Dell cleans up crapware
No I don't want to register any E-Monkey Assistants DAMN IT!
Dell's tradition of shoveling bloatware into newborn PCs may be coming to a close. All it took was a few years of outrage.
Previously, only Dell XPS systems had the privilege of shipping with a "no software preinstalled" option. But vigilant e-coniptions on Dell's IdeaStorm feedback site has prompted Dimension desktops and Inspiron notebooks to join the party.
Customers who configure either system on Dell.com can now choose to forgo unhappy hours of removing unwanted "productivity," ISP, media software such as QuickBooks Trial, NetZero Installers, Earthlink Setup, Wanadoo Europe Installer, Norton Ghost 10.0, MS Plus Photo Story 2LE, MS Plus Digital Media Installer, AOL US, AOL UK, MusicMatch Music Services, Corel Snapfire Plus SE, Yahoo! Music Jukebox, Roxio RecordNow, Sonic RecordNow Audio, Dell Search Assistant — and the rest of the gang.
But not all software gets cut by Occam's pre-configuration razor. Dimension and Inspiron systems will still ship with trial version of anti-virus software, Acrobat Reader and Google tools.
Dell says the reason for this is that customers expect to be protected by anti-virus from the get-go and tend to "pro-actively" select a subscription to security services. Acrobat reader is required to read electronic copies of system documentation and Google Tools...Well, they don't seem to have a good excuse for that one.
The company has also recently launched a software uninstall utility in the US for Inspiron and Dimension systems. Dell's Software Uninstall Utility comes pre-installed with computers to uninstall pre-installed software. Got that? Good.
Oddly, not even Dell's own program has the gumption to get it all. Dell's blog admits, "While today this does not remove all Dell-installed software on the system, we will continue to improve its functionality to ensure it meets customer's needs."
The uninstall program is currently not available for download, "because it is tailored to the software on the system." The rest of you will have remove unwanted software by hand — just like primitive man did. ®
COMMENTS
Unprofessional
It is deeply unprofessional to fill people's PC with such USELESS and IRRITATING crap...
re: Better than third-party
Face it, David... Any time you get gripes about Windows or anything Windows-related, you'll get Linux and Mac fanboys saying 'LOL just use a Mac' or 'Linux is a real OS too, honest'. As for Ubuntu being a glorified *nix distro... How can it be glorified? That's what it IS. And it doesn't actually destroy good commandline work, the terminal is still right there and perfectly usable. The GUI stuff all accesses the commandline programs anyways - just invisibly.
Better than third-party
Build your own.
Or, if you need to mass-order, it doesn't really matter what crapware they come with, because you'll be re-imaging the machines en masse anyways.
Ubuntu computers? Don't make me retch, please. Ubuntu is a glorified *nix distro that destroys all of the good commandline work.
And don't get me started on the pretentious Mac users...
Norton AV
I've been tempted for years to learn Virus programming, just to make one virus, the Anti-Norton Virus. So my dream goes, when people download it, they see a nortonish box that says "The Anti-Norton Virus has detected dangerous software on your computer, would you like to remove it?", they hit OK, and bang, Norton is gone for good