Software, I’ll happily admit, is a subjective thing. For instance, I really like using Windows Vista, while it brings PC Pro deputy editor David Fearon out in hives.

But the worst software, in my opinion only (my PC Pro hat is over there, resting), is RealPlayer. So much so that I’ve avoided installing it, despite numerous invitations from websites, on this laptop.

Now my run is at an end. I’ve been left with no choice. If I want to listen to You and Yours via Listen Again (and I do, because I missed it and I briefly was on there talking about the IT skills gap – Thursday 10 April if it’s still up there) then I’ve got to do the deed.

And maybe, just maybe, it’s not as bad, invasive and generally annoying as it once was. I’ll see. But judging by the install procedure, where I had to untag about a dozen different options or it would have become my default word processor, I doubt it.

Here, for no particular reason whatsoever, is a list of my top five hated pieces of software:

1. Apple iTunes. Again, it wants to take over my computer. No. You can’t.

2. All bloated disc-burning suites. They used to be a 20MB download, now it’s closer to 200MB. I really don’t need a disc-burning app to bundle antispyware or be my backup utility. Stop this silliness.

3. RealPlayer. See above.

4. Adobe Reader. Why is it so big? It just needs to read PDFs, surely!

5. QuickTime. I don’t need it, I really don’t, so please stop trying to install it every time I visit any Apple-related site. Please!