Ber.

The above is what greets me each and every time I reboot and log in to my work desktop.

I can't get rid of the blurry thing. I can't "Install now", because to get to Teh Intarweb requires going through a proxy, and getting through that proxy requires authentication. The updater fails to do both of these (it might do the former, it definitely doesn't do the latter), so it fails to update, and instead reminds me next time I reboot.

I hate programs that do this. Proxies exist, some require authentication. If your app can't deal with that, your app will break for a large fraction of people.

Firefox, I'm looking at you. All too often, Firefox will present me with a notification about updated addons as I'm starting it - a notification that I didn't ask for, I only wanted Firefox to start. It offers me a button that says "update now" - but if I click it, it doesn't read its own proxy settings, but instead it times out and fails to get any updates.

Sony-Ericsson, I'm looking at you. I'm now on my second sony-Ericsson phone. In order to update the firmware, one has to download a small executable, which then downloads the real update. This program thus requires (a) a Windows machine, (b) admin access to the windows machine, and (c) unfettered access to Teh Intarweb. The only Windows machine I have available is at work, so that rules out (b) and (c).

Gah.

(PS. Background is a beautiful picture of a carpenter bee in flight. It's a pity the bee is covered by the noxious popup in the screenshot :( )