On shovelware: A rant
HP is far from the only shovelware offender, but it's certainly among the worst. Buy a PC from any large manufacturer, and you'll likely find the desktop littered with icons for free software trials. Software companies pay hardware manufacturers to get their apps (or links to their apps) preloaded on systems so that their products sit in front of a captive audience as it powers up a new PC for the first time. This arrangement helps the software companies acquire more paying customers, and it helps the hardware manufacturers' bottom line, particularly with low-end systems where margins are supermodel thin. But does it help you, the consumer?
How many desktop icons are too many on a new PC? We'd argue 17 is too many.
(Credit: CNET Networks)In addition to better performance, isn't part of the allure of a new PC a sparkling clean hard drive? System maintenance shouldn't be the first task you perform on a PC right out of the box. Take the HP's Pavilion Media Center m8120n we just reviewed as an example. When we powered on this otherwise excellent quad-core PC for the first time, we were greeted with 17 desktop icons. We'd deem more than half--9 of the 17--as shovelware:
1. A free 60 days of Microsoft Office may entice you to upgrade from Works 8, which comes bundled on the system. We'll give this one a pass since the m8120n is a retail system that doesn't give you the option to customize the software bundle.
2. The 60-day trial subscription to Norton Internet Security also provides some value because it provides protection for your new system right from the start. Is it too much to ask for a full year of coverage built into the price of a PC? At the very least, wouldn't that cut down on the calls to HP's customer support line?
3. The desktop shortcut to eBay is useless clutter. We're quite certain most PC users can type those four little letters into their browser when they feel the need to hawk their wares. Alternatively, you can bookmark the site should you find yourself a frequent visitor to the auction site.
4. Also useless is the Try AOL Today icon. Just send us a CD in the mail.
5. We like Vonage, but we don't like Vonage desktop icons. All this shortcut does is take you to Vonage's site. We can do that on our own, thanks.
6. The icon for HP's photo service, Snapfish, promises 25 free prints. That sounds relatively interesting until you realize that Snapfish offers 20 free prints to any first-time visitor to its site.
7. The shortcut to Rhapsody is of dubious value. If we wanted to sign up for a music subscription, we'd happily hunt on the Internet for the service that best aligns with our musical tastes, which may or may not end up being Rhapsody.
8. The MSN icon offers a three free months of Microsoft's dial-up service. This icon is not needed when you see that the Easy Internet Services and the High-Speed Services desktop icons provide links to a variety of dial-up and broadband offers from EarthLink, NetZero, Juno, and, yes, MSN.
9. Lastly, the My HP Games shortcut may provide some entertainment value if you need a break, but we'd rather have this listed among the Accessories. We don't feel an overwhelming need for one-click access to WildTangent's collection of online games.
In addition to the two ISP icons that may help you get online, we're left with six icons that merit a spot on the desktop: the Recycle Bin, HP TotalCare Advisor, Help and Support, RealPlayer, Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Center.
Instead of shoveling these apps and offers down my throat, I'd prefer HP round up all the offers from its various partners on one page on its Web site. Keep the software on your servers instead of my new hard drive. I'll even look the other way should HP include one desktop icon to such a Web page. Fair?
Which vendors do you find particularly aggressive with their preloaded apps? With the last PC you bought, did you make use of any of the trial offers, or did you just remove icons and uninstall software? Vent your shovelware frustrations here.
As far as Icons on my desktop are concerned, I have just 4:
My Computer
My Network Places
Recycle Bin and
Network Connections
If I wanted more, I could easily have more, however quite a few years ago, I remember being told that each one uses some resources, so keep to as few as possible to get the best use out of your machine. I have only once bought a computer via a manufacturer, and there were only 8 icons on the screen when I turned it on! That soon went down to 4 again, but if there is a system folder called Notebook, delete it, you won't lose the file, just the icon.
