Desktops: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs?
- 7/18/07 3:40 PM
Stuff like that I wouldn't mind
by TrackStar1682 - 7/18/07 9:15 PM In reply to: Bloatware by telstar100If they're gonna put trial software in with the system, make it something useful, and make it something that I myself can decide to install or not install. Of course, full versions are always better!
Shovelware - No problem
by Ralph Winslow - 7/18/07 8:10 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I always replace all the crap (Windoze whatever included) with the latest Fedora (probably Ubuntu on my next purchase) anyway, so if it saves a few bucks, all the better. When you start with crap, heaping more crap atop it is really no big deal.
Not one piece of bloat is worth the space.
by fsonline - 7/18/07 8:10 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've bought several big brand computer sysyems. Mostly from Sony, Gateway, Dell, and Gateway. I've had to spend hours getting rid of the junkware that accompanies each one that I spent hard earned dollars on. And the computer makers got paid by each company for including their products on the desktop. I reimbursed htem for that junk. It bugs me.
The worst offender is AOL. It's on every one of the systems, is a nasty piece of junk, in my opinion, and is the hardest thing to get rid of.
And, if in the process of "cleaning house" you make a mistake, you restore your system, and you've got the crud right back. Swell. How I hate it. It reminds me of buying a new car (true story,) that came with a (very much unwanted) pinstripe subtly put on by the dealer as "an option." It was subtle. but as part of the "$400 dealer package", I had no choice but to accept it. It was on every car in the lot, and I wanted that car. Next time I bought the same brand in another city.
I just had a nearly new "big name" computer crash badly -- last week. Rather than spend the money to fix it (I do have backups of the critical data, thank you,) I went out to buy another...same brand... but even newer computer, by a month or two (a lot in today's fast changing market. Computers are cheap now, repairsare iffy, and pricey.
On the way, I stopped at a small, non-descript store-front that I've seen a hundred times on my daily drive, just to ask about custom built system pricing. Yhe main sign only says "COMPUTERS." I ended up buying a custom-built, perfect system, with RAID 1 (which I've never used before, now I'm thrilled,) a much better Intel MOBO, better and faster Intel Core 2 Duo processor, dual 320 GB WD's and much more. And, The dealer is three miles from chez moi. And... they're nice. I already had a new 21" perfect 16:9 LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse and all that.
I own a copy of Win XP Pro that I'd bought and never installed on another "dead unit" to replace "XP Home," and they (the new little computer store,) were happy to use that (it's mine, and fully legal, in its' original store bought box,) as the OS. They said it would be the only OS they'd install anyway, unless I insited on "XP Home SP2 (95 percent of their clients are local government, and big local businesses, and all use XP Pro) and they quickly (and easily,) talked me out of the flashy Vista I originally wanted on the new box. I'm grateful for that now, having done my research.
All for $895, plus tax.
I'm one very happy puppy.
i could care less...
by woodygg - 7/18/07 8:18 PM In reply to: Not one piece of bloat is worth the space. by fsonlinefive minutes of uninstalling a few programs and i'm done. no whining or sniveling from me about this.
and i use and like windows. no problems, works fine - actually runs the programs i need it to.
AOL is the worst offender
by jmarkross - 7/18/07 10:09 PM In reply to: Not one piece of bloat is worth the space. by fsonlineI am always AMAZED why anyone would use AOL at all. They seem to appeal to those who must be lead through life...with big brother helping you make decisions.
don't be
by woodygg - 7/19/07 1:07 AM In reply to: AOL is the worst offender by jmarkrossmany people don't understand these issues and do sign up with aol. that is okay...
h?mm
by eftelyar - 11/23/07 6:04 AM In reply to: AOL is the worst offender by jmarkrossOf course I bought it with pre-installed Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows. Not only did I avoid the crapware, I also saved money because I didn't pay the Microsoft tax. I'm loving it. No, I didn't have to do a bit of command line wizardry to get it to do exactly what I wanted. Try Ubuntu, it's very slick. They'll even mail you a free CD to try without having to install it on your existing computer.
Mac-included software is mostly good stuff
by Krioni - 7/18/07 8:14 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I love the applications that Apple includes for free with Mac OS X. I don't use Mail.app (Eudora instead), but even that is a fairly decent app. Some of the demos Apple includes are of very high-quality software (OmniOutliner, for example), even if I don't use it. The nice thing is, if I want to remove it, it's just a drag to the Trash and empty the trash. No editing the registry, etc.
I've often wondered if people realize that when they point out that Windows has more applications in a given software niche, they are often mostly junk. In almost every software category on Macs, there are only a few programs, but they are normally fairly good. The competition makes them even better. I think that because the Mac community is made of people who made decision to go against the majority choice, there is a higher percentage of people who actually pick and choose their software, as well, rather than just going with whatever they have or find. That aspect shows in the quality of the software available - a picky market makes for better products.
Me 2!!
by Bronzit - 7/18/07 8:34 PM In reply to: Mac-included software is mostly good stuff by KrioniDITTO!!
