.

Flash is close to completely useless, except for those who value appearance over content. Sometimes the only way I can get the info I want is thru the use of various screen grab applets.

Big vote of support for the article's comments re Windows updater, Apple Ipod bundled with QuckTime, Yahoo anything (IM ignores most configuration commands, dropped the portal a long time ago due to changes I didn't need or want), and Norton AV, which tends to act like a virus.

Real Alternative is what I use for .rm, etc., files. To heck with the RealPlayer monopoly attempts (looking at you, NASA)

And want the install process shut down immediately? Ask me to disable my firewall while on the net.

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Ditto. Bought my g/f a laptop (okay, so I just paid the 10% she couldn't put on her CCard) on Sunday. First thing I did was go through Add/Remove programs and get rid of as much of that crap as I could. Unfortunately, Windows Vista didn't have an "Uninstall Myself" feature. Oh well, it works for what she needs it for.

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.

That being a UK site, I assume they're talking about these microlights, but I could be wrong. Surely, these microlights couldn't be compared to heroin, right?

I'd second the nomination for Real Alternative - I haven't touched any Real products in years and can only imagine how much worse it has gotten.

You can also replace Quicktime with the Quicktime Alternative codec pack.

Both of those are available at http://free-codecs.com.

As far as Yahoo goes the only product they've got that isn't 100% worthless is their IM program, and I'm only giving that credit because other people I know use it. Better to go with a multi-IM program like Trillian or Pidgin though so you can avoid Yahoo's interface entirely, as well as being able to chat on AIM, ICQ, MSN, etc, at the same time.

It is possible to disable Windows Update too (basically the first thing I do when I install an OS), and you can remove Windows Vista, although it's a bit more of a pain in the *** than a regular reinstall since you have to disable the HD and install the drivers for your hard drive from a floppy.

Once I installed Real Video years ago, and found it was full of adware and spyware. After I removed it (which wasn't trivial), there was no way I was ever going to trust that company again. I avoid Yahoo stuff, have XP on manual update, and use Foxit PDF reader. Unfortunately I did get a recent HP printer, and like Veeger, I found that the printer software is insanely huge, bloated, and slow, with annoying update requests. Now I'm going back to my old laserjet. It doesn't have some of the features of the new printer, but it works so much better.

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Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

No mention of Windows??? As a professional Helpdesk person I would mention the prevalence of programs (including Windows itself) that snatch the focus from you because some nerd in a back room has decided you really need to know your print job has actually printed.

There you are, typing away your innermost thoughts of genius & you look back at the screen to find some idiotic dialog box telling you some inane message you weren't really interested in in the first place.

Even though there IS a function that allows the presentation of a Window that doesn't take the focus...

Still, Windows programmers do a reasonable job considering they are designing human-friendly programs - and most of them have never actually met a human!

(& that's even though I fully acknowledge that if Windows worked properly I wouldn't have had a job for the last 20 years)

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Only glaring omission (thankfully) that I know of is AIM. It installs god knows how much adware, and attaches itself to Outlook Express like a lamprey, making it even slower to start. It launches pop up flash banner advertisements conveniently over what you were doing. When you uninstall it, it's start script is still attached to Outlook, and produces wonderful error messages.

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http://amssolarempire.blogspot.com

Number 3.

You probably just assumed it would be number one or two, right?

Flash can be cool if used sparingly, like in a multimedia section of a text based site. The review´s been a little unfair to it. Now, Acrobat Reader is the devil in drag.

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Yeah, but I refrain from doing so on the laptop because chances are the company (It's a Gateway I think...she picked it out, I'm just the financer apparently) probably doesn't have XP drivers for it.

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.