Man I remember my first compputer. A Gateway 2000 133mhz. Not only did it have a ton of fully licensed programs, with the CDs (including Encarta and MS Word), it had an almost clean desktop. And if I'm not mistaken it had a full year of virus protection.
Ah the good old days!
Or you could buy a Mac like me! Although Apple does have it's own !Buy Me! programs (iTunes Music Store, .Mac, Quicktime, iWork, Microsoft Office) at least you can use most of them for their intended install for free without hogging resources.
- T
no crapware
no shell game with versions
no activation
oh, and NO REGISTRY! OS X just works.
There are always remnants of the uninstalled warez in the form of dll(s) & registry keys. I don't think your average user really wants dig through regedit to try to remove unwanted registry keys.
The best way (I found) is to get a barebones pc & install windows or whatever OS you want. Believe me, this is cheaper than going through major pc builders.
Recently, I got myself a second hand Gateway laptop. The hard drives had been wiped and I had to do the restore thing. Cleaning it out wasn't too bad, except for one thing: It had trial versions of McAfee AV - AND - Norton Interent Security. Both of which were running at the same time.
Gee.. I really want my nice, speedy 2.3 GHz CPU running like a 386SX-33.
[b][i][u]NOT![/u][/i][/b]
Ok.. So it wasn't quite as bad as a 386SX-33... But it wasn't faster than a 66 MHz chip.
Whoever put this package together was kind of braindead about it. You do NOT want multiple instances of any antivirus software running on your computer at the same time. A newbie's FIRST action then, would be to contact tech support to get rid of one or the other. NOT very cost effective from the vendor's point of view - don't you think? Especially when they're supposed to be trying to keep people from calling tech support - which IS expensive.
Now then... If you're in the mood for trying out new software, there's a really simple solution. DOWNLOAD IT YOURSELF. Research the thing first to see if it might be what you're looking for and then download it. It's not that hard to do.
As far as the price break, exactly how much are the vendors actually making per unit? $5? Maybe $10.
There are other issues - like when the vendor installs versions of software that are 2 or more versions behind the current product. The laptop I got came out 2 years ago, and yet, it had Adobe Reader 5 installed - which was released about 4 years ago. So in cases like this, I have to a.) uninstall the old one, b.) download the new one and c.) install it. Bundling may seem like a good idea, except it only adds MORE work even in the case where the utility might actually be USEFUL.
I'd rather have a blank slate and get the stuff I need and want and go from there.
Granted, I made $40 off a friend this weekend for taking a couple hours to remove crap from his new sony, but what if he didn't know me? I had to manually remove registry entries to kill the Office 2007 trial install because it's uninstaller failed, and said it was corrupted when I tried it again. It requested the original CDs to remove it. Well, hello! I don't have the CDs because it's not a full version! It's a 60-day trial preinstalled so you'll buy the full version and get the CDs.
Tell, me, how exactly does a 60-day trial of Office bring down the price of a PC? So you're not paying $200-$300 to use office for 2 months, but you'll have to anyway if you want to keep using it. I don't see how that saves you anything. If anything, it causes headaches when day 60 comes around and suddenly you need to edit files for a meeting, homework assignment, etc. Same thing goes for the 60 or 90 day trials of antivirus software. Come on! AVG can give it to you for free, but Dell/HP/etc can't even give you a full year of Norton/McAffee/etc?
Give me a computer with windows, and model-specific tools/drivers/utilities and nothing else. I'll be up and running in no time instead of spending hours cleaning a new PC.
Oh yeah, one more thing. These manufacturers can take the time to load this extra software into the image they probably use to mass produce the hard drives, but can't be bothered to do windows updates. Brand new Dell, 50+ windows updates waiting. So before anyone can actually use this system I now have to remove crap, update windows, and do a spyware scan. So much for opening it up and actually using it.
I fault Windows most of all, though. After 30 years of dealing with PCs I am ready for a Mac. Now, if I could just get the Mac Pro for around $1500....
His sister got a new desktop months earlier. She is an IT professional, and has not been able (she has not had the time it takes) to remove all Crapware remnants.
