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78 Comments
- deculture, on 04/08/2009, -3/+43Funny I read this article only a little bit before deciding to install IE8 on this netbook with XP.
IE8, in addition to being significantly larger than the other browser downloads (16MB vs. Firefox's 7MB & Chrome's mentioned half a megabyte), has taken well over 15 mins to install right now. I don't care about download size normally, but I'm on wifi and that's pretty much the only time I use my netbook, I barely ever use it at home as I have a desktop and a regular sized laptop that is heavier.
After I downloaded, ran the installer and agreed to the terms, I now face multiple steps:
1) download MORE updates
2) check my computer for spyware (WTF??????????????)
3) Install the actual program
4) Install the updates it downloaded
5) Restart my netbook
Good god... Firefox's "bad" installer has NOTHING on this pile. - LazyBstrd, on 04/09/2009, -3/+37At least they don't trick people into installing their browser, like Apple.
- MarkusX, on 04/08/2009, -1/+33"one in seven Firefox downloaders does not install the browser."
I often download newer versions to install it later and then forget about it over my work.
Sometimes when I finally get to it, there is already anewer version out so I downoad that new one now to install it.
If that happens I skipped (downloaded but didn't install) the earlier version.
Hey, I'm the one out oof the seven! :-)
PS: I hate silent auto-updaters, I need to be in control of my system at all times. - edgarreyes, on 04/09/2009, -0/+15Google chrome is simple and an excellent example of minimalistic design and function. it's great for netbooks, maximizing real estate for web pages. for those that want a browser they can customize, Firefox is the way to go. i gave up trying to be a badass and customize/hack my PC and programs a years ago, and appreciate products that work.
- inactive, on 04/09/2009, -1/+14IE must be still so tied into Windows for the long process. One of the more evil things MS did, the IE>Windows embedding.
- Pasty745, on 04/08/2009, -2/+15Interesting read, and I like the way that Mozilla responded to this.
- shrapnel09, on 04/09/2009, -0/+12Or they don't have admin privileges.
- stresslife, on 04/08/2009, -4/+15Interesting figures...only goes to show the issue of human difficulties while handling the exponentially-growing amount of information that we are bombarded everyday. If you download something and don't install it, it means something else captured your attention.
- mithrasinvictus, on 04/09/2009, -3/+13Don't forget to turn off the feature where it reports every url you visit to redmond "for safety".
- cyoder, on 04/09/2009, -0/+9If you worked corporate IT, you'd understand why those GPO's are necessary, and far from stupid.
- peestandingup, on 04/09/2009, -1/+9I love Google, but honestly, why the hell do people like Chrome? Is it just Google-tards who like anything they serve up??
I mean, it has no features, no ad blocking, nothing. - mithrasinvictus, on 04/09/2009, -0/+8I suspect it's usually the flash player that hangs.
- shrapnel09, on 04/09/2009, -0/+7If Mozilla changed their installer to provide a .msi file, I think a lot more in the corporate world would be able to deploy the software easily.
For now, here's a way to do it:
http://www.404techsupport.com/2008/12/18/windows-i ... - Azsen, on 04/09/2009, -1/+8The IE8 installer pissed me off no end. I ran the installer, then it hung at trying to download updates. The progress bar was useless, not actually showing the amount completed, just endlessly cycling over and over like the XP startup. Those kind of progress bars are the worst.
- darkane, on 04/09/2009, -1/+7I'm not surprised that 7% of downloaders don't install because of confusion. Seven percent is likely an accurate number for the amount of novice users that got told to use Firefox by Leo Laporte or their geeky family members.
- Elohir, on 04/09/2009, -2/+8or Microsoft. :)
- WibWobble, on 04/09/2009, -0/+6I do that all the time too, with other software as well. E.g. FileZilla prompts to download new versions, but a lot of the time when I use it, I need to use FTP straight away , so the new version gets forgotten about.
- FKnight, on 04/09/2009, -0/+5They understand how business works on the Internet. They simply don't care and will be the first to bitch when their favorite websites go down from lack of ad revenue.
