The Worst Softwares Ever
Don't waste time downloading slow bloated and unreliable software. Here I pick 10 frustrating programs you should avoid and recommends the best free alternatives.
iTunes
What's wrong with it?
Where do we start? Apple's media player-cum-organiser loads like a tired old man getting out of his chair and foists all manner of unwanted processes on you - without asking - in the background. Recently. we've been particularly peeved that a simple version upgrade corrupts your iTunes library so all your music vanishes, even though you can see it right there in Windows Explorer. We also dislike the bamboozling steps required to move your songs from an old PC to a new one.
Best free alternative:
Media Monkey works with any Android device and plenty of Apple ones. It's lightweight and fast, looks good, rips and burns CDs, converts audio files and much more.
You say: "It's huge bloatware that sits on your PC like a gorilla and freezes everything else" - Bose Sudipto, Facebook
Adobe Reader
What's wrong with it?
Our most-hated feature in Adobe's software is the wretched updater, which runs (or rather crawls) in the
background and can soak up 100 per cent of your PC's processor cycles without telling you what's going on. Reader's ubiquity and leaky design make it a prime target for hackers, while its bloated size makes opening PDFs - which is the point of the program. remember - unnecessarily ponderous, like watching a ballerina in bovver boots.
Best free alternative:
Sumatra PDF is tiny, amazingly fast and does one thing really well: reads PDFs.
You say: "Adobe Reader is too slow for anything but the smallest and simplest PDFs" - Sarah Lane, Twitter
Norton AntiVirus
What's wrong with it?
Although recent versions have demonstrated significant improvements, Norton Anti Virus is still a byword for anti-virus programs that slow you down. It's like a well-meaning but interfering aunt, tugging at your sleeve all day and making it difficult to get anything done. whether you're installing software (-best not. eh pet?"), using a program that calls itself a legitimate web service ("ooh, you don't know where it's been") or opening an email attachment you know to be perfectly safe ("oh. I don't think that's a good idea, do you?").
Best free alternative:
We think Microsoft Security Essentials deserves some love. It's small, fast, free and - most importantly - unobtrusive. Peace at last.
You say: "Norton AntiVirus is total rubbish, it does not work. Not worth installing" - Andrew Clennell, Facebook
Windows 8
What's wrong with it?
You know you're in trouble when the best-selling app for your fancy new operating system. Start8 (bitty/ start8319). is designed to make it look like the previous version. Windows 8 is smooth-as-silk on touchscreen devices, but a horrible, clunky mess on a PC with a mouse and keyboard. We hate that it completely removes the Start button; hides features behind odd, disappearing menus; makes the act of closing a program needlessly complicated, and much more besides.
Best free alternative:
Stick with the fast and familiar Windows 7, which is still available pre-installed on PCs and laptops from many of the top manufacturers, including Dell and HP.
You say: "Windows 8 is just a poorly executed operating system. It works on touchscreen devices, but then that's what it's designed to do" - Phil Graham, Facebook
iCloud
What's wrong with it?
Apple has been lambasted repeatedly for producing an online storage service that's Opaque, Confusing and unpredictable, with users complaining of losing contacts and calendars and items not syncing when they should. Worse Still, its not possible to see what's in your iCloud, or move stuff in and out of it, by dragging and dropping files with your mouse - like every other sync-and-share service lets you do. It's Apple-knows-best at its very worst.
Best free alternative:
Dropbox is a much simpler and speedier storage service that works automatically in the background, yet lets you tinker with it directly, whenever you want.
You say: "I think Apple should buy Dropbox rather than continuing to push iCloud" - John Barker, Facebook
Outlook
What's wrong with it?
Outlook is an email program that thinks it's a calendar, which thinks it's a contacts list and task manager, which thinks it's a note taker, journal keeper, IRSS aggregator, text- and picture-message sender and front end to various Windows servers, services and portals. This electronic land-grab has inevitably led to bloat (the size of some Outlook PST data files is both legendary and debilitating), sluggishness (hang your heads in shame. Business Contact Manager and RSS Feeds Editor) and secrecy (many people don't even know where Outlook stores their data).
Best free alternative:
EssentralPIM is Outlook after a much-needed crash diet.
You say: "Why would you pay for Outlook when you can get Thunderbird for free?" - Brian Roth, Twitter
Spotify
What's wrong with it?
