Deployment User Experience

Question

It seems to me that Microsoft has made it very difficult for users to install .Net applications if they don't have .Net installed. Since most people don't have the .Net Framework they need to use Windows Update and search for a link titled Windows 2000 or Windows XP etc which displays the non-critical updates, scroll to the bottom and select .Net. Why doesn't MS make this a critical update? In addition, users must download all critical updates (which are often very large) and reboot before downloading .Net. Even if a developer packages the .Net framework with the app users still have to download the critical updates and reboot first. Java has no such requirement. You can embed and deploy a lightweight JVM in your app. How are shareware developers supposed to use .Net? I'm guessing most users will quit the install process if they have to go through this much hassel. I'm I missing something? Is there a better way to deploy .Net shareware without huge downloads and reboots? C# is great but I'm just about to switch to C++ or Java. Neil

Adam Erstelle · Answer

the .net framework shouldn't be a critical update as the majority of current computer users do not need it.....yet. There are few applications out there that use the .net framework that are widespread. Microsoft does have a standalone installer file for the framework that you can download and distribute it with your application however I do not remember where and what licensing issues there may be. I understand your frustration but for the meantime there is little that can be done.