SecondAgenda : I don't usually drink… but when I do, I make crazy things.

Stupid by design

Category : internet + programming + software + stupid

Until now, installing browser plugins (not to be confused with extensions or add-ons) was pretty straight forward. In the past they would automatically install for you under IE after you’ve followed the wrong link, then later you would find a dozen new toolbars you never asked for or needed. Luckily, other browsers didn’t open themselves up for such easy exploitation and plugin vendors instructed you to download an installer so you could install the plugin manually. While this sounds so excruciatingly painful to do for some (downloading, buttons and simple instructions! oh no!) it was far less risky providing you vaguely knew what you were downloading and installing.

Now, I’m usually not one to harshly criticize how a browser plugin should be installed… but what I’m about to explain seems downright stupid by both logic and design. If you understand how plugins differ from addons or extensions or how any of them work, then this will either entertain, scare or disgust you.

If you’ve ever installed Flash player for Firefox on Windows in the past, then you should vaguely remember having to download an executable which carries out the installation process for all non-IE (Firefox, Opera, Chrome, etc.) browsers. This was great. In a “one package, several browser installed” method since the installer did a fantastic job of covering all the bases. Above all it was simple, completely noninvasive and required little interaction from start to finish. Download installer, Launch, close browsers, install, restart browser. Done.

When you go to install or update Flash player within Firefox now, you no longer get this option. You’re presented with the familiar “Agree and install now” button within familiar Adobe confines. But instead of receiving trusty executable, you’re instead asked to install an “Adobe DLM” XPI package. WTF, right? So I ran a quick search for “WTF is this crap!?” and the first result among a host of links to related problems with the DLM confirmed what I was already suspecting.

Since I’ve pretty much had it with every download manager ever conceived (which now seems to be some kind of idiot gold standard for any company offering more than a single plugin or application) I wanted nothing to do with it, and Adobe is granted no exception. But rather than sticking to a proven process of installing a browser plugin, some genius at Adobe instead decided it might be somehow more convenient to make the process more abstract and far more convoluted than it needs to be. Which is great if you consider performing a do-it-yourself lobotomy using nothing more than a Russian Matryoshka doll appealing.

<Insert Xibit “Yo Dawg, I heard you like updated plugins…” image here>

To break it down further, when asked to install the “Adobe DLM” you’re 1) downloading and installing a Firefox Add-on which 2) needs to run an installer in order to 3) install a plugin which 4) also installs a download manager with 5) other useless junk you probably don’t need in the shape of 6) an Add-on which is 7) probably not an add-on. And I’m inclined to believe that 8) whatever is installed will probably not be easy to uninstall as far as the Firefox add-ons and plugin list is concerned.

How could someone at Adobe possibly fuck up something as trivial and straight-forward which was the Flash player plugin installation? But what I don’t even remotely understand is how this is in any way better than what we had before. The answer you’re looking for is: It’s not better.

R.I.P. Flash.

Update: It now appears that an option to download the trusty installer is now an option once again, hooray! Even though I still find the DLM add-on quite stupid in itself, it’s good to know that you don’t have to use it… at least as far as installing Flash player is concerned…

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