Why Can't Software Play Nice?

from the no-money-in-nice dept

An amusing column about software that doesn't play nice. Most of it is about the various streaming video players that keep trying to usurp the role of "default streaming media player". I have this same problem. Sure, I have all the different media players on my Windows machine, just in case one is required (though Windows Media Player tends to give me a BSoD 75% of the times I try to use it, so I avoid that most of the time). Whenever I try to view any type of streaming audio or video, though, Real or Quicktime pops up all sorts of boxes arguing with me about the other one being the "default" and telling me how its corrected the situation, even if it hasn't. The writer of the column wishes he could just tell the stupid media players to play nice with each other already. His other complaint is with IM programs that won't shut down when you tell them to, and instead just "hide" in your task bar. This one doesn't annoy me as much, since I've pretty much figured out the little tweaks necessary to really shut down my instant messenger programs. However, he does have a point about the various software products deciding for themselves what you really want to do, instead of actually doing what you tell them to do.