Damn. There's some folks with some (imho) mixed-up views on what constitutes the worst software
- AOL's stuff. It's a bit too invasive. Anything that installs network adapters, etc. isn't for me. For the right people it's a good thing.
- Gator and other ad-ware/spyware.
- Lotus Notes, basically because so many features seem counter-intuitive. Can be good, but the learning curve is "up there".
- The early versions of Windows 95 were awful, but C was a great improvement. I still support some systems that have used 95, crash-free, for years. I rarely hear anything good about WindowsME and steer clear from it.
My take on some of the "worst" software listed above (as if anyone cared )
RealPlayer just takes a little extra configuration initially. I don't like how it will default to starting up initially, but a couple clicks and that's gone. More often than not, it just seems like the "cool thing" to be against RealPlayer.
Outlook Express, while not an ideal client, does a great job at managing multiple accounts. Definitely takes some work with maintaining it.
MusicMatch does a great job of providing an all-in-one solution and I regularly install it on computers that I support. Rips quickly, library is great, burns quality stuff, all features relatively intuitive. My only problem with it deals with memory/cpu usage issues on some systems.
Don't use Netscape, though I've always been a fan of the %done in the status bar. Was like the one feature I wanted in IE. Using Opera now and loving it.
Acrobat Reader, in my humble opinion, is a fantastic utility that provides extremely high-quality, cross-platform document viewing and printing. That its plug-in for IE throws a monkey wrench into things is not necessarily Adobe's issue. That the vast majority (I presume) of folks using it don't have a problem is further testament in my eyes to how good the software is. You don't "have" to run the plug-in to open pdf files within IE.
Much of what classifies something as "bad" is apparently is directly related to the degree to which it installs/configures itself. The more the user has to do to set things up, the less the majority of folks look upon that software favorably.