I don't see the issue... First of all, Yahoo's toolbar offers access to Yahoo services... that's it. There's no advertising involved. I also fail to see the comparison between RealPlayer, which from its inception has been written to make removal difficult and the in-your-face "GIVE US MONEY" attitude obvious, and Flash/Shockwave, which from the very beginning have been offered for FREE with no roadblocks to removal and no advertising attached either.
Put the shockwave installer on your site and link your clients there. Second, the installer in question pops up with a clearly defined message, and an incredibly obvious and easy opt-out. Besides that, the Yahoo toolbar and the Google toolbar are pretty beneficial tools, they're very easy to remove from the display. They don't (afaik) offer any spyware features, but do offer more convenient access to the tools provided by both Google and Yahoo. (OK, so Google's model has always been a bit spyware-ish, but at least their products are elegant and their stuff works, doesn't break browsers, or corrupt operating systems.) Consider this: The IE Yahoo toolbar is little, yea *very* little, different than the Google search built-in that's *part* of the Mozilla install, with the exception that it gives access to groups, email, etc. Considering that I would under most circumstances encourage the use of Yahoo services (where appropriate, anyway), I just don't see the problem. What I don't get is this perpetual the-sky-is-falling attitude toward Macromedia that I see so often. I get tired of constantly hearing "Oh, Macromedia did this wrong, oh Macromedia did that wrong..." From anything I've seen MM does a fab job of weighing the benefits and the costs of any given feature for any given product. If it's that bad, go write a BlueDragon of your own. Even the "positive" reviews I see are always closed with "It's a really nice product, BUT..." If it's that important, instead of saying "This didn't make it in and that's so unfortunate" start publicizing the URL for requesting features. They've got feature-add and bug-report sites for a reason, and if everyone used them to actually give INPUT to the process, these features that are constantly whined about would make it into the analysis process with, at the very least, better demographic representation. Better support for the process = less complaining and whining... I think that's a good thing. Here's that URL: http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/ Anyway, sorry if that got preachy... it's a pet peeve. It's also my opinion, so take it for what it is. Remember, it's free and ya get what ya pay for. YMMV. Disclaimer and legal BS: This message may cause drowsiness and should not be read while operating heavy machinery. Keep away from small children, heat or open flame, and pets. Due to a high incidence of code rage, avoid prolonged exposure to and use caution when driving motor vehicles after reading this message. If you choose not to accept this message, you will self-destruct in 30 seconds. Not guaranteed as fit for any particular purpose, and no liability will be accepted by the producers for any incidental mental illness or drooling as a result of exposure to its contents. This message may cause cancer, birth defects, alchoholism, drug addiction, madness, social ineptitude, and/or yawning. Some of the more common side effects of reading this message are: dizzyness, agitation, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, ulcers, infections, viral plagues, flesh-eating lizards from Mars, boils, acne, distemper, seeing dead people, bizarre behavioral alterations, psychosis, coma, compulsive bicycle riding, and a permanent dislike of liver and onions. Read at your own risk. Laterz! J On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 16:48:46 -0500, Calvin Ward <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I still feel it is an area for potential concern. > > It is true that it is only offered to Windows/IE users, so far. > > One of my many concerns is that users will be prompted to go to that page to > download Flash based on a site's recommendation, and will inadvertently > download the bundled version, and will be upset that you replaced their > homepage and added some strange bar to their computer just so they could see > your site content. > > - Calvin -- Continuum Media Group LLC Burnsville, MN 55337 http://www.web-relevant.com http://cfobjective.neo.servequake.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:197577 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
