Re: Hate Thread
A minor hate here, but still...
I hate the aggressive search engine battle that I keep finding in things lately. Things like the "Ask" search engine buying some deal with Java, so that every single time Java updates, you have to untick a check box that is set by default to rape your browser into installing a toolbar and setting Ask as your default everything. It's not that I've ever once fallen for it, but it's annoying and kind of pathetic.
It's been far more obvious with Microsoft's campaign to promote their daring entry into the market with "Bing". Seemingly every bit of software around tries to throw Bing at you now. My local library now offers only Bing in the top right corner when it used to have a range of search providers, and I noticed that the people working at the job centre have the same thing going on, as if a deal has been struck with the agency itself or civil service in general. And it's now on my xbox too.
It's not that there's anything specifically wrong with Bing, not that I've given it more than an accidental try, and it's not like I feel any allegiance to google's monopoly either. It's simply annoying how their strategy for promoting Bing seems to revolve around a buy out scheme, tricking people into installing it, and throwing it in your face at every opportunity. Had they spent a bit of effort on persuading me why I should give a damn about a new/re-branded search engine, or shown me at least one service that google doesn't offer (good luck, frankly), then I might have given it thirty seconds. Which I suppose sums up the reason for the pushy strategy after all, doesn't it. Still annoying.