While no 1 ever wins the Mac/PC arguments, this PC bloatware vs. the trial copies of actually useful programs which come on a new Mac are Mac Users revenge on the PC Users out there! Like she says, it doesn't matter how many 1,000's of PC programs there are. What matters is whether the 1 I want is available... & it is, on a Mac. 1,000's of PC programs are like DirecTV: 150 channels & none I care to watch @ times!
Anyway, this is but 1 of many reasons that since B4 1984, I've never owned a PC, never had a BSOD, seldom even get a "beachball", & then only for a short time due to net traffic.
Stopped buying big names a few years ago
by Wharf_Rat - 7/18/07 8:14 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I stopped buying brand name PC's a few years ago for this very reason. Now, I just call the local computer shop, give them the specs I want and pick up a clean install on a generic machine a couple of days later. Nothing to fight with. I load the software I need, tweak what I like, plug it into the LAN and go back to work on something more productive.
If I could get Peachtree and Outlook to run under Ubuntu, Xandros or PC LinuxOS, I would switch my office over.
I HATE IT!
by bofahs - 7/18/07 8:16 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Some of these programs are so invasive and insidious that I'm never quite sure I've gotten rid of them. AOL is the worst - I have never wanted anything from AOL on any computer, but there it is. Sometimes in four or five places.
While we're at it, how come you can't plug in an HP scanner without what seems like gigabytes of associated programs? BAD programs, to boot.
And, is anybody using Microsoft Works? Yeah, I used it decades ago, but, come on, we need the real programs anyway, right?
This stuff doesn't get you lower prices..................
by 85k100rt - 7/18/07 8:17 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The market determines prices a manufacturer can get, don't fall into the trap thinking that you actually get lower prices. If you think about it a little, the manufacturer incurs a small additional cost in managing the acquisition, loading, and configuration of this stuff and has a higher initial support cost because some of it misbehaves or is not user friendly. There is clearly some financial benefit that accrues to the manufacturer from the software providers, but it comes with a lot of associated risk. If you don't want this stuff installed, let the manufacturer's marketing staff know that there's a segment of the market that would be more likely to buy the product if it wasn't there. I'll guarantee they'll jump at the chance to pick up a few points in market share by offering a clean system as an option. If you are a corporate IT professional, you know that this stuff costs your organization a lot in lost productivity and support costs. Start complaining about it to the folks who decide what to purchase.
I HATE the unwanted software on new PCs!
by frustrated bigtime - 7/18/07 8:26 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I drove 75 miles to buy a Compaq from Best Buy advertised in the Sunday paper since my old one crashed - all I wanted was to do photos, email and ebay. The first thing I was told is that the 550 Ram on the one I went for wouldn't support anything besides email, that I would have to upgrade to 1G for an extra $100 if I wanted to do photos. The salesman showed me Vista, Norton and some music playing was already using 93% on a screen they had set up. So I bought the more expensive set and Trend PC-cillin because I HATE NORTON. I was told I couldn't install it without uninstalling the preinstalled Norton, and that if I didn't know what I was doing I would crash the computer. BUT they would do it for $39 extra. Had me scared to death of ruining it right off the bat, so I paid the extra money to have Norton, AOL, and a couple other unwanted programs removed. Can you imagine how much extra money they make off the PCs they sell by charging to take the unwanted stuff off? !! When I got home and set it up and inserted the Trend, it said it couldn't because Norton was on it. So I had to uninstall it myself after all, took a good 10 minutes. They didn't remove it at all. When I signed on, the internet and email both went to AOL, so I'm assuming that wasn't removed either. MS Office was preinstalled, but it was only good for 30 days, and if I started using it and wanted to continue it would cost me $150 or so. You can get Pro Office for $39 at Office Depot that will do spreadsheets and documents, that is MS Office compatible. There were a dozen other programs in the way too, I wanted none of them but was afraid to try to uninstall anything. I ended up taking the whole mess back and got my money back. Had to fight for the "customization" refund, but I held my ground :o) Tried an Acer with XP since nothing I owned worked with Vista, it didn't have as much as Compaq but it also had Norton. They sent me the wrong PC to start with, so I had to return it too. Ended up with a custom-built jewel with plain XP on it that I had to pay more for, but there won't be a single program on it that is not what I need. And Vista won't be using up half the resources. YEEHAW.
It feels exploitive
by SallyMaria - 7/18/07 8:31 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I helped someone in their sixties buy their first computer and planned to help them set it up. There was so much garbage on it, some of it incredibly difficult to get off - that it took me days.
The manufacturer's should realize this isn't that different from SPAM. How many people actually go for the products that are spammed
Glad to know Dells are clean, when it's time they'll get my business.
The Catch 22
by jbert - 7/18/07 8:41 PM In reply to: Poll: How do you feel about the amount of software that comes on new PCs? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I hate the preinstalled stuff, but someone has to pay for the much lower price of the PC we just bought. I think what I do not like is it makes search time bog down after a while. Some i have used so I can not grip too much.
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