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Bloatware Removal Threatens PC Industry Profits
Anti-Globalism sends along a piece on how a consumer-friendly service is not so good for PC manufacturers. "Before they ship PCs to retailers like Best Buy, computer makers load them up with lots of free software. For $30, Best Buy will get rid of it for you. That simple cleanup service is threatening the precarious economics of the personal computer industry. Software companies pay hundreds of millions of dollars to PC makers like Hewlett-Packard to install their photo tools, financial programs, and other products, usually with some tie-in to a paid service or upgrade. With margins growing thinner than most laptops, this critical revenue can make the difference between profit and loss for the computer makers, industry analysts say."
Thankfully, Linux comes pretty free of bloatware. I guess they don't like that artificially inflated revenues by shoving crapware in people's faces is now heading back towards "realistic revenues by giving people what they actually want"?
I seem to recall a time way back when some company actually installed gator with their pc's bloatware.
On the one hand, I think this is a sleazy practice and I'll be happy to see it go.
On the other hand, it's simple enough for someone who knows what they're doing to just reformat the computer with a fresh install of their OS of choice, so the discount you get on your PC for it is pretty nice.
I suspect that if this practice does die out, it'll mean the big guys are on slightly less uneven footing with the little mom & pop PC shops, so I guess that's always a good thing.
The phrase 'Adapt or die' applies to corporations, too. The fact that people will pay $30 to have this crap removed should be telling you something.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
The bloatware construes more advertising & product placement (literally, oddly) than a constructive service. This sounds a lot like getting a TiVo or the like in order to scrub commercials out of your favorite shows.
Do that many people really sign up for the full versions of the software that comes on their computers?
Maybe the computers these days are too cheap. If you're not making enough money and this software is pissing people off, just remove the software and raise the price. It's not like most people are going to start building their own computers.
Remove the crappy software, raise the price, and sell the computer as a "premium" edition. People aren't going to stop buying computers.
The current policy is extortion on non-savvy users. It's like a car dealership filling your new car with trash and charging you to take it out again!
Drop the gimmicks, and get into selling PCs as a business. Get the markup right, make a profit, and compete. If people WANT to buy computers that are $30 cheaper and full of crap, that's their decision. Don't regulate it either way - do what the market can stand.
I suspect that if this practice does die out, it'll mean the big guys are on slightly less uneven footing with the little mom & pop PC shops, so I guess that's always a good thing.
I think we've also hit on one of the reasons Apple computers cost more than similar machines from Dell, HP, Lenovo, et al: Apple doesn't load down their Macs with a lot of third-party bloatware.
I write sci-fi for metalheads
It is abusive for a company to take advantage of their otherwise simple business relationships with their customers.
When a company uses a customer's business relationship to gain even more money by selling that customer's information, by loaded unwanted software (that invariably kills the machine's performance), by inserting ads, or even subscribing them to mailing lists of "their partners," it all amounts to abuse of the business relationship outside of the desired results expected by the customer.
Any time a company annoys a customer, they risk losing that customer. Just because "everyone does it" is no excuse for doing so. Even my preferred vendors do this and while I have learned to live with it by not even powering on the computer in its default configuration in most cases, instead installing the OS from scratch, it is a lot of work that should be needless.
To be clear, the current culture of using or leveraging customers to make additional profits is bad for core business.
So they charge $30 to run PC Decrapifyer? http://pcdecrapifier.com/
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Mac's aren't "overpriced". Macs do cost more, but OS X is worth more than Windows Vista (if you don't agree, don't get a Mac, sheesh).
And a $30 change in the cost of a PC isn't going to make much difference.
... to people still stuck with dialup speed access (to the internet or a BBS) or who need to have media mailed to them. Of course the reality today is that those with broadband access no longer need to have everything preloaded. The vendors adopted that model back when it was helpful to consumers. But like most big corporations, they are now stuck on something that no longer makes any sense.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Certification standards require that all such aircraft be able to withstand 150% of the highest allowable g-limit without structural failure. This is true for both Boeing and Airbus aircraft--and neither manufacturer is going to significantly overbuild their aircraft, because that adds weight. In fact, if tests show the structure is stronger than that, they will remove some to save weight.
And a properly-designed fly-by-wire system doesn't "trump pilot judgment." It puts in g-limits (so you don't rip the wings off) and an alpha limiter (so you don't stall the airplane; incidentally, this makes windshear recovery easier since you can just haul back on the stick). Almost any situation where you would possibly need to overstress the aircraft, or would get into a stall, is likely the result of poor judgment on the pilot's part.
I can think of only two incidents off the top of my head where aircraft crashed due to FBW-related problems... the aforementioned Airbus, and the recent B-2 crash.
I'm and engineer working on a fly-by-wire program, and a private pilot, fwiw.
The meek may inherit the earth, but the strong shall take the stars.
You're right in that I'm willing to sacrifice convenience for freedom, but I don't pay to have bloatware removed. I'm a Mac user.
What, you didn't get any bloatware installed on your Mac? I'm typing this on my Macbook Pro, and while I wouldn't exactly call all of them bloatware there are a number of programs installed I don't want. The first, which is bloatware, is MS Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive. Most of the iApps I don't use either, though I admit many others do. Aperture is there along with GarageBand. I might of tried Aperture, I'm a photographer, but I'm afraid it's trialware. But I don't work with music so GarageBand isn't something I need.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?