Yeah, Adobe actually sticks their numerous config files and background executables in about 6 different places in macOS, so true uninstall is only within reach of the technical and dedicated.

That drives me batty, but they get away with it even on my machine because, well, they're Adobe.

But I think even people like me with 15 years of pictures in Lightroom are seriously eyeing the door. I'd LOVE to find something I could use at trust as well, but I also have little time to search, and Adobe isn't annoying me QUITE enough yet.

But they're already on the wrong side of the "delight/annoy" barrier, if you know what I mean.

If you're a power user, then I'd strongly recommend RawTherapee. It's more clunky than Lightroom, but its features are on par with or better than Lightroom, far as quality and choice.

You'll probably have to spend some time playing with it to find your "look", but once you do, Lightroom can't come close.

That said, it's missing a great organization/sorting workflow and painted adjustments, so if you rely on the latter or expect the former in your RAW processor, it might not be for you. A fantastic (commercial) alternative is CaptureOne. It's the Rolls Royce far as I'm concerned. Strongly recommend you stay away from Darktable, because it's close enough to Lightroom (but not as good) that you'll get frustrated.

Hope this helps!

If it’s bad for workflow and sorting, it’s a nonstarter for me.

There are apps like App Delete that help there. Once installed, it can detect an app in the trash and remove the hidden parts too. That said, it would be helpful if this was built in...

In theory you can remove the folder in Windows. It will leave crap behind but so will deleting .app on mac. Not much of a difference IMO. Both are broken by design.

That's not quite true. If you delete an app from the app folder on a Mac, 99% of the time you'll get 100% of the binaries associated with the app. You'll leave behind inert configuration information in /Library and any relevant ~/Library folders, but that's all.

On Windows, binaries end up strewn all over the place, including C:\Windows, which is one reason that C:\Windows grows inexorably over time (even under 10) if you frequently install and uninstall software, and the only approved-by-MSFT approach to shrinking it is a wipe and reinstall.

Now, the Mac doesn't prevent installers from doing goofy stuff, or from dropping binaries more widely. VMWare, for example, does this, but VMWare is also doing something more elaborate than an Office app. Adobe does this, but that's Adobe being a jerk -- there's no technical reason they need to do it.

And anyway, you can easily go into the folders in /Library & etc to zap the leftover stuff if you want -- there's no Registry or anything that would cry foul. It's just that most people don't bother.

> On Windows, binaries end up strewn all over the place, including C:\Windows, which is one reason that C:\Windows grows inexorably over time

Are you sure about this? I mean I know for a fact that it happens but in my experience this is rare. I very much doubt that it's enough to make any real difference to the total size of the Windows folder.

I PowerShell'ed through all exe-files and DLLs in C:\Windows and C:\Windows\System32 on my private computer ("188 programs installed" according to Control Panel) and I couldn't find anything that didn't look like Windows defaults (i.e. Microsoft stuff basically) or drivers (found lots of Intel, Logitech, etc. Some Apple).

Yes. It's an ongoing problem. It has to do with how Windows manages something called Side by Side (usually SxS).

We make Windows software. We install and uninstall a LOT. Windows folders on our text machines balloon to alarming sizes, at which point it's time for a new VM (or, if it's your laptop, it's time to wipe and start over).

Does refresh cleanup the rot, or you need a real reinstall?

Oh SxS. I thought that was for System stuff only.