EGeezer
Go Bobcats
Premium
join:2002-08-04
Country!
 ·Callcentric
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·AT&T CallVantage
| reply to fishmaster
Re: The tendency of (pre-checked) toolbars
Google "enhanced user experience" and see the marketing crap spewed. I think if they can't articulate their product's advantages or don't want you to know the particulars, they resort to this buzz-phrase.
When I see vendor blurbs touting "enhanced user/computing/online experience", I get a feeling like I'm being gagged with a spoon while my pocket is being picked and a screaming warehouse salesman is plugging six rooms of furniture for $179.
--
Mayors of New York come from nowhere and go nowhere.
Wallace Sayre |
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sailor
Merry Whatever ..R.I.P. dadkins
Premium
join:2003-10-21
Long Island
|  reply to Name Game
I hate things like that which are already checked off by default..I, for one, am not very computer savvy but I know to watch for them but what about the thousands of people everyday being brand new to using a computer and the internet.
Like how many read their entire new vehicle owners manual. Not everyone does..Imagine seeing the gas gauge move towards empty and you pull into your regular gas station which is a Shell for your very first fill up in your brand spanking new car only to find when you lift the gas cap lid there is a cover over where the gas pump nozzle goes and this cover blocks you from putting the gas pump nozzle in and a little tag says:
"Oops, sorry, only Exxon Mobil brand gasoline allowed in this vehicle"
**** Please refer to owners manual on how to allow other brands of gas into your vehicle. |
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AB
Premium
join:2006-04-04
Leesburg, VA
| reply to NanDog
said by NanDog  :. . it just seems to be a slimeball marketing tactic which hopes to snare the unwary! Slimeball marketing tactics designed to snare the unwary are how goods and services are purveyed in this country-- throughout many parts of the world, for that matter.
If Anheuser-Busch told you their beer had the identical smooth, savory tang to it as the urine of an aged camel, they probably wouldn't sell as much beer. 
Probably.
said by fishmaster :. . These "tool bars" are designed to 'enhance the customers computing & online experiences' How, you may ask? This software 'enhances' computing experience by 'enhancing' the CPU cycles, memory usage & not limited to the 'enhancement of browser settings, security settings and possible file settings and/or permissions. This software also 'enhances' the online experiences by, but not limited to, 'enhances' the collection of profiling/personal data for the copier/designer of that 'tool bar', 3rd parties & affiliates. In turn this 'enhances' the revenue of those 3rd parties and affiliates by the delivering of 'enhanced personable ads' to 'excite' the users experiences at the 'enhanced' expense of the user by creating 'enhanced' bandwidth, memory & CPU usage. . . . . . My 'Enhanced' thought/explanation of these kinds of crapware. Thank you for enhancing my user experience knowledge through your enhanced user experiences with their user experience enhancing software.
I now have a plan of attack-- enhance, remove, repeat.
. . Or maybe that's their plan.
At any rate, something gets enhanced somewhere, and that must be a good thing.
At least it sounds like a good thing, and that's important all by itself.
I also get e-mails letting me know about enhancement opportunities. Not for software, though-- I think 'hardware' is more what they have in mind.
Then I can get out of the pool whistling, or something.
What's not to like about that?  |
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NanDog
The Pup Was Female, I'M Not
Premium
join:2003-12-28
Tacoma, WA
 ·Rainier Connect fr..
| said by AB :said by NanDog :. . it just seems to be a slimeball marketing tactic which hopes to snare the unwary! Slimeball marketing tactics designed to snare the unwary are how goods and services are purveyed in this country-- throughout many parts of the world, for that matter. Sadly, you're correct! 
--
See ya across the Rainbow Bridge, my good and faithful friend! |
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AB
Premium
join:2006-04-04
Leesburg, VA
| said by NanDog :said by AB :Slimeball marketing tactics designed to snare the unwary are how goods and services are purveyed in this country-- throughout many parts of the world, for that matter. Sadly, you're correct! We could probably toss politicians marketing themselves in there, too.
Don't forget to vote!  |
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NanDog
The Pup Was Female, I'M Not
Premium
join:2003-12-28
Tacoma, WA
·Rainier Connect fr..
| Sure wish I had other choices than politicians!
--
See ya across the Rainbow Bridge, my good and faithful friend! |
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Caution
@verizon.net
| reply to Name Game
Ok I am totally against toolbars, in fact, would junk a computer before using a toolbar on it.
One thing I do find strange. the open source community is making millions of dollars by bundling google toolbar with Firefox but I have yet to see or hear even one person complain of the bundling the toolbar with Firefox.
I refuse to use Firefox because of the toolbar issue .
But any Firefox Users who post in this Topic against Toolbars, well ?
And of course Internet Explore has it's "search pages'. Which could be consider a form of Toolbar in some respect. An I do use it. Guess its time to junk the computer.
ok, so its a slow night. Gotta cut me a little slack on this post. |
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Caution
@rr.com
| said by Caution :
I refuse to use Firefox because of the toolbar issue . Oh, FireFlox users all know it is bloat ware. Funny how everybody likes to complain about the problems that other people are having. Use Opera, it is not bloated, and all of it's extra features are configurable and can be turned off if you so desire, and it has no search engine affiliates, so you are forced to go to Google dot commm to do yer searches  . |
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Caution real one
@verizon.net | reply to Name Game
Caution Wannabe
Ok so you took my handle but no big deal cause I am actually a member here just to lazy to login right now.
Have fun but remember each person has their own style of writing. |
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Caution Original
@rr.com
| said by Caution real one :
...remember each person has their own style of writing.
