mike said:
But then I suspect the original post, like so many of the sort, is just a
troll, intended to make mischief, cause dissent and division, use up
bandwidth, and generally get in the way.
And here I am joining in - that's only because I always have to assume a
post of this sort is genuine until I know better
I agree completely with the original poster. Totally.
I don't care for _rigid_ over-zealous enforcement of "freeware-only,"
especially when we need a solution for a big problem caused by someone's
irresponsibly-crafted free program. Note that I said "_over_-zealous.
I'll make this distinction: this forum is for freeware topics only. But
when a person needs help extricating himself from a system that's been
damaged by a free program, restoration techniques are acceptable,
including when a commercial program is required to set things right.
Freeware is, indeed, the common link in this case -- it's what caused
the damage.
To do otherwise is like having a New Orleans Flood forum in which trolls
attack participants for offering meaningful help rather than sticking to
the topic of how the place was flooded.
The last time that I brought this up, someone accused me of promoting
payware -- which I never did. It would be nice if some self-righteous
people would read and reflect before blasting their artillary (and,
yes, someone will attack this message, too: I can smell the blasting
powder already). In fact, I take pleasure in discovering good
independent software -- some really good useful stuff is free. But some
freeware is rickety, even downright dangerous to a well-balanced system.
I gave a good, extensive writeup about my logic earlier and I won't do
it again -- it's not my job to "defend" myself against attacks. Of
course, some payware is irresponsibly crafted, too; sometimes the entire
business model of a software company is reckless (including one company
whose free product comes up here again and again and again. That's
besides the point, though.
You have not lived until you've searched your registry for keys left by
one program, links under four different names, including "pinkandaint"
(Pink and Ain't, get it? A private joke stuck in your own registry, get
it?). Using an install-tracking program could help a lot in a case like
this, but hey: guess what? Total Uninstaller is now payware!
Some people may just want to lurk and cherry-pick in the freeware
orchard where others have done the heavy test lifting for them. Or
casually suggest a program in a one-line reply. For those who do
rigorous testing, though, the task can be arduous and difficult. A test
report here can be the result of a great amount of work, sometimes at
the risk of system compromise.
My computer is pretty messed up right now from testing freeware; I and
my installation are worn out. Not to implicate freeware alone: I want to
rid one of my "new" machines of Norton Antivirus; its tentacles are
installed so deeply that I'm going to do what some professionals do:
wipe my HD and reinstall everything along with a new OS. I'm taking a
vacation from testing -- I'll lurk more. Testing can be rigorous and
very time consuming if you do it right. I'm out of time.
From time-to-time, the only solution to a freeware-caused system
problem will be a commercial product. Hopefully, it'll be nice and
cheap. Like everything here, this is not cast in stone -- the entire
situation is in a constant state of change. I applaud Luigi for taking a
wise, mature approach to this important issue.
Richard
