QOTD : Bias Towards Installers?

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Socoder -> Question of the Day -> QOTD : Bias Towards Installers?
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 09:22
Jayenkai	I just spotted an interesting game online, that looked vaguely interesting, and promised Time Travel based gameplay. "Oooh!" says I, Mr TimeTravelGameAddict Stream I clicked the download link, and up popped "Do you want to download StreamInstaller.exe"? .. I clicked no. Are you as similarly biased, or am I just being a dick? -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 10:29
HoboBen	If it's something that I'm going to run frequently, I like installers. I wish notepad2 had a proper installer, rather than force me to hunt for wherever I saved it. Otherwise, yes, give me a zip that I can cleanly delete afterwards. Part of the problem is that many installer programs are so bloated and take all of ten minutes to start. -=-=- blog \| work \| code \| more code
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 10:47
Stealth	In the dev community. installers are evil. But to the average user, they don't know any other way. A zip file would throw them off. I think theres a right time and place for one, but people should be smart enough to not use them on dev websites. -=-=- Quit posting and try Google.
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 11:14
CodersRule	I know how to use a zip file, but I'm too lazy. I love installers.
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 11:19
HoboBen	@Coders 1) Install 7zip 2) Right click your zip, go to 7-zip, extract to "*\" 3) profit. -=-=- blog \| work \| code \| more code
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 11:26
JL235	I typically avoid all the bundled installed too, and used to skip imprtant stuff like the DirectX installers with games (before they moved to be more web-oriented).
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 11:30
CodersRule	1) Install 7zip 2) Right click your zip, go to 7-zip, extract to "*\" 3) profit. /me has 7-zip. But all of my downloads go into my downloads folder where I don't want them to stay. That or my temp folder. So I just use installers, its more convenient for me ^^
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 15:38
shroom_monk	I'm fine with installers from established companies / organisations I trust, but anything else I want in a zip so I know exactly what I'm installing. -=-=- A mushroom a day keeps the doctor away... Keep It Simple, Shroom!
Fri, 16 Jul 2010, 19:32
Mog	If it's complete / pretty well off - Yes. If it's just some bedroom coder / dumb kids app - Hell no. I hate things setting up shop if they don't need to. -=-=- I am Busy Mongoose - My Website Dev PC: AMD 8150-FX, 16gb Ram, GeForce GTX 680 2gb Current Project: Pyroxene
Sat, 17 Jul 2010, 05:02
Cower	On Mac OS, you typically don't use installers. You have self-contained app bundles that are to be dragged into your Applications directory, and then, if the user wants to, they can drag your app into the trash, and that should comprise the entirety of the app except for user settings and such, which are supposed to be retained in `$HOME/Library/Application Data`. Installation and uninstallation are a simple matter of deleting a bundle, no extra software should be necessary. I'm not sure why it's so hard to have this same model on other operating systems, but it seems disorganization is the name of the game.
Sat, 17 Jul 2010, 14:18
Stealth	I'm not sure why it's so hard to have this same model on other operating systems, but it seems disorganization is the name of the game. Other operating systems don't have teams who dream this stuff up like Apple. It's unorganized chaos. -=-=- Quit posting and try Google.
Sat, 17 Jul 2010, 14:52
Jayenkai	That's not true.. The Windows teams are professionals, and they organise things well. .. Except that every week, a different team will come up with a different way to organise things well, and then another team has an even better organisation method, and then by the time a new Windows version emerges, it inexplicably requires you to place a whole list of files into 17,000 seperate areas of the system before it's accepted as possibly maybe being installed. It's not their fault Just because "C:\my documents" is no longer anywhere NEAR "c:\my documents", and even that now appears to be inside a "My things" folder.. That's not their fault!! -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Sun, 18 Jul 2010, 15:03
mindstorm8191	I prefer online games too, over downloadable games. If I go to a website offering a neat game, and then I have to download something with no warning, no other information about what I'm getting into, then I probably won't continue. It depends on how much I trust the site, and how much of the program will be running while I'm not using it. I don't mind a long loading time, but I do mind it hogging system resources I'm not fully using. On the debate between installers and zip files, I don't mind either, though I usually prefer installers because they're easier to deal with. On the other hand if its only a group of files or a very simple app, a zip file makes more sense. A zip file makes a program much more mobile, since you don't need to install it on any systems you use. -=-=- Vesuvius web game
Wed, 19 Jan 2011, 07:09
dantheman363	I provide both zip files and installers for my program, that way people can just choose what they want. -=-=- Extraterrestrial Grail