So now Yahoo! is volunteering (paying) to replace Ask as the most useless search engine? I'm not sure if this is pathetic or just more of the downhill slide to oblivion.
Yahoo! displaces Ask in Oracle's Java update crapware parade
At the annual Yahoo! shareholder's meeting, CEO Marissa Mayer unveiled her new strategy for making the struggling web portal popular again by buying its way into Oracle's Java upgrade software. Begining with the next Java update, Yahoo! will replace the current invitation to make Ask your default search engine. Instead, you'll …
COMMENTS
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Thursday 25th June 2015 19:45 GMT Andy Non
Looks like Yahoo has a death wish. Getting their search engine on people's computers using nefarious means is just going to piss folks off.
Even Yahoo's free email addresses are becoming less useful, demanding a phone number for confirmation by SMS when setting up an account. My existing Yahoo email accounts all died when I switched to another Internet service provider - Yahoo insisted I connected via my old IP address to prove my account hadn't been hacked. Impossible to do, so Yahoo lost yet another customer. Can't say I miss the Yahoo webmail though... after they "upgraded" it with a ton of unwanted bloat it became almost unusable on a slow internet connection.
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Thursday 25th June 2015 19:49 GMT Anonymous Coward
On one hand I am glad the Ask crapware/malware is gone, on the other hand it is a bit disapointing they do not just call it quits on the Java browser plug in. Java has strength on the server side in business and some utility for the standard client, trying to stay in the plug in market has not had much hope for upside in like two decades and has turned them into a security joke/irritation.
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Thursday 25th June 2015 20:10 GMT Erik4872
Great
The JRE crapware bundle is the main reason why we have to maintain managed installs of JRE. That, and the frequent "security patches" that block more and more features from running without a million changes.
I know Oracle targets both businesses and consumers with the Java installs, but I've counted 3 major changes in the last 2 years in the way JRE handles security, all of which required changes to certificate stores, client settings, etc. just to get some lousy line of business app running its applets.
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Friday 26th June 2015 19:14 GMT JLV
Re: Who the hell uses Java nowadays?
Well, alright, I dislike Java just as much as the other guy. And I wanted HD DVD to win as well (mostly because I am not a fan of Sony).
But hating on a physical disk system because its players can run a Java subsystem? The whole thing being totally, blissfully, hidden from the end user*, especially as there are probably tons of DRM-related reasons why you can't muck around in the player anyway?
Seems like you might as well hate Java because the sky is blue. Which is fine, your choice, but still...
* though... I wonder if the teething problems of early-generation Blu-Ray players, where all sorts of disks would not play because your firmware did not support version X.Y.Z of BD spec were not Java-caused. In which case, I retract all of the above snarkiness and agree fully with you. Kind of settled now, but I originally bought a PS3 just for BD playback because it had a good reputation about keeping up with the moving BD spec targets which was not the case for many 2007-vintage players.
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Friday 26th June 2015 08:15 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Who the hell uses Java nowadays?
"Anyone who needs the power of a fat client without the installation and update headaches associated with one. "
You clearly have never had to manage Java JRE deployments. Updates are a nightmare. Multiple conflicting and incompatible versions with multiple new critical security vulnerabilities all the time.
"Java Web Start isn't at all perfect, but it sure beats the alternatives."
You need to try .Net - faster - more flexible, multiple language choices, far better backward compatibility, vastly more secure, no coexistence issues, etc. etc.
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Friday 26th June 2015 04:21 GMT Kevin McMurtrie
Re: Who the hell uses Java nowadays?
Java is still used heavily for server software, software development tools, and mobile apps. It's an excellent language when used properly.
I suspect that Yahoo is targeting the 4 or 5 people who install the the browser Applet plugin because some porn malware asked them to. Bundling this junk with the bare runtime or JDK tools would hasten the death of Oracle too.
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Thursday 25th June 2015 22:31 GMT Destroy All Monsters
Re: What!!
"You are now being processed for onboarding to make it easier for you to discover rich and relevant content about products and places" to mix the enticing Yahoo and Twitter experience promises.
This FEMA trailer is departing on ramp 12.
I noticed Yahoo now stoops to mixing actual news from AP wire with "sponsored content" showing money and tits under ludicrous headlines held in the same style, cleverly massaged with geolocation information to appear as "local news". Fraud in the purple palace? Well I never! It's just some slight onboarding!
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Thursday 25th June 2015 23:05 GMT Anonymous Coward
Liars and crooks
Many years ago I had occasion to ask Oracle why they bundled this crapware, and they told me that they didn't want to, but they had inherited the contract from Sun. And here we are, over a decade later, and apparently Oracle is still inheriting the contract form Sun.
Either that or they lied to me. I suppose that's possible?
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Friday 26th June 2015 02:24 GMT Stevie
Bah!
Business model failing. Customers jumping overboard faster than Tiotanic's steerage passengers. Every change made by Hip Yoof Croo just making matters worse. Only answer: Sneak crappy unwanted product onto people's computers befopre they notice.
Seriously, if nothing else this should teach even the geriatrics to uncheck that box.
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Friday 26th June 2015 09:34 GMT Schlimnitz
Seems appropriate to post this
Save this to a .reg file, double click and live in piece (note, not sure if this still works)
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft]
"SPONSORS"="DISABLE"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\JavaSoft]
"SPONSORS"="DISABLE"
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Friday 26th June 2015 13:35 GMT DToma
I have never used Yahoo Search. I used Ask back when it was Ask Jeeves. Recently, I switched to DuckDuckGo Search. Yahoo may not ever be number 1, since Google has slipped into everyday jargon. A person is more likely to say, "you can google it if you want to learn the truth." So far, I have not heard anybody say, "you can yahoo it if you want to learn the truth."