Learn2 Player? WTH is that?

DaRuSsIaMaN

DaRuSsIaMaN

Geek Comrade
i cant figure it out. I'm doing a maintenance on my mom's laptop (fixing up some stuff, cleaning out useless programs/spyware, etc.) and i dunno what this Learn2 Player thing is. It's in the add or remove programs list. It looks suspicious. But this is also the second time I've seen it on a computer with pre-installed stuff on it. By that I mean on a computer that's not a barebones or assembled computer but one that already came w/ winxp and the whole deal. The other computer I've seen it on is my roomie's e-machines comp. (I know -- e-machines! haha, pity the poor fool...) So maybe it's just part of the pre-installed components? Anyway, I tried just typing it into google and sifted through the results a bit. It seems that some weird sites that host work-online-from-home thingies have users d/l the learn2 player ... but I'm kinda confused ... like this site http://www.business-access.com/Login_Help/default.asp, for instance. And this one: http://zlc.ts.karta.com/.

So yeah, I'm confused as to what it is exactly. Seems like it's actually something legit? Not spyware crap? Either way, it does seem pretty useless, no? So should I uninstall it?
 
I have no reason to believe it's Spyware or Malware, but nevertheless, i've never heard of it. Can you try to find the executable to start the program at all?
 
is learn2 player a load of rubbish, i also have it when i installed the aol software.
 
yes i found the .exe. It was in "program files/learn2.com/StRunner" and the executable is STRunner.exe. Here's a screen shot of the folder.

STRunnerfolder.gif



I launch STRunner.exe and this small window pops up, a long horizontal rectangle.

STRunner.jpg


When I click the drop-down arrow you see right there, it's just a blank drop-down list with nothing in it. When I click the "Choose LAN Stream..." button on the left, a window pops up just like those windows you see when you're opening a saved file. Here:

choosestartingstream.gif


...and that's all it does.

**

Ok, in response to Anti-Trend, I am pretty certain it was there before I installed AIM. I installed AIM on this comp just yesterday for the first time but in the Add or Remove programs window, it says that Learn2 Player was last used in 2004. That IS reliable, right? The add/remove programs window couldn't be lying could it? lol. You're probably right in general about it being bloatware though. I think it's part of the crap that was pre-installed on this Toshiba laptop.

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All in all, I still don't get what the point of this STRunner thing is, really. As you see, playing around with the program wasn't deeply enlightening, at least not for me. What is it supposed to be streaming and what for? What's its overall purpose? It doesn't even do anything, and there is no readme either. It does, however, seem that it really isn't anything malicioius, would you guys agree?
 
To me personaly, this looks like a service program intended to 'play' a certain stream type.

I know this sounds extremely ambigous but I will give you an example:

An online learning/training program called Centra uses it's own format of presentation files which you can create from normal files like MS Office documents, movies etc. It converts the familiar contents to files with a special extension. It is possible to record the training sessions as Centra records it, saving the recording in a *.ssr extension (Server Side Recording) or *.csr (Client Side Recording). To play back the recording or edit it, you need a special player which Centra has - built in.

So in your case, the Learn2 Player (again, this is only an assumption based on your thread and some googling) is a program intended to play back streams with the *.stm extensions, created by another program used by our freinds over at Learn2.com. Again trying to put my Sherlock hat on, Learn2 programs (Learn = training???) or training files are available in *.stm format.

Personaly, programs which I do not beleive need to live in my PC are thrown out explicitly.
So far I had 99.9% success. Also the Add/Remove pannel gives you some indication as to how often this program is used. Another way of checking is by removing the content of the folder elsewhere. If this program is essential, sooner or later Windows will complain. If nothing happens after a while...... kick the :swear: out!!!
 
It is installed with AOL 9.0. It is listed in the install.txt in the AOL folder. AOL makes the directories, copies SRunner et al, and adds RegDB keys and values. I have found uninstalling AOL to be very messy and time consuming - I don't use it but it comes preinstalled.
 
phix has suggested its installed with AOL, are you with AOL?

Also is it not listed in add / remove programs?
 
I came across Learn2 player a few months ago when a friend of mind choose AOL as their service provider. Learn2 player is just bloatware installed with AOL's software. You can safely uninstall it along with the other bloatware installed with AOL.

Even better, wipe AOL altogether and go with another ISP :)
 
megamaced said:
Even better, wipe AOL altogether and go with another ISP :)
Click to expand...

Lol, good call. :good:

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otionfrost said:
so can you delete the learn2 player?
Click to expand...
It is listed in the add/remove folder. At least it was on my mom's laptop. So u can just uninstall it from there (that would be preferred probably). Or u can also just go into program files and delete its folder. Pretty easy.

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[ot]
By the way ... I just need to say this:
HOLY SHIT this thread has a lot of views!!! I think this is the most viewed thread on the forum lol. And I bet that's because a lot of random guests look at it. I should get some kind of award for making it! :D[/ot]
 
[ot]wow, it must be unpopular if everyone is searching for it lol, is it a resource hog or somthing? [/ot]
 
Willz said:
wow, it must be unpopular if everyone is searching for it lol, is it a resource hog or somthing?
Click to expand...

[ot]It's probably not; it seems like its some small pointless thing that doesn't do much (of course I could be wrong). It probably just pops up in people's add/remove programs list and they wonder what in the world it is... which is exactly what happened to me and why I made this thread lol

P.S. I'm still waiting for that award :D[/ot]
 
Swansen said:
lol, wow, this comes up number 1 for google if you search for learn2 player, sweet.
Click to expand...
Lol I actually had one person contact me on AIM about it after reading this thread

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hey bigdog, nice find! Indeed, a readme would have been nice ... but then again, if that had been the case, there wouldn't have been the fun of having this thread, and I also couldn't brag about making the most viewed thread on the forum :D :P

And yes, I agree, there's never any reason whatsoever to pass up taking potshots at AOL
 
Learn2 Player is the runtime engine that plays training and tutorial streams created by StreamMaker, now a Learn.com product. It was originally built by a company called Street Technologies, which changed it's name to Learn2.com when it purchased the Learn2.com tutorials website. This is why it refers to STRunner, which is short for StreetRunner. A .STM file is created by the StreamMaker software. Learn2.com was on the brink of going out of business when all the assets were purchased by Learn.com. At one point Learn2.com was an anchor tennant on AOL, and AOL used this technology for PC application training which is why it either gets installed with or is associated with AOL. I think at one point there was a Dell learning portal, but I'm not sure if it's still around which would explain why it comes pre-installed with a new Dell.

The StreamMaker name was killed off and it's now part of the CourseMaker suite.

This software can be uninstalled without hurting anything other than your ability to play a training course. If you need it the course should be smart enough to get it installed again for you.
 
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