Why is that something that needs to be remembered ? Why did you feel it important to point out that you are actually registered ? Do you think anybody gives a shit ? |
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Caution real one
@rr.com
| said by Caution Original :
Do you think anybody gives a shit ?
Actually being a registarded member is very, very, very important to a lot of people. I am ashamed of my points of view, and have chosen to remain anonymous because of what all these strangers are going to think about me !
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momus_98
join:2002-09-10
Pflugerville, TX
| reply to Name Game
Personally, I feel that most pre-checked boxes on web forms, install apps, and other things should always be opt-in, not opt-out.
In other words, the user shouldn't have to go through the hassle of unchecking certain, craftily hidden boxes. For example, during the install of Real Player, it says in very big, bold letters "MAKE REAL PLAYER THE DEFAULT PLAYER FOR EVERYTHING" and in tiny print there's a box marked "Let me choose file associations".
Or Quicktime's highly annoying insistence on bundling iTunes with a Quicktime update or patch. I don't even own (and will never buy) an iPod or related device and I do not want or need iTunes. It's especially egregious when it's bundled with a critical security patch. To me, security patches are holy and should be offered up separately. Bundling during a patch install is a sin.
I observed some friends install software and most people tend to just blast through the process. They click "OK", "Yes", "Sure", "Whatever" to every dialog box that comes along...and then wonder why they suddenly have five toolbars taking up most of the browser window.
Bundling may not be malicious and I find the Google toolbar to be quite useful, but let me choose to install that software separately. Any other manner is just sneaky.
--
"War does not determine who is right; only who is left." - Bertrand Russell
"Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their
country." - Bertrand Russell |
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AB
Premium
join:2006-04-04
Leesburg, VA
| said by momus_98 :. . I observed some friends install software and most people tend to just blast through the process. They click "OK", "Yes", "Sure", "Whatever" to every dialog box that comes along...and then wonder why they suddenly have five toolbars taking up most of the browser window. This is news?
The same people who who click "OK", "Yes", "Sure", "Whatever" to every dialogue box that comes along all the time-- regardless of what they're doing.
Because if clicking a couple of "OK" pop-ups or downloading a 'new codec' is what they need to do to watch that pr0n video, then that's what they're going to do. And little need to examine more closely or think first, eh?
I wonder why the 'MonaRonaDona' thread here currently has in excess of 39,000 views? Maybe because the pop-up must either be telling a true fact, or it simply needs to be clicked out of the way.
That and a little good old-fashioned social engineering, anyway.
And I'm bundling my post with a request to everybody to donate blood if you can, and don't forget to have those pets spayed or neutered.
The reading of this post constitutes your agreement.
Thank you. |
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Chuckles
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN
| reply to hayc59
said by hayc59 :Money is the root of all 'evil' ... I think it's "The love of money..."
--
kustomerservice.net |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| reply to Name Game
Yep. Damned pre checked tolbars and unwanted software... |
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Grail Knight
Who Dares Wins
Premium
join:2003-05-31
·Verizon Online DSL
1 edit | reply to Name Game
Winamp |
Three prechecked items.
Edit* Changed as to add |
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dave
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to AB
said by AB :Slimeball marketing tactics designed to snare the unwary are how goods and services are purveyed in this country-- throughout many parts of the world, for that matter. It's even got a name now.
»www.npr.org/templates/story/stor···17898418 |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| reply to dadkins
You'd have to be stupid to install Firefox from Real Player. I have never seen Fx want to install Google Toolbar. But then I use Fx 1.5 from long ago on my main machine and on this guest machine I am using Fx 2.0 beta 1. On my other guest machine, I have Fx 3 beta 2 and no Google toolbar was pushed in my face. I put beta 4 on briefly and no Google toolbar was offered. I had something much worse happen. On the Firefox 1.5 install, on the guest machine that also has Fx 3 beta2, I had Mozilla force an upgrade. I was furious. I had the box unchecked but Mozilla forced it anyway. THAT is the sort of thing that makes me extremely angry. Not the stupid toolbars that I can decline.
I saw Sun Java wanting to install a toolbar. I no longer upgrade Sun Java and I have it on only one guest machine and use it for speed tests only. If my ISP used some other type of speed test, Sun Java would be gone from my computers. One reason I don't use Flash Player is because it wants to install a toolbar. I don't trust any software that wants to install toolbars even if I can uncheck the box. Who knows what that software is doing behind my back? Same with Fx.
--
"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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Name Game
Premium
join:2002-07-07
North Myrtle Beach, SC
| java.com mainly serves the consumers. The java installer from java.com includes optional component (google toolbar).
java.sun.com mainly serves the developers or ISVs. The developers and ISVs are not required to redistribute google toolbar with their applications.
the difference is..downloads:
The file from Java.net was named:
jre-6u5-windows-i586-p-s.exe (MD5: a53f78098e4991ff79fe808408dd3968)
the -s contains the .mst files that have the google tool bar stuff in it..
The file from Sun.com was named:
jre-6u5-windows-i586-p.exe (MD5: 8bd61406f2a4745230459f8dfb83a552)
it has no -s and has no .mst file.
--
Gladiator Security Forum »www.gladiator-antivirus.com/ Missing Kids »www.missingkids.com/ |
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Thug21
Just Chillin'
Premium
join:2005-08-21 | Thank you for explaining that. I was wondering where the heck this googlebar was (I'd never seen it) but now I understand why - I always use java.sun.com.
Instinct! |
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