The online music library delivered so much and then, inch by inch. took it all back again. These days the free version only offers unlimited streaming (with adverts. naturally) for the first six months before applying a 2.5-hour limit that can be carried over to a maximum of 10 hours before it resets. It also forces you to go online every 30 days or your synchronised tracks become unavailable. But it's the disappointment that's so hard to forgive - all that promise, snatched away.
Best free alternative:
Grooveshark has a massive library, is advert-free and you can use it without needing to sign up for anything.
You say: "I used to love Spotify. but there are far too many adverts and limits these days" - Paul Giddings, Twitter
Real Player
What's wrong with it?
RealPlayer is the personification of a program that smiles and claps you on the shoulder with one hand while rummaging through your pockets with the other. Top of our list of complaints is the obligatory auto-updater that can't be disabled, followed by the head-scratching behaviour of 'recordingmanager.exe', which runs in the background and prevents USB drives from being ejected. RealPlayer loads as if it just can't be bothered to make the effort, and is still too difficult to remove completely from your system.
Best free alternative:
The delightful VLC Player (www.videolam.org) is fast, free and plays virtually every video format that exists under the sun.
You say: "I can't believe people still use RealPlayer. I gave up years ago!" - Michael Branning, Facebook
WinZip
What's wrong with it?
We have fond memories of the first time we met WinZip, way back when it was the life and soul of the compression party, and its tales of zipping and unzipping were fresh and new. Now though, it's like the last bloke on the sofa nursing a can of cider, who keeps banging On about how great it is to manage files in the cloud or share them on social media, and bends your ear conspiratorially about how nothing's Safe unless it's got 256-bit AES level encryption. Mate, just go home.
Best free alternative:
Windows has perfectly good compression support built in, but if you need something fancier, we recommend PeaZip.
You say: "WinZip is pretty unnecessary these days. Why bother?" - David Phillips, Twitter
Ask Toolbar
What's wrong with it?
We probably hate the Ask Toolbar most of all (so don't click the link above!). It's wheedled its way into all manner of other companies' installation programs; it hijacks your homepage and search provider: and if you miss that little "yes, I'd like to install the Ask toolbar" tick box, it can be devilishly difficult to remove.
Best free alternative:
Nothing. You don't need a search toolbar because modern browsers have one built in.
You say: "The Ask Toolbar is an incredibly pernicious piece of junk!" - Cheri, CEO at TheWikiWeb
iTunes
What's wrong with it?
Where do we start? Apple's media player-cum-organiser loads like a tired old man getting out of his chair and foists all manner of unwanted processes on you - without asking - in the background. Recently. we've been particularly peeved that a simple version upgrade corrupts your iTunes library so all your music vanishes, even though you can see it right there in Windows Explorer. We also dislike the bamboozling steps required to move your songs from an old PC to a new one.
Best free alternative:
Media Monkey works with any Android device and plenty of Apple ones. It's lightweight and fast, looks good, rips and burns CDs, converts audio files and much more.
You say: "It's huge bloatware that sits on your PC like a gorilla and freezes everything else" - Bose Sudipto, Facebook
Adobe Reader
What's wrong with it?
Our most-hated feature in Adobe's software is the wretched updater, which runs (or rather crawls) in the
background and can soak up 100 per cent of your PC's processor cycles without telling you what's going on. Reader's ubiquity and leaky design make it a prime target for hackers, while its bloated size makes opening PDFs - which is the point of the program. remember - unnecessarily ponderous, like watching a ballerina in bovver boots.
Best free alternative:
Sumatra PDF is tiny, amazingly fast and does one thing really well: reads PDFs.
You say: "Adobe Reader is too slow for anything but the smallest and simplest PDFs" - Sarah Lane, Twitter
Norton AntiVirus
What's wrong with it?
Although recent versions have demonstrated significant improvements, Norton Anti Virus is still a byword for anti-virus programs that slow you down. It's like a well-meaning but interfering aunt, tugging at your sleeve all day and making it difficult to get anything done. whether you're installing software (-best not. eh pet?"), using a program that calls itself a legitimate web service ("ooh, you don't know where it's been") or opening an email attachment you know to be perfectly safe ("oh. I don't think that's a good idea, do you?").
Best free alternative:
We think Microsoft Security Essentials deserves some love. It's small, fast, free and - most importantly - unobtrusive. Peace at last.
You say: "Norton AntiVirus is total rubbish, it does not work. Not worth installing" - Andrew Clennell, Facebook
Windows 8
What's wrong with it?
