Why install all over my computer?

We've all said this at one point or another. ObjectDock is no different: folders in my documents, program files, etc. Makes backing up a real nightmare (and background skinning because of the file paths).

Hey! Hey! Hey! Let's not get all technical now!

But don't ya just love having a neat pc one minute and the next stuff is just all over the place!

If You look very close a lot of programs do that. It's a windows thing  (even more since Vista), often not 'their' fault.

Short answer is

That's the convention that needs to be followed to be blessed by MicroSoft.  That's because it provides the ability to have multiple users on a single computer and allow them all to read/create/change some data files (the "Public" dir), while providing some protection opportunity for the program files (the "Program" dir), and while maintaining some user-specific settings (like what skin each is using) (the "Users" dirs) with some privacy and protection between users.

Bored yet?

Microsoft says it shall be this way and it will be done or you get no daily bread. Now for your penance go forth and destroy one apple.

Done.
May I do it again?

and again....

and again...

and again......

What DaveRI said....;)

Stuff's all o'ver't shant...

I certainly understand that you have to follow the directions set forth by Microsoft. But I think that multiple users have access to everything that I install to Program Files (x86) if I tell it to during install. Not all of the things that I install are scattered all over the place, yet they are still useable in a multi-user environment. I hope this isn't just a case of sloppy work on the part of SD.

I personally don't care who copies whom in the MS rips off Apple, no, Apple rips off MS debate as long as it makes my life easier. There is nothing more easy than dragging an app folder into my applications folder to install, then drag the app folder to the trash to uninstall on my Mac.

I would gladly see MS copy this from Apple. I love Windows 7, it's the best Windows experience that I have ever had. It just may keep me from getting another Mac in the future. But there are still some annoyances like this that make you say "meh, maybe not"...

I found yet another Stardock location when trying to locate the archives that I made of Windowsblinds and Iconpackager.

c:/ProgramData/Stardock/app folder

Good god, you cannot tell me that this could not be narrowed down to one or two locations at the most, even in a multi-user environment.

This is silly, I don't believe for a minute that MS dictates that apps have to be installed and stored in two dozen places to make multi-user work...

It's not so much a matter of accessing ("reading") as it is a matter of creating, modifying, and deleting.  And keeping user settings seperated, protected, and private.

I'm not going to say Stardock's stuff is totally optimized, don't really know if it is or not, but that's where the general splitting up comes from.

Thanks for the reply mate. I'm really not sure why I'm argueing the point here, it just bugs me for some reason.

I fully understand the need of "stuff" being available in the "Public" folder for the multi-user environment. No arguement there. It just make sense to me to put everything required for that in "one" folder that is needed for multi-user use. And everything else goes into the program folder. Now if Windows itself can't handle multi-user stuff in a simple way like that then I understand that Stardock's hands are tied.

BUT, I just found yet another stardock location when trying to locate the archive I made of Windowblinds and IconPackager. Is it too hard to image that archives would be in an "archive" folder in the program folder (the most natural, and first place that I looked) instead of in the "backup" folder in some other obscure location?

At the very least, if Stardock must scatter this in two dozen locations, have some kind of naming consistency so that a Windows search can find the stuff if you need something. I did a search for "archive" after archiving Windowblinds. Is the file named "archive" in any form or fashion? No. Is the folder that it was in named "archive"? No. There was absolutely no indication whatever that an "archive" existed and where it was placed. In the end what separates good software and great software are the details...Stardock software is only good at this point.

Stardock's software [naturally] predates Win Vista and 7 so there will be [what some might think is] legacy settings/locations that made 'sense' in win 9x and XP yet now looks decidedly 'odd' when the current MS 'standard' is followed for installation locations.  Either way, typically GUI-related proggies are NOT like simple presets for multi users of something like Photoshop.  That is a simple proggy which is typically self-contained and needs nothing more than it's own location and maybe some junk in 'common files'.  Shell customizing isn't so black and white...;)

What pisses me off is that MS assumes multiple users will be using the OS/PC... in every instance.  Nobody else uses my PC's, yet I still have to put up with this public directory bullshit.... files scattered from arsehole to breakfast.  Bloody annoying, to say the least.

When an OS is installed and only one user account is activated, the default should be a singular repositry for programs and their data, etc. 

If Microsoft can check all the way around the world to see if copies of Windows/Office are legit; can read your PC to know what updates it needs... knows when you last had a crap. picked yer nose, wiped yer bum, then it can implement this by default, and use the current system if more than one user account is activated.

But technically there's more than one user even on a clean PC... When you first start there are actually four: the one you made, Guest, Administrator, and Mcx1-<computer name>.  This seems to be a security thing, but still is a pain in the ass.

To see this for yourself, open a command prompt and type "net user" into it.  This will display all users on your machine. (I have one extra for VMPlayer)

That may be so, but the Administrator... Mcx1 <computer name> accounts are not active users who create and access documents, files, programs in the same way, so there should be no need for a public folder on a single (actual) user machine...

If/when nobody else is going to be using the PC, then the 'Guest' and other 'user' accounts should be turned off by default.

A pain in the arse orright!  A 'one' user machine has no need of security (from other users), and no amount of public folders.... scattrering files from arsehole to breakfast is going to stop a hacker getting into your business.

The only thing this new fangled security does is stop you accessing your own files.

I wish there was a way to permanently disable it.

Gimme XP back

Thank god I still have XP and can get rid of all those extra folders.

If you really want to have some fun set yourself up with some limited users on XP and see what you can get to work and what you can't.  Then again, I was one of those kids who had to stick his tongue on a steel pole when it was well below freezing outside too.

WindowBlinds itself only uses two locations

1) The program files folder for app files

2) The shared documents folder for skins

Skins used to be off program files, but this wasn't ideal because users then had to have write access to the WB folder which is why we moved them to shared documents.

The other folders may be used by Impulse, but WindowBlinds itself has no need for them.

Yep, the new layout of WB made life a lot easier for me, as did the switch from SDC to Impulse.  No complaints here.

Still wouldn't be... no, it isn't necessary (these 'public' directories) on a single user machine.  Like why is it that MS and other software devs naturally assume more than one person will use the machine? On PC's in School, office or library environments, yeah, I can understand the need there... but on a home PC with only one user??? 

The majority of PC's are in homes, and the majority of those are likely to be single user machines, so it makes no sense to have multiple users/directories activated by default.  If at setup the main user enters multiple user accounts, by all means, set up public directories and permissions then... otherwise leave them turned off.

Besides, the only 'permission' required for anyone foolish enough to hop on my rig  is: "GET OFF!!!  Or I Keel you"