i don't like browser plugins either and those 3rd party plugins are a huge security risk but it looks like the future lies in the browser.
No... no, it doesn't. That's what Microsoft wanted everyone to think in the '90s. Windows 98 was based on that thinking, and it was one of the worst OS's ever...
this whole download/install/run/don'tlikeit/uninstall/deletethecrapthatdidn'tgetuninstalled thing is so stone age.
I agree, in part. People will *always* be downloading and installing software the conventional way. That's just how software works. But like you, I do hate that most Windows software will leave entries in my user folder, or unused DLL's in my system32 folder, or forgotten entries in my registry.
Thankfully, OS's like Linux maintain an excellent system structure that is devoid of the woes of having such hairball trash as a "registry" or a mysterious "WINDOWS" folder. Linux also maintains great software repositories. For every piece of software you install, you get a modifiable uninstall script that allows you to wipe every trace of the unwanted software off of your system. No stragglers.
I totally sound like a fan boy right now... but get this: when you install Linux onto a hard drive, it's
dead easy to create a separate partition for user files like pictures, documents, and program config files. If these folders accumulate too much junk, just wipe the user partition. POW - you've got a clean system again, and you don't have to reinstall all of your software.