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How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

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Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#321

Post by clay_the_ripper »

To me this implies that the installation process on Mac OS should be improved. The fact that they have to resort to these types of things to make it “just work” for people suggests that the official way of doing things is less than ideal.

They are aiming to make the process completely idiot proof, and good for them. If you’ve ever watched a nontechnical user try to install an application you’ll understand why they had to do all this.

I recently watched One of my friends who has only ever used an iPad and not a laptop try to install an application downloaded from the internet. Things we take for granted like “find your downloads folder” were not obvious. I had to explain what the Finder is, and it seemed laughably not obvious to someone who has never used it before.

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#322

Post by m0rganic »

elevenoh wrote: post #236
tambourine_man wrote: post #173

Zoom's got a tradition of being, let's put it like this, way too clever for everyone's own good. See previous “lets install a server on this Mac that is not removed when you uninstall the app and leaves your camera open to the entire internet” for more examples. I use it on a VM, I suggest you do it too.

Best zoom alternative?

lifesize

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#323

Post by saagarjha »

Hackbraten wrote: post #76
paulgpetty wrote: post #18

Two questions this raises, for me at least: How do I know I’ve completely uninstalled all the things Zoom installed? And, if Zoom provided a separate uninstaller (like many apps do) and it was verified to purge all of the stuff they installed (along with the uninstaller); would that appease people's concerns? For now I’m sticking with the iOS app for video & their web-based experience for desktop sharing...

If you have Homebrew installed, you can run `brew cask zap zoomus` to get rid of all the things (as far as we know) Zoom has installed. If you prefer to remove it manually, here’s the list of files and folders Homebrew will delete on `brew cask zap zoomus`: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask/blob/a6026e0a36c22...

Your list seems to be missing a couple of files that the Zoom uninstaller cleans up.

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#324

Post by Hackbraten »

saagarjha wrote: post #323
Hackbraten wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have Homebrew installed, you can run `brew cask zap zoomus` to get rid of all the things (as far as we know) Zoom has installed. If you prefer to remove it manually, here’s the list of files and folders Homebrew will delete on `brew cask zap zoomus`: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask/blob/a6026e0a36c22...

Your list seems to be missing a couple of files that the Zoom uninstaller cleans up.

That's deliberate. Homebrew always runs the Zoom uninstaller first before going through the list.

Running the uninstaller is enforced by the `pkg` declaration. See also: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask/blob/a6026e0a36c22...

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#325

Post by dbbk »

saagarjha wrote: post #247
dbbk wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Conversely, I much prefer a desktop app to Google Meet, since that's stuck in the browser the video can't float PIP when you navigate away from the call

It can if it uses the right web APIs, which are widely supported: https://w3c.github.io/picture-in-picture/

Yes but... it doesn't.

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#326

Post by specialist »

johannes1234321 wrote: post #183
specialist wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

App installation should always just be a file copy. Deinstallation should always just be a move to Trash (or ~/Disabled equiv). IMHO. I'm even uncomfortable with config scattered everywhere. The continued need for those 3rd party uninstallers is an admission of failure. Source: released products ported to misc Windows, classic Mac, modern Mac. Our dev, QA, Test, tech supp was always so much easier on Mac. Not least b…

If the file is only moved to trash it will keep configuration and other artefacts around or not support such features or the file ahs to be mutable, which is questionable from a security pov

Thanks. I've been chewing on your reply. I didn't get very far. It finally occurs to me that macOS (or equiv) could implement iOS (or equiv) style sandboxing. Maybe that's already in progress. As a dev and former power user, I'm sure it'll be uncomfortable.

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#327

Post by milesskorpen »

giovannibajo1 wrote: post #187
milesskorpen wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Meet at work. For social gatherings, my friend group exclusively uses Zoom because (a) better tiling (seems small, but you want to see everyone) and (b) video quality seems better.

There’s a chrome extension to do tiling: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-grid-v... Which is even more infuriating because it shows that missing tiling in Meet is just a frontend issue. I’m completely baffled that this is not implemented.

Yes, that extension is great. Doesn't work on iPads though.

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#328

Post by miguelmota »

mr_toad wrote: post #320
miguelmota wrote: post #212

What I like about zoom is that I can click on a zoom link and it opens up my video conference pretty quickly. Last thing I want is to go through installation steps when people are waiting for me on a call. I understand the security implications but it's a trade-off between user experience and lesser security.

People will go through the hassle of booking airline tickets, hotels, taxis and take the time to travel to face to face meetings (and some of them even seem to enjoy it). But they won’t spend 5 minutes installing software properly, or half an hour doing some legwork.

The difference is that it's expected that booking airlines and hotels will take time so they make time for it but nobody expects to spend minutes installing video conferencing software properly.

They expect meeting chat software to just work and be as easy as opening a link. If a person needs to fly somewhere they have limited choices with airlines, but if a person gets frustrated with video conferencing software then they have an abundance of alternative options.

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#329

Post by teknologist »

Instead of installing the Zoom software, join Zoom calls from within your web browser

With this trick you can join Zoom calls without ever installing the client on your computer.

Here's how to do it:

1) Uninstall the Zoom client if you have it installed (this is important).

2) When you get a Zoom link to join a meeting, click it to open it in your browser.

3) You'll be asked to download Zoom. Click the "download & run Zoom" link, but don't run the installer.

4) Wait for a few moments and a link to "join from your browser" will appear. Click this and join the call as normal. Most of the features work in this browser based version -- there is no need to ever risk your computer!

Here's a gif demoing what to click: https://assets.zoom.us/images/en-us/web/client/join-web-clie...

Re: How the Zoom macOS installer does its job without you clicking ‘install’

#330

Post by ksec »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #80
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One wonders why Apple didn't just treat DMGs like Application Folders in the first place. If they had an icon and you could run them directly then there wouldn't be any confusion. AppImage works like that and I think it was a wise decision.

Developers can distribute .app's inside of .zip files, and many do, but this can result in users just running the .app inside of their downloads folder. And then this causes problems if they ever decide to clean out their Downloads folder. The DMGs are a clever way to (A) make sure the app gets to the proper location while simultaneously (B) teaching the user about what's actually happening on their computer. As I sa…

I thought some of these interaction was from a design where Apple wanted the Mac to be more appliance. I think the goal / target market has changed. The super easy to use Computer to use is now the iPad.

Mac is now Prosumers and Professionals. And its UX should be treated as such.

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