A message to application programmers

[steer]

Your program is not the most important program in the world. It's not the most important program on my computer. It's probably not even in my top 10. Maybe at best I run it once a month. More likely I ran it once because I needed something to do that task and I'll get round to uninstalling it in due course. Please therefore

Comments

[_pyromancer_]

Seconded!

People who design / order the design of software like that should be forced to have to close a dozen applications before they are allowed to eat any meal. That would soon sort things out!

[steer]

*laugh* Or forced to have 12 toolbars on their browser.

[mjl]

I agree with pretty much all of that, but I'm not sure your target is right, in many cases. It's not going to be the programmers that want all that stuff, it's the marketers. They do not want you to just run the program once, or even once a month. They want you to use it instead of other programs or services that can do something similar. They want you to use it when you were just looking for something to do. Almost nobody pays anything significant for software, so they need to get that fraction of a penny from almost everybody instead.

Many people don't know how to launch a program if there isn't a desktop shortcut. Many people don't know there is a minimise button. And, at least in the case of internet-related software (which is most of it these days), pretty much every update is a security update. If you look at the counts from Secunia, most people should be installing dozens of updates each month.

[steer]

It's not going to be the programmers that want all that stuff, it's the marketers. They do not want you to just run the program once, or even once a month. They want you to use it instead of other programs or services that can do something similar

You're probably right with some of these -- though often I'm thinking of relatively small programs which are likely just 1-2 coders yet which take up inordinate amounts of time updating, and putting junk all over the computer. I realise it's all about the money so their revenue stream is pretty much "irritate your user" (with toolbars, adverts and suchlike... for a few months it seemed like every third program I installed also wanted me to install a helpful monkey sidekick).

Many people don't know there is a minimise button.

For users who don't know there's a "minimize" button that's even more reason not to deviate from the default behaviour. These are the users most likely to be surprised that skype is still running, think they've hung up and not done so.

in the case of internet-

[mjl]

"it's the 20 separate update mechanisms I mind

[steer]

Well, VLC has 9 advisories on Secunia's site in 2011.

Christ on a crutch. I stand corrected on this one then. Thanks. Application programmers stop writing code with massive security holes. :-) (OK, that's more difficult.) Weirdly utorrent and tortoisesvn (which also both pester me a lot) I was giving the benefit of the doubt to (well, complex interaction with many other users -- probably lots of security holes) seem to have relatively few security updates (if I'm searching right). Get yourselves together vlc.

If Reader just displayed documents rather than aiming to be an application platform in itself, including media player and script engine and whatever else, it might have less security issues. The latest version of Reader doesn't bundle the Flash plugin any more, at least...

It's getting better -- but god it has a lot of better to get.

[andrewducker]

Totally with you on this.

I do wish that Microsoft had a "silent update" process that you could opt in to on a per-application basis.

[steer]

Exactly this. I am spoiled by modern linux upgrade processes which involve a single "OK" which does the update for every program being upgraded (my computer is upgrading several as we speak).

[andrewducker]

Same with Android (and I assume iPhone). And I believe that Windows 8's Metro apps will do likewise.

I presume that general Windows apps are seen as being too chaotic and likely to be doing crazy things to be easily updated. But there's no reason why an installer service couldn't function in a limited way for apps that wanted to use it.

[steer]

Yes... though some of by android apps obstinately stick at the "upgrade required" even if auto-upgrade is on (I think this is when the app wants you to use wifi for a major upgrade but I'm not sure). It's much more smooth though than the windows system which can be many clicks, selections and changes.

[thecesspit]

I can turn back on the default behaviour for Skype "close"? Cool, I shall try that, cos it bugs the hell out of me. I use it often, but when it's done it should be DONE.

[steer]

You used to be able to. Damn... looking around it seems like you cannot any more. Maddening.

[steer]

Looking online it used to be a setting in "Options->Advanced" but is gone in my version.

A message to users

[anonymous]

Please uninstall my app. It's designed for the 95% of users who are not like you. I'm not changing its behaviour to please the 5%. Here's a refund. Users who think the universe revolves around them are always more trouble than they're worth.

Re: A message to users

[steer]

Heh... would take that more seriously if you actually provided a refund. I'm paying for some of these apps. Indeed some of the worst behaving ones I'm paying for.

Incidentally, it seems the 95% of users who aren't like me are not posting here for some reason... the 5% who agree seem to agree though.

Re: A message to users

[shermarama]

Having read through the rest of the comments, I think you may be overestimating the technological competence of some users, and may also be working to an out-of-date idea of their incompetence style, but, I think you're right that there's a lot more people bothered by this than just 5%. The trick is that it's not quite enough bother to be worth doing anything about, and so it's just a background annoyance that many people are aware of but put up with, because that's easier than the alternatives.

Re: A message to users

[steer]

I've dealt with some users pretty low on the competence scale. My prize story is the email "Richard, the right hand side of my email is missing". I found this baffling. Turns out that the guy had, after many years of using the computer, accidentally dragged a window off the side of the screen and could not read the right hand side. He didn't know you could drag windows. Once he had dragged the window he didn't know you could drag it back