You know you're in trouble when the best-selling app for your fancy new operating system. Start8 (bitty/ start8319). is designed to make it look like the previous version. Windows 8 is smooth-as-silk on touchscreen devices, but a horrible, clunky mess on a PC with a mouse and keyboard. We hate that it completely removes the Start button; hides features behind odd, disappearing menus; makes the act of closing a program needlessly complicated, and much more besides.
Best free alternative:
Stick with the fast and familiar Windows 7, which is still available pre-installed on PCs and laptops from many of the top manufacturers, including Dell and HP.
You say: "Windows 8 is just a poorly executed operating system. It works on touchscreen devices, but then that's what it's designed to do" - Phil Graham, Facebook
iCloud
What's wrong with it?
Apple has been lambasted repeatedly for producing an online storage service that's Opaque, Confusing and unpredictable, with users complaining of losing contacts and calendars and items not syncing when they should. Worse Still, its not possible to see what's in your iCloud, or move stuff in and out of it, by dragging and dropping files with your mouse - like every other sync-and-share service lets you do. It's Apple-knows-best at its very worst.
Best free alternative:
Dropbox is a much simpler and speedier storage service that works automatically in the background, yet lets you tinker with it directly, whenever you want.
You say: "I think Apple should buy Dropbox rather than continuing to push iCloud" - John Barker, Facebook
Outlook
What's wrong with it?
Outlook is an email program that thinks it's a calendar, which thinks it's a contacts list and task manager, which thinks it's a note taker, journal keeper, IRSS aggregator, text- and picture-message sender and front end to various Windows servers, services and portals. This electronic land-grab has inevitably led to bloat (the size of some Outlook PST data files is both legendary and debilitating), sluggishness (hang your heads in shame. Business Contact Manager and RSS Feeds Editor) and secrecy (many people don't even know where Outlook stores their data).
Best free alternative:
EssentralPIM is Outlook after a much-needed crash diet.
You say: "Why would you pay for Outlook when you can get Thunderbird for free?" - Brian Roth, Twitter
Spotify
What's wrong with it?
The online music library delivered so much and then, inch by inch. took it all back again. These days the free version only offers unlimited streaming (with adverts. naturally) for the first six months before applying a 2.5-hour limit that can be carried over to a maximum of 10 hours before it resets. It also forces you to go online every 30 days or your synchronised tracks become unavailable. But it's the disappointment that's so hard to forgive - all that promise, snatched away.
Best free alternative:
Grooveshark has a massive library, is advert-free and you can use it without needing to sign up for anything.
You say: "I used to love Spotify. but there are far too many adverts and limits these days" - Paul Giddings, Twitter
Real Player
What's wrong with it?
RealPlayer is the personification of a program that smiles and claps you on the shoulder with one hand while rummaging through your pockets with the other. Top of our list of complaints is the obligatory auto-updater that can't be disabled, followed by the head-scratching behaviour of 'recordingmanager.exe', which runs in the background and prevents USB drives from being ejected. RealPlayer loads as if it just can't be bothered to make the effort, and is still too difficult to remove completely from your system.
Best free alternative:
The delightful VLC Player (www.videolam.org) is fast, free and plays virtually every video format that exists under the sun.
You say: "I can't believe people still use RealPlayer. I gave up years ago!" - Michael Branning, Facebook
WinZip
What's wrong with it?
We have fond memories of the first time we met WinZip, way back when it was the life and soul of the compression party, and its tales of zipping and unzipping were fresh and new. Now though, it's like the last bloke on the sofa nursing a can of cider, who keeps banging On about how great it is to manage files in the cloud or share them on social media, and bends your ear conspiratorially about how nothing's Safe unless it's got 256-bit AES level encryption. Mate, just go home.
Best free alternative:
Windows has perfectly good compression support built in, but if you need something fancier, we recommend PeaZip.
You say: "WinZip is pretty unnecessary these days. Why bother?" - David Phillips, Twitter
Ask Toolbar
What's wrong with it?
We probably hate the Ask Toolbar most of all (so don't click the link above!). It's wheedled its way into all manner of other companies' installation programs; it hijacks your homepage and search provider: and if you miss that little "yes, I'd like to install the Ask toolbar" tick box, it can be devilishly difficult to remove.
Best free alternative:
Nothing. You don't need a search toolbar because modern browsers have one built in.
You say: "The Ask Toolbar is an incredibly pernicious piece of junk!" - Cheri, CEO at TheWikiWeb
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