The misconception is that you just delete the program, which is all you need to do if you have a Mac. I understand that on a PC however, you have to go into the registry and clean out all the files that the program puts there.
Now in all fairness I opinionated I considder I-E crapware - now remove that if you can ( XP auto-reinstalls it if you go on the net at all - an I hate the security dangerous I-E with a passion)
Peter
KC
I also believe if I'm buying a new computer I want a pristine hard drive regardless of the price. I demand that much. If the manufacturers aren't making any money either raise prices or maybe its time to find a business to be in...
Cheers!
Lesson learned: #1 priority when running a new computer should be to get rid of the bloatware before it can setup all kinds of hooks which become almost impossible to remove.
benefit. If you'd rather pay more for a custom install without the advertising,
go right ahead. Advertising is everywhere, from your favorite web page to
your McDonalds cup. It can be annoying, but it pays part of the coost of what
we use. I don't see you complaining about the Dell, MS, or Circuit city ads
that litter c|net websites.
Your complaint about taking up 10 or 20MB (excluding MS Office which -
even though I hate it, is a fully functioning program, and Norton) is bogus.
When even the cheapest desktops come with 150 or 200GB hard drives, these
take up less space than your Internet cache file. Using an Internet homepage
may sound like a good idea, but it only works if you connect to the internet,
and use the specific (pre-installed) browser.
I'll save the money and practice clicking and dragging to the trash can, thank
you. I think I've spotted the real crapware here.
[Note to babebeard: A little rubbing alcohol cuts right through the glue
residue. A cleaner with alcohol in the formula is especially effective.]
If I want a 320 gig hard drive, I want to know that I have 320 gigs of space minus the operating system that IVE chosen to have installed. The rest of the crap can be put on YOUR system.
Open Office - this one could be just one of those quick links to the actual installer. Easy enough to install, and gets even low-income users up and running on a very nice little Office suite, without the $400 price tag (for Office Professional - which has similar features).
VMWare Player and some Linux "appliances".
Probably the most painless way to get a "test drive" of Linux without having to risk losing other data on the hard drive. These appliances are typically around 1-3 gigabytes per appliance and can be easily backed up to a DVD or externel USB. This is also a great way to get more complex software that might be difficult to install/uninstall on Windows.
FireFox preinstalled. I have seen firefox preinstalled on a few machines, but it's still a nice feature to have "right out of the box".
Thunderbird - If Microsoft gets to preinstall outlook, it's only fair that the OEM should also be able to offer an alternative that doesn't catch/spread viruses so easily.
On second thought, put the e-mail into the "appliance", which means the viruses will just appear as text and won't be executed at all.
How about VMware Converter. If you like Linux, but still want Windows, run the converter to create a VM, then install Linux as the main OS, and Windows becomes the "Appliance".
That's the way I set up my Z-60p, and it's great. I especially love being able to flip between desktops, only ONE of which is dedicated to Windows.
I agree with the previous comment that shovel-ware creates a "need" for independant consultants to help shovel this junk off of a new system.
I wonder how much of a system price is subsidized by shovel-ware and how much PC sellers would charge to deliver the system without it. (It sounds backwards, but it's essentially the same as buying a cell phone without a carrier.)
JerryI
This is WRONG in all ways that you look at it. Bill Gates is a thief in my opinion as he has robbed me of my right to choose what I spend my money on.
- Acer laptop- no shovelware.
-
by mrsfixit
July 13, 2007 10:03 AM PDT
- I guess I got lucky.
-
Reply to this comment
-
Showing 1 of 5 pages (147 Comments)I purchased a low end Acer notebook one year ago, and it had the OS, the Acer system utilities, and a dvd burning program as the notebook has a dvd burner.
That was it. No bloatware, no AOL, no trial software of any kind.
I don't know if this is the norm for Acer, but I have to give them credit for setting the system up like that.
All the other vendors should follow suit.