Thursday, September 01, 2005
Gizmo Project committing suicide?
VoIPUser is reporting in a thread that latest Gizmo Project download includes the installation of a third party application you may not want on your system:
The new Gizmo Project, which is touted at http://www.gizmoproject.com as superior to Skype, adds a new Bonjour Service to the Windows XP (or Windows 2000, or Windows NT) Services folder. This service starts automatically and runs a process named mDNSResponder.exe which cannot be ended by Windows Task Manager. Uninstalling the software does not remove the service. You can disable it, but not remove it from your system. And unless you disable and stop it, you will not be able to delete the Gizmo Project folder with the file mDNSResponder.exe in it.Now this is one thing Niklas Zennstrom personally confirmed that Skype will never do, because it will be dead.
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Comments:
Michael Robertson - CEO of SIPphone, makers of Gizmo Project here.
I can assure you we that do NOT install any third party applications. I have run many high profile companies including MP3.com and Linspire and we have never installed any hidden software applications.
In a recent version, we do install Rendezvous which is an IETF draft standard which is used extensively by Apple as well as other communication programs like Trillian. You can read more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonjour_%28protocol%29
What it does is allow machines on a subnet to communicate with each other without leaving the subnet. This makes voice quality very high for users inside a particular domain.
The service should uninstall when you uninstall Gizmo Project and we will look into it to see why it's not for you.
-- MR
I can assure you we that do NOT install any third party applications. I have run many high profile companies including MP3.com and Linspire and we have never installed any hidden software applications.
In a recent version, we do install Rendezvous which is an IETF draft standard which is used extensively by Apple as well as other communication programs like Trillian. You can read more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonjour_%28protocol%29
What it does is allow machines on a subnet to communicate with each other without leaving the subnet. This makes voice quality very high for users inside a particular domain.
The service should uninstall when you uninstall Gizmo Project and we will look into it to see why it's not for you.
-- MR
Permalink posted by 
: 02 September, 2005 16:38
: 02 September, 2005 16:38
Thanks Michael for the quick response and explanation. Nevertheless you should never force such a program (may it be useful as you describe) to the end-user. end-users now-a-days are very sensitive to such things. Providing an link to remove it afterwards is nice, but not required if you ask the customer first.
Your argument at VoIPUser that Skype is also forcing the superuser without telling the customer is valid and this is one thing I hate with Skype and I am watching very carefully not to get one ;-)
Your argument at VoIPUser that Skype is also forcing the superuser without telling the customer is valid and this is one thing I hate with Skype and I am watching very carefully not to get one ;-)
Since installing gizmo my internet connection has not performned well, with websites that I use daily totally and inexplicably not found with 404 errors or even blank pages.
My approach to uninstalling mdsnresponder was to run TurnOffBonjour.exe which, with mdnsresponder exist in the gizmo project directory.
After uninstalling mdnsresponder all my problems went away and performance is again blistering with all web pages very accessible.
So Michael Robertson, you patently do not know what your company is doing and I suggest you get it sorted. I consider your automatic installation of this 3rd party app as equivalent to installing a virus and object to it vehemently. Oh, and I am uninstalling Gizmo.
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My approach to uninstalling mdsnresponder was to run TurnOffBonjour.exe which, with mdnsresponder exist in the gizmo project directory.
After uninstalling mdnsresponder all my problems went away and performance is again blistering with all web pages very accessible.
So Michael Robertson, you patently do not know what your company is doing and I suggest you get it sorted. I consider your automatic installation of this 3rd party app as equivalent to installing a virus and object to it vehemently. Oh, and I am uninstalling Gizmo.
