Today's minor gripe: java installer


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    I wound up installing or updating the JRE on about 5 machines this week, and every time I got to click the checkbox to tell it I didn't want the Ask toolbar.  It's been like 16 years, guys, when are you going to learn that you can attach text to a checkbox so that clicking on it counts as clicking on the checkbox?  I guess they don't want to make it easy for me to unclick.



  •  ...and when will people learn that nobody uses ask.com any more either. I wish I had a statistic, but I'll hazard a guess that 90% of browser toolbars are installed unintentionally.



  • And how in the hell did Ask get such a sweet deal? Everyone except Somebody's Little Old Grandma uses Java (not everyone LIKES it) - maybe they're paying Java millions of dollars in a desperate attempt to gain market share? And apparently it's failing, since nobody except Somebody's Little Old Grandma uses Ask... makes you wonder who is funding this campaign, anyway... did Oracle buy out Ask sometime when I wasn't paying attention?



  • @ekolis said:

    And how in the hell did Ask get such a sweet deal?

    Maybe every other toolbar out there has too much dignity to want their brand be associated with Java.

    Yes, including the porn ones.



  • @FrostCat said:

    I wound up installing or updating the JRE on about 5 machines this week, and every time I got to click the checkbox to tell it I didn't want the Ask toolbar.  It's been like 16 years, guys, when are you going to learn that you can attach text to a checkbox so that clicking on it counts as clicking on the checkbox?  I guess they don't want to make it easy for me to unclick.

    If you do a silent install, you don't get the toolbar. Simplest way for current JRE installers is to create a shortcut to the installer executable, then edit the shortcut properties and add /s to the end of the embedded command line.



  • Oh BTW, I just got this yesterday because apparently the IT people at my work when they re-imaged my computer put on the Java auto-updater.

    Even worse than the Ask toolbar thing:

    1) It pops up a UAC dialog with literally ZERO warning-- frankly it scared the shit out of me because I was listening to soft classical on my headphones and I didn't expect the UAC "bloop" at all

    2) While going through the installer process, it steals focus about 4 times. STEALS FOCUS. This is 2012. And it STEALS FOCUS. Jesus fuck.

    There's about 3 applications keeping Java on most computers: LogMeIn, WebEx, Minecraft. Can we work on getting those companies to figure it the fuck out? (Especially Minecraft, since its already ported to fucking XNA-- it runs on Xbox!) Once those are gone, we'll be in our well-deserved Java-free paradise.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    (Especially Minecraft, since its already ported to fucking XNA-- it runs on Xbox!
     

    If someone ports it to C++ it might see anywhere between a 50 and 100% performance bonus, and still run on all three major plaforms. Its java-ness is one of those typical pieces of fundamental cruft that'll never go away.

    But modding it would be hella harder.



  • @FrostCat said:

    I wound up installing or updating the JRE on about 5 machines this week, and every time I got to click the checkbox to tell it I didn't want the Ask toolbar.  It's been like 16 years, guys, when are you going to learn that you can attach text to a checkbox so that clicking on it counts as clicking on the checkbox?  I guess they don't want to make it easy for me to unclick.

    I've wondered exactly the same thing. It's 2013 and these fuckwits really think it's appropriate to have us opt out of this kind of shit. Ask.com must have photos of Larry doing something seriously inappropriate to justify Oracle bundling this shit

    And on a related note to installers stealing focus, what's with Adobe Shitty Acrobat setting system-modal on their install dialogues, even when they're doing the 2%...3%...4%... install phase? What makes you think that the most interesting thing I want to look at on my screen is yet another install of your crap?


  • Considered Harmful

    @skotl said:

    And on a related note to installers stealing focus, what's with Adobe Shitty Acrobat setting system-modal on their install dialogues, even when they're doing the 2%...3%...4%... install phase? What makes you think that the most interesting thing I want to look at on my screen is yet another install of your crap?

    More likely their installer is so fragile that something will break if you try to multitask while it is running.



  • @joe.edwards said:

    @skotl said:
    And on a related note to installers stealing focus, what's with Adobe Shitty Acrobat setting system-modal on their install dialogues, even when they're doing the 2%...3%...4%... install phase? What makes you think that the most interesting thing I want to look at on my screen is yet another install of your crap?

    More likely their installer is so fragile that something will break if you try to multitask while it is running.

    Well, Flash and Java are notorious* for fucking up browsers if they're running during an update*. And what do people* use computers for? You guessed it*. Porn.

    *this is a lie



  • Fyi they stopped doing that (the ask toolbar). Checked again with 1.7.45.

    A LOT of people complained to them, rightfully. How did they think it was acceptable? And i do like my java.



  •  @skotl said:

     

    And on a related note to installers stealing focus, what's with Adobe Shitty Acrobat setting system-modal on their install dialogues, even when they're doing the 2%...3%...4%... install phase? What makes you think that the most interesting thing I want to look at on my screen is yet another install of your crap?

    I switched to FoxIt PDF reader and haven't looked back.  It has a PDF printer, too, so I don't need to manage whatever the old SourceForge one was. 

     



  • Well i was wrong, the java.com download STILL has the fucking toolbar by default! Damn!

    I got confused because i always download the JDK from technetwork and not the basic JRE from java.com (google "jdk 7" or "jdk 8" it goes to http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html), but i tried today.

    Well, who uses java in the browser anyway, not even java diehards like me, removed the plugin ages ago for obvious reasons (0-day everyday). Honestly make an exception to binary compatibility (even though it's a sacred java principle) and just give up on the damn plugin.. java getting bad press because of this, resources best spent anywhere else.

    Oracle java spokeswoman are you listening?  (no, even though you should). Do you realise even the US government advises removing the plugin?? GIVE UP ON THE JAVA PLUGIN! Don't you realise? And don't tell me it was signed in the SUN days, don't give a shit at this point.

    Sorry for venting.. been programming in java since 1.2 (and don't plan on stopping, plenty of great stuff apart from that) so you can see where i'm coming from.. gotta post this somewhere else.


Log in to reply