Adobe reader? I mean, how else can you read pdf files?
Most search engines can automatically convert to HTML now.
Also, Foxit Reader Lite and a variety of other programs.
My 2 cents:
1. Adobe Reader
Damn straight it's bloody annoying. But like I said, use foxit reader lite. Or on linux, most distros come built in with xpdf or something similar.
2. Apple crap
I don't install any of it. If I had an iPod, I'd use a different program to get my music on it. Safari sucks, it's easy to do without itunes, and quicktime...well quicktime is somewhat difficult to get around, not sure if there are other players available, but most media is available in other formats. Thank god.
3. Windows update
It's incessant nagging and autoreboots are a source of much frustration. That said, it's about the only way you can get the average person to update the software and security on their computer. There are better and less annoying 3rd party apps out there though, and other ways to get windows updates. (windiz anybody?)
Still, it's a necessary evil on Windows. Too bad, because apt-get on debian linux is so much better. Update all my software, most of it without even having to restart the program, and no annoying nagging messages? Yes please, apt-get alone makes it almost worth switching to Ubuntu.
4. Realplayer
Practically defined what spyware is. Nuff said. Thank god this format is nearly dead on the Internet.
5. Java
Never had a big problem with it. I remember back in the day it used to bug about updates a lot, but I haven't had that problem with the latest version. Perhaps sun's realized how intrusive it used to be?
6. Yahoo
A bit too much of a "I'll try to be everything to everyone", but for those that need everything in one place, it works ok. Generally ugly interfaces though with ads that make me feel I'm going to be spammed to death. Try google instead, and desktop widgits if you really need any of the additional features Yahoo has.
7. Norton
Honestly, Mcafee should be lumped in here too, along with a few other of the major anti-virus software. Shame when there's lesser known/freeware anti virus software that isn't nearly so intrusive. That said, I don't think anyone who knows what they're doing needs an always active virus scanner with the latest OSes. Linux and Mac are basically virus free as always, and the latest versions of XP and Vista really only have to worry about spyware (and Vista is getting pretty good at stopping spyware). Even Internet Explorer 7 is fairly secure. About the only way to get a virus now is to install an executable yourself.
8. Preinstalled software bundles
From merely distracting to intrusive, these are never a good thing. I don't understand why they bother offering "functionality" when they tend to fail to be even as good as windows own included stuff, let alone things that are available for free on the net.
Shame too, my IBM thinkpad came with a whole bunch of software that could access functionality on my thinkpad that couldn't be accessed in any other way. Thing is, it took up a ton of disk space, memory, cpu time, was buggy, and required me to have IBM's version of Java which was impossible to uninstall and incompatible with Sun Java in many places. I learned to live without the extra functionality. IBM, if you wanted to be in the OS business, you shouldn't have given it up to Microsoft back in the day. (IBM isn't the only hardware manufacturer guilty of including bloated software to access important functionality though, gigabyte, asus, and samsung all do it too, along with others I'm sure)
9. Outlook/Exchange
Used to use this back in the day when web based email sucked badly. Nowadays though, I don't even know why I'd install a dedicated email app with the web based email systems so easy to use. Well, the major ones, even hotmail isn't THAT bad anymore. My school web based email system is still very subpar, however, but I foward that to gmail anyway. Besides, I'd use Thunderbird over outlook.
10. Flash is so annoying.
Thank god HTML is taking back the reigns of interactive web pages in the near future. Flash is just evil and slow, and I wish Java applets had been the preferred method of interactive web pages, as bad as they are. Actually, I'd rather not have either, provide interaction in some other way or don't bother. Seriously, why did Youtube and all those other video sites pick up Flash as the standard video "codec", rather than something standardized and meant for video?