- factsahoy, on 04/09/2009, -8/+13This kind of ***** we should not be applauding:
"Google cleverly installs Chrome in the Application Data folder located inside the user profile"
CLEVERLY? No. I will decide where the goddamned applications go on my computer. Apps belong in an organized area, not scattered willy-nilly throughout the hard drive. This ***** gets worse all the time. Whereas applications used to ask which app group you wanted them in, they now idiotically create groups named after the software vendor, without your permission. Yes, because we all organize our software by publisher. Heaven forbid we might want all of our graphics apps, music apps, or Internet apps in sensible groups.
This crap is offensive not only because it operates without your permission, but also because the assumption is that YOUR TIME IS FREE. It's just fine to make you run around and clean this ***** up after the installation does what it damn well pleases. - maz2331, on 04/09/2009, -0/+5That's just wonderful for those who use roaming profiles. Bloating the profile so it takes even longer to load and unload. Thanks a lot.
- mithrasinvictus, on 04/09/2009, -1/+6Their geeky family members that get to clean out all the worms and trojans the users downloaded with internet explorer.
- moongorf, on 04/09/2009, -0/+5Mozilla is missing the point here, I know a lot of people who download software and don't install it because they think the act of downloading it means that it is installed. Their desktop is littered with icons that comes from software that has never been installed and they don't know how or when they downloaded them, or for that matter what an installer is.
This doesn't surprise me at all, most people that use the internet don't know what a url is or a domain. Mozilla are thinking about this from a techie point of view, not a user point of view. I see people typing in url's constantly into google, they don't know what the address bar is for. A magazine I read lately had to tell it's users where to type in the url because they were getting so many complaints that they couldn't find it on google. - WibWobble, on 04/09/2009, -1/+5Using a computer for the first time... in 2009?
- LazyBstrd, on 04/09/2009, -1/+5Apple's method is a lot shadier though. Automatically highlighting a box to install Safari when updating iTunes?
:) - FKnight, on 04/09/2009, -0/+4balthisar must be one of those people who thinks his company assigned computer belongs to him.
- inactive, on 04/09/2009, -0/+4My cousins in Rural India will be using a computer for the first time when i donate my current machine to them. There are and will be people who will be first time user. There are still over 4+ billion people who have not used computers.
- cyoder, on 04/09/2009, -0/+4I agree. I have to explain to users (over the phone) exactly where I want them to put an address in their browser, and even then, probably 1/3 of the time the user still puts it in into the search field, because they don't know any better. It's not like every employer/school does training on proper internet use, and a lot of these people have just developed habits from teaching themselves at home/work over the years. They found that if they go to Google and type in AIM, they can get to an instant messenger client.
Really, it's understandable; so many people have computers nowadays because "everyone" does, but not all of those people really know how to "use" it. Sponsorships and endorsements (i.e. Java installations bundling MSN Toolbar or OpenOffice and selecting them to install by default) lead to misrepresentation of what the user "needs". Hell, with the last two major releases of Live Messenger, Microsoft selecting ALL of their Live programs to download and install by default. Your average user doesn't know to skip over the things they don't recognize or need; they've got the mentality that it's all supposed to work seamlessly, out of the box. I couldn't count the number of users I've seen with no fewer than three browser toolbars (usually MSN, Yahoo!, and Google) that they never use.
That's why phishing and spoofing schemes are so successful. "I need a flash update? I don't know what that is, but OK. I want to watch this video I received from a friend on Facebook." - darkane, on 04/09/2009, -9/+12It's fast. Not everybody needs add-ons. Also, not everybody blocks ads, just the people that don't understand how business works on the internet.
- Claverhouse, on 04/09/2009, -3/+6I adore Firefox, yet I think that for people incapable of installing a browser, they are better off sticking to IE.
- psicolonia, on 04/09/2009, -0/+3or they think that's it! I mean "download now!". have you ever seen "download now and then install!"??? nope... "find out why millions of people use firefox, download now!" and that's it!!
- widgetmaker, on 04/09/2009, -2/+5It is FAST, booting firefox and using it took a significant amount of time. Tried google chrome and it was ridiculously fast.
On top of that I love where they place the tabs (wide-screen laptop, so vertical space is at a premium) it allowed me to have full sized set of icons (I used icon shrinking apps on FF) for the same amount of top space. And the fact that they don't grow in size when closing lots until you've loved the mouse away.
Those are two example, of the attention to detail aspects that make it lovely and simple to use. Yes I miss ad blocking, but tbh less than I though I would.
No I'm not a 'google tard' I use their search, mail, adwords, analytics and browser. Things like docs are frankly, crap.
Ad-ons are likely to come in the future, but for the time being it's fine without it. - mdscinto, on 04/09/2009, -0/+3Now they just need to fix the problem of Firefox being a resource hog
- cyoder, on 04/09/2009, -0/+3Having open access doesn't necessarily mean you're trusted; more often than not, that's a sign of neglect or carelessness on the company's part. I see lots of users who have been granted local administrator privileges on their PCs because they or their employer insisted on it. That doesn't make them any more competent than those who are restricted (not implying that you're not, but the typical office warrior tends not to be).
No, "some" GPOs are not stupid. If they're in place, it's because the team that maintains the network (read: that knows more than the end users) believes them to be necessary. If a GPO is really believed to be unnecessary, it doesn't have to be put in place. In IT, "better safe than sorry" is pretty much a rule of thumb. - TheBlueVulcan, on 04/09/2009, -0/+3Yes, that changed like the next day. It was a mistake, as it was a copy and pasted version from some other Google app.
- srg13, on 04/09/2009, -0/+3That's probably got more to do with the person who made the installer not knowing what they're doing... And on Unix and Linux, nothing runs as administrator unless it's making changes to the root filesystem (mainly configuration tools and other things you'd not need on Windows).
- Leopards, on 04/09/2009, -0/+2on Ubuntu, even easier! Update manager, click ok and type in password! All done!!
- yaosio, on 04/09/2009, -0/+2I like google because they have an updater that you can't get rid of, even if you uninstall it.
- mt4055, on 04/09/2009, -0/+2and why would they?
- moothemagiccow, on 04/09/2009, -0/+2amen brother
- iamnobody8614, on 04/09/2009, -1/+3Well IE comes with their operating system. How else would we download firefox?
- srg13, on 04/09/2009, -0/+2Anyone else not experienced this? I'm running it on six different computers across three operating systems, and have no idea what you're talking about...
- zeabu, on 04/09/2009, -0/+2wibwobble: people get born, sometimes.
- FKnight, on 04/09/2009, -1/+3Yeah, because when people use Firefox, they suddenly become un-stupid and know not to "Click here to download this exe to view this web page?" when visiting a porn site? I've cleaned my fair share of malware from people's computers that were running Firefox.
- lemur, on 04/09/2009, -1/+3If all those Firefox users were using yum or apt, this wouldn't happen! Of course they'd probably see their download rates go down if they maximize efficiency; what's going to happen to the go who downloaded Firefox, forgot about it, and then went back and downloaded it 6 more times before he remembered to install the darn thing?
- moothemagiccow, on 04/09/2009, -0/+2I downloaded Safari and Chrome (I'm a web designer) and the update programs bug the HELL out of me. I didn't ask for them and I don't want them. I found them just sitting around wasting my CPU in Task Manager
- LANjackal, on 04/09/2009, -1/+3The Chrome installation experience is the best of any of the browsers. It also helps that many corporate IT departments are still clueless about its existence so it's not blocked (unlike Firefox, which often is) at the office.
- NoozeHound, on 04/09/2009, -1/+3It's quick and in one test of mine was the only browser that accurately reported the actual problem I was experiencing that crashed each and every browser. Chrome at least had the decency to report it was a flash error - all the others just went belly-up - well reported there had been an error and they had to close.
- pwr4, on 04/11/2009, -0/+1I hope this doesn't affect Firefox Portable. That's one way Firefox gets market share over IE and Chrome that the article does not mention.
- drex8, on 04/09/2009, -0/+1But what about Google's EULA? It's still pretty controversial. Where it states that it owns all the content submitted through/via Chrome, or something similar like that? Or has it changed?
- MtheoryX, on 04/10/2009, -0/+1Even easier...
CEO: "Hey, low-paid, code monkey, tech grunt... get over here and install this for me."
Just sayin'. -
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