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Veltliner · 05:50 AM

Suddenly I found an application called "Growl" on my system.

I found out it came with Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended on my system?

It constantly spams me with update messages.

Growl is used for notifications.

Their website offers an uninstaller.

Adobe gives these instructions to stop Growl, but it will stay on your system if I'm not mistaken.

Should I uninstall or just follow these instructions to disable Growl?

Disabling Growl notifications in Adobe Creative Suite 5 applications (Mac OS only)

seanc · Dec 25, 2010, 06:14 AM

Just disable Growl if you don't like it.

I find it to be a very useful notification tool.
I have a helper for iTunes, so track changes pop up along the bottom of my screen. Not so important, but nice if I'm playing a new album, I don't have to look at iTunes to learn the track names.
I have hardware growler, which tells me when hardware is detected, IP addresses change etc. This one is very useful, because I know when I wake my MBP up, if I have an IP address or not. The Airport icon is very slow to update.

OreoCookie · Dec 25, 2010, 06:31 AM

Growl is very useful and it comes in handy. Since you can disable notifications on a per application basis, you can disable it for Photoshop (no clue what notifications it gives for Photoshop), but it's really handy and you configure what the notifications will look like.

Spheric Harlot · Dec 25, 2010, 06:43 AM

Wtf is it installed without asking?

If something surreptitiously installed a background notification process on my production machine, I'd go ballistic.

ghporter · Dec 25, 2010, 08:51 AM

"You're here because Growl was installed without your permission. We're as upset about that as you are. Read on to learn more about what happened and who is most likely responsible, but first, here are the step-by-step uninstallation instructions."

Clearly various third parties aren't terribly interested in users' preferences. This isn't Growl's doing, obviously. I'm reinstalling Growl because I removed it a while back due to some problems with it working properly with one or another update to OS X. I like it. I DO NOT like third parties doing stuff to my Mac without permission.

Veltliner · Dec 25, 2010, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Growl is very useful and it comes in handy. Since you can disable notifications on a per application basis, you can disable it for Photoshop (no clue what notifications it gives for Photoshop), but it's really handy and you configure what the notifications will look like.

Good to know. Photoshop annoys me with "please set up your Adobe ID". Which doesn't interest me.

I found the section about the software that uses Growl (Firefox, TextWranger, Adobe CS5), but it was Adobe who sneaked it on my system.

As it's not bad software as I gather from your post I will simply disable Adobe CS5's Growl connection.

OreoCookie · Dec 26, 2010, 08:19 AM

@Veltiner
I absolutely agree with Spheric that it's very bad practice by Adobe to install software unasked -- even if it is `good' software. I can imagine this gets the Growl developers riled up since it looks as if they're the one to blame, not Adobe.

Thorzdad · Dec 26, 2010, 08:54 AM

CS5 is bad about that. It's impossible to do a clean, pared-down install because of the garbage Adobe insists you install, regardless of whether you need it. Personally, I have no use for Growl, so I disabled it. Adium installs it, too, I believe.

ghporter · Dec 26, 2010, 08:58 AM

Adium installed Growl when I installed Adium-but it made it clear that this would happen. I didn't really think about it until I started getting Growl notifications though. Then I thought Growl was pretty cool.

Thorzdad · Dec 26, 2010, 09:14 AM

Yeah, I should have added that Adium told you up-front about growl. My bad.
Reading Adobe's reasoning behind the secret install, it's clear that it was a marketing-driven decision. Bad move. But, then, it's Adobe.

Veltliner · Dec 26, 2010, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

@Veltiner
I absolutely agree with Spheric that it's very bad practice by Adobe to install software unasked -- even if it is `good' software. I can imagine this gets the Growl developers riled up since it looks as if they're the one to blame, not Adobe.

You can see their malaise when you go to their website.

When that Growl update notice first popped up I thought I had contracted something bad.

But it still cost me 15 minutes to read all the notes and check from where it had come. Definitely should not happen.

cgc · Jan 3, 2011, 09:26 PM

Adobe probably installed Opera as well (though it's hidden within the Adobe package contents).

Veltliner · Jan 3, 2011, 11:49 PM

I just disabled Growl.

I don't see any use in it.

There is so much software out there. I will not inundate my computer with it.

gradient · Jan 4, 2011, 02:36 AM

Originally Posted by Veltliner

I just disabled Growl.

I don't see any use in it.

There is so much software out there. I will not inundate my computer with it.

Prowl for iOS is a pretty cool use for the Growl notification system.

IronPen · Jan 4, 2011, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by Veltliner

I just disabled Growl.

I don't see any use in it.

There is so much software out there. I will not inundate my computer with it.

To each his own, but I see incredible value in system-wide notifications. Someone signs on to IM, I see a notification. Someone starts a new IM conversation with me, I see a notification. A download starts, or finishes, I see a notification. I receive an email, I see a notification. Chrome performs an update in the background, I see a notification. There are so many uses for Growl. There are several beautiful styles to choose from and I like knowing what is going on with my system. It's sort of a geek tool, I suppose. But it is highly customizable so you can turn it off completely or disable it for applications you don't want it to be activated under.

ChrisF · Jan 4, 2011, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by IronPen

To each his own, but I see incredible value in system-wide notifications. Someone signs on to IM, I see a notification. Someone starts a new IM conversation with me, I see a notification. A download starts, or finishes, I see a notification. I receive an email, I see a notification. Chrome performs an update in the background, I see a notification.

That's exactly what I can't stand about Growl. It's distracting and inefficient to be working on a task and have totally irrelevant notifications pop up.

P · Jan 4, 2011, 03:20 PM

Growl can be extensively configured, so you can e.g. block notifications from all apps but that really urgent one. I agree with IronPen, it's a great tool, but you have to make sure that it doesn't pop up too many notifications.

Veltliner · Jan 8, 2011, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by ChrisF

That's exactly what I can't stand about Growl. It's distracting and inefficient to be working on a task and have totally irrelevant notifications pop up.

That's pretty much my take on it, too.

For me, the system of software updates only giving me a notification when I open that particular software, is enough.

Uninterrupted work counts.

This is also why I turned off the signal every time I get an email. It's perfectly to have an email sit there for an hour before you open it.

Many "workflow" type of apps are actually reducing your productivity.

Atheist · Jan 9, 2011, 10:23 AM

Too each his own. I find the IM and Mail notifications very useful and not distracting in the least. As emails arrive I'm able to quickly glance at who it's from and can immediately take action if needed. And I can even click on the Growl notification to open up the message window. Seems anything but inefficient. Same for IM. Seeing that I work a few thousand miles from my co-workers, it's important I can see if someone needs something.

One of my favorites is HardwareGrowler. It notifies you anytime a device (FireWire, USB, Bluetooth, FileSystem Volumes, Network Interfaces) is connected or disconnected.

I've also written applications that use Growl so I guess I'm partial to it.