Take This Browser and Shove It!

**slgrieb** · April 16th, 2008, 11:51 AM

I just got through sending off an email to Apple telling them just how little I appreciate their current effort to ram Safari down my throat. In case you've missed it, Apple's updater for iTunes and Quicktime also offers their web browser, which of course is selected to install by default.

I'm getting REALLY tired of deselecting this thing every single time Quicktime or iTunes updates are released, on every computer I own. If it weren't for the seemingly endless discovery of new security holes in both these programs, I'd just disable the updater. Frankly, though, I've become pretty certain I can live without iTunes and I plan to check out some of the alternative codecs for playing Quicktime files. Basically, I'm just fed up with vendors who want to push their products on me whether I want them or not. Likewise all the search toolbars and other assorted crapware that I'm offered at every turn. Why should the simple act of installing an update or security patch turn into a sales pitch?

**CeeBee** · April 16th, 2008, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by slgrieb

Why should the simple act of installing an update or security patch turn into a sales pitch?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

**NooNoo** · April 16th, 2008, 02:59 PM

Adobe are equally as guilty...

**3fingersalute** · April 21st, 2008, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by NooNoo

Adobe are equally as guilty...

Yeah, count sun java in on that now too. The other day I noticed Sun Java trying to include Open Office in a friggin update.

Nice, inlcued an entire office suite as part of a "small" software update.

**BOB IROC** · April 21st, 2008, 06:55 PM

It is very annoying that every plug-in you download seems to pressure you into installing some crappy toolbar or other software that you don't want. I know the goal is to make money but there has to be better ways than resorting to "drug-dealer" tactics.

It is especially annoying in a large network environment such as my school districts where plug-ins like Adobe Reader, Java, Quick-Time, Flash, etc.. are essential to the computer and the programs teachers and students run. We manually disable the autoupdates and remove any scheduled tasks they create to look for updates because of this. But it is a pain to make sure they are all updated manually.

Hopefully we can move away from our old version of Ghost and move onto Altiris where we do not have to install the plug-ins on the image and just have to make sure the latest install file for the latest plugin is in a repository with a modified answer file to install it the way we want to. But since many of our computers are only imaged once a year this makes it a pain still.

**houseisland** · April 21st, 2008, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by BOB IROC

It is very annoying that every plug-in you download seems to pressure you into installing some crappy toolbar or other software that you don't want. I know the goal is to make money but there has to be better ways than resorting to "drug-dealer" tactics.

It is especially annoying in a large network environment such as my school districts where plug-ins like Adobe Reader, Java, Quick-Time, Flash, etc.. are essential to the computer and the programs teachers and students run.

I feel your pain. But much of my work is billable-hours-based.

The first Google-add-in-broken Outlook installation, I encountered (.msg attachments won't open and some other MIME related problems) was three billable hours -- took me that long to figure out what and where the problem was -- down in an area of Outlook config I had never had any reason to visit before.

Then there was the Yahoo toolbar update fiasco of a couple years back -- helped finance my holiday to Italy that year.

I am being slightly facetious here. It is all a major PITA.

____________________________________________

It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

**BOB IROC** · April 21st, 2008, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by houseisland

I feel your pain. But much of my work is billable-hours-based.

The first Google-add-in-broken Outlook installation, I encountered (.msg attachments won't open and some other MIME related problems) was three billable hours -- took me that long to figure out what and where the problem was -- down in an area of Outlook config I had never had any reason to visit before.

Then there was the Yahoo toolbar update fiasco of a couple years back -- helped finance my holiday to Italy that year.

I am being slightly facetious here. It is all a major PITA.

____________________________________________

It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

What makes matters worse is some members of my administrative staff insist that they want things like Google Desktop Search and Google/Yahoo toolbars or even worse programs like Weather Bug and WebShots. I try to tell them that they are more trouble than they are worth but the do not listen. I have resorted to using Application Block Settings in our McAfee Anti-Virus Enterprise to block many of the programs like the toolbars, desktop search, weatherbug, and webshots and that helps on our general use computers. I recently had an assistant superintendent complain that every time she opened internet explorer it would crash. Well I disabled her yahoo tool bar and the problem went away. She told me that I need to make it work because she needs it to do her job. I told her that I will try but I cannot make any guarantees. I spend so much time on crap like that and unfortunately I am salary and do not get extra reimbursement for crap like that. Basically pisses me off is what it does.

**NooNoo** · April 26th, 2008, 06:07 AM

I will only install the Google toolbar... the rest can go take a running jump!

**Ferrit** · April 26th, 2008, 08:18 AM

Originally Posted by BOB IROC

What makes matters worse is some members of my administrative staff insist that they want things like Google Desktop Search and Google/Yahoo toolbars or even worse programs like Weather Bug and WebShots. I try to tell them that they are more trouble than they are worth but the do not listen. I have resorted to using Application Block Settings in our McAfee Anti-Virus Enterprise to block many of the programs like the toolbars, desktop search, weatherbug, and webshots and that helps on our general use computers. I recently had an assistant superintendent complain that every time she opened internet explorer it would crash. Well I disabled her yahoo tool bar and the problem went away. She told me that I need to make it work because she needs it to do her job. I told her that I will try but I cannot make any guarantees. I spend so much time on crap like that and unfortunately I am salary and do not get extra reimbursement for crap like that. Basically pisses me off is what it does.

Same problem I have seen a number of times.
Seems that you open Internet Exploder and boom it instantlyl closes.
Remove the toolbar and away goes IE>
Now it makes me wonder what exactly did that.
Was it actually the toolbar corrupting?
Or was it some code gone wrong out there that doesnt like the fact that toolbars close pop-ups?
HMMMMMMMMMM

**slgrieb** · April 27th, 2008, 04:09 PM

Apple has now revised the updater so it no longer pushes Safari, mostly thanks to stopbadware.org. Here's the story.

As often with the Post's blogs and columns this drew a bunch of responses. The Apple Core is out in force defending including Safari's inclusion in the update with Messianic fervor. Some of the posts get pretty acrimonious. Love it!

**Ferrit** · April 27th, 2008, 11:55 PM

Welp that wont be a problem for me I want nothing to do with Apple

**BOB IROC** · April 28th, 2008, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by slgrieb

Apple has now revised the updater so it no longer pushes Safari, mostly thanks to stopbadware.org. Here's the story.

As often with the Post's blogs and columns this drew a bunch of responses. The Apple Core is out in force defending including Safari's inclusion in the update with Messianic fervor. Some of the posts get pretty acrimonious. Love it!

Why can't they just make apple update just update the products you have already installed. Why does it need to prompt you about iTunes if you just have quicktime installed. It is 2008 and I am sure apple can design their software to detect installed products and only prompt to install what is necessary.

**slgrieb** · April 28th, 2008, 10:43 AM

So far, Quicktime Alternative seems to be working OK for me, despite a couple of limitations in the current version

**Ferrit** · April 28th, 2008, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by BOB IROC

Why can't they just make apple update just update the products you have already installed. Why does it need to prompt you about iTunes if you just have quicktime installed. It is 2008 and I am sure apple can design their software to detect installed products and only prompt to install what is necessary.

Apple make something easy> Shirley you jest?