Ninite

[Nick]

How many people pay for / use Ninite? I'll be honest I didn't really grasp what Ninite was until just now, and I'm not 100% of the way there. I have acquired a Ninite account I have yet to dive into for a trial, but I am looking at the manuals and config / help / notes / etc. and I'm thinking "What can be done as far as integrating Ninite functionality into d7II...?"

How do you actually use Ninite? Do you use Ninite One? Do you create Installers? Do you wish to automate any part of the process that isn't already? Do you have multiple / different Ninite installers with different configurations? etc. etc.

[osigoldman]

I am using Ninite One for years now after having used the free version for a while.
in dSS I have integrated Ninite One in my paid version. I have configured to update all software that is installed, except for Teamviewer. It runs also silent and also no desktop icons nor update reminders.
It then also reports me back in the dSS report what has been installed.
This works just fabulous.

Also in D7 en D7II I use it mostly manually to install new software on to the clients computer, also with updates and desktop icon switched off. Didn't figure put yet how to get things in a report when run manually.
I think that the report only works in silent mode.

Ninite is really great, but they don't seem to add many new programs. I am also thinking that you might be able to setup the same thing. Oh, another great thing is the cache. If I regularly install all kind of programs with Ninite One it always has the newest versions in cache on my USB stick. This works extremely fast with installing.

[ajgyomber]

We use it integrated with LabTech to maintain our client workstations every night. We will update anything that is already installed and install our standard software, such as, Reader, Flash, CutePDF Writer, etc. We have added it as a Custom App in d7II and use it for PC preparation doing the exact same thing. Huge time-saver.

[PBComputer]

Yes I use the pro version on each pc which I see. I believe there is some command switches you can use. But never looked at it.

Paul

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[Xander]

I use it to update pre-existing softwares primarily and, less often, to push something like LibreOffice or Classic Shell onto a system.

Don't know if D7II would be able to but I would LOVE it if it could add what's been updated to the Work Report.

[Psychlone]

I used to use Ninite for years until I had a paradigm shift in my business.

I used to come home, update my ninite profile, download all the newest releases and save it to my USB sticks and go to bed. Then I realized that if I don't have to update ALL of the customer's programs, it saves me a BUNCH of time, even though some installers can be run sequentially.

I decided against updating EVERYTHING they had on their systems and only will patch Java, Flash, Silverlight, and Firefox/Chrome - all of which are downloaded and installed by PatchMyPC.

Now, not only do I NOT have to go update my ninite every night, but I don't waste time with installs on a customer's computer that aren't necessary.
As a field tech that now owns my own business, I've come to realize that in repair, time is money. If I wanted to waste time installing programs for billable hours, that's one thing, but if I can get in 2 extra housecalls every day because of the time saved not installing updates to every program, it's more money in my pocket.

Anyway, good luck with Ninite - it has it's place, specifically (IMO) in terminal server situations where there are several/many client computers that all need the same updates... it's not for my business model anymore.

[gurusonwheels]

I dont use Ninite either . So programs a Customer may not want updated for personal reasons . Ie they have disabled updates.
NInite updates to much ... so i agree i only update stuff like Java, Flash, Silverlight, and Firefox/Chrome.

[Midnightbomber]

I have been using Ninite for years and started using Ninite Pro about 2 years ago. I use it with Labtech for deployments, audits and software updates and it works excellently. I have it configured in D7II for updates, application audits and also for individual application installs. Although PatchMyPC works for updates, Ninite Pro is more flexible when used in an automated setup. Selectively updating specific programs is simply a matter of using Ninite Pro with the /select switch which allows choosing the program(s) to install/update from the command line. Multiple programs can be selected using /select so updating Java, Flash, Silverlight and Firefox/Chrome could be accomplished with this command

Niniteone.exe /select Java Flash Silverlight Firefox Chrome

Installing these programs could also be done with the same command. Silent installs are effective for deployments on multiple systems in a networked environment.

Running Niniteone.exe alows you to select multiple applications from the Ninite GUI to install and if an application is already installed it will be updated to the latest version.

The Ninite Gui allows you to view and automatically select all programs requiring updates and permits deselecting whichever ones you wish not to update. It also allows programs to be installed with autoupdate options disabled if you want to ensure that updates are done in a controlled/scheduled manner.

Reporting is currently only possible with silent installations so this is a bit limiting but overall Ninite is a powerful solution which is more mature than Patchmypc.

@Psychlone @gurusonwheels
Take a look at Ninite again especially the command line options. All of the issues you raised are easily addressed by Ninite.

[stro]

I've used the paid version for 3+ years now.

There is a command line switch that you can use to build installers that contain multiple programs. I mainly use it because it allows for unattended installs, and saving bandwidth by not waiting for things to download everytime. And of course they keep track of all the download links.

Couple of other things to keep in mind, there are apps that are available on the paid version but not the free one. Also a couple of years ago piriform sent them a cease and desist and forced them to pull ccleaner and defraggler.

Truth be told d7 with custom apps can already do alot of what ninite does.

[Nick]

ok, so here's what I'm envisioning at the moment.

niniteone.png (8.29 KiB) Viewed 8389 times

as a basic interface to using the command line version with /silent for automation purposes but also to generate the report. of course there will be a config where you can prune down the applications appearing in that list so you don't have to do a lot of unchecking.