flash 11 update fails on osx-10.8.4 safari-6.0.5

[axolotl4484]

the dmg downloads, no problem, installation starts then stops complaining of "DashboardClient".  hello?  I have at least 9 of them running, could it give me a hint or offer to close the offending program itself?  it complains of safari running, could not the installer close it like everybody else does?

what to do?  this has happened multiple times over the last several months, always the same.

[C_F_McBlob]

See: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1267823

[axolotl4484]

thx for your detailed reply, however this is not really the point:  adobe needs to fix their lousy update procedure.  can you see explaining this procedure to your grandma?  seriously?  grandma can probably hit "ok" when the update authorization pops up, but maybe not a lot more (yes, yes, I know, I'm a grandpa and we aren't all technophobes, I could easily follow the instructions at the link, but not all grandpas are working software developers accustomed to vendor insanity...).

thx

[C_F_McBlob]

I can see your point, and yes, it would be nice if there was a "force quit" built into the installer that would eliminate the prompt, but a lot of people begin running the updater RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of something they're doing online, like an important download... that they'll lose if the quit Safari... so they left it up to the end user to quit the apps. Hence, the instructions I wrote, which involve a download but NOT a reinstall until after a reboot. If someone knows they have to wait to reboot they can, and most times, will until it's "safe" to do so.

One of the things I learned at Intuit when they taught me knowledge writing was to "write it so that someone using a computer for the first time could understand your instructions". Those instructions HAVE TO assume that whomever reads them doesn't know what I'm telling them to do, so I include specific details, emphasis, and images wherever necessary and possible.

I don't work for Adobe, and I've submitted "wish list" requests for various (licensed and paid) products since 2004. I've never seen one of my requests answered with a product change, and that was for stuff I paid good money to use. I feel like it's barking up an empty tree to try it with a "freebie" unless it involves something like the Windows updater installing McAfee virus scan with no "opt out". I did six motnhs' testing of antivirus stuff in my help desk days and mixing antivirus can literally shut down a PC. Panda or Norton + McAfee = the Blue Screen of Death on many cases.

[axolotl4484]

I would be happy if they just gave me the PID so I could kill the dashboard client, but if they can give the PID they can just as well add a button to kill it.  I understand you don't want to kill things sometimes, but it is easy enough to make it optional.  as it is I can either follow your very long set of directions to reinstall the whole POS, kill all the dashboard bits, or forget about it.  the latter is the easiest...gee, I wonder why there are problems with out of date flash installs and security?  duh...

and yes, I know adobe is famous for being deaf.  I swore them off many years ago and kept it until I finally succumbed to the lure of lightroom...it is good enough I had to swallow my pride and buy it.  so far they haven't tried to force LR users into the "subscription only" model that is making so many photoshop owners scream, that will be the *real* test of my tolerance.

thx

[C_F_McBlob]

axolotl4484 wrote:

so far they haven't tried to force LR users into the "subscription only" model that is making so many photoshop owners scream, that will be the *real* test of my tolerance.

thx

Coming soon to a computer near you.... BTW - I've read enough here about "the cloud" that I'll have nothing to do with it till they get the "bugs" worked out.

[axolotl4484]

ah, it *is* possible to make it worse:  I attempted to eject the installer after quitting the install app and...

so now I need to figure out how to kill the installer after its gui is gone.  just right-click and kill it on the task bar, right?  nooooo...that just puts the same dialog up. and how nice, the installer doesn't recognizably show up in activity monitor either.  why bother to test?

[axolotl4484]

ps aux | grep -i flash

sudo kill the pids that show up in the list.  I bet the average user would love that sequence...

[C_F_McBlob]

Haven't seen that one yet.

My Mini is only six weeks old and other than my Time machine HD (which was out of a 6-year-old PC) dying - literally locking up, I haven't had anything but "smooth running" with Mt. Lion. I run Parallels with every known version of Windows since 98, and several builds of Linux as well as 10.7.

That tends to "suck up" most of my current 8Gb of RAM so I reboot more often than I'd like, because it doesn't seem to free up as quick as I'd prefer. I'm getting a 16Gb upgrade in a few weeks and that'll be history, but that "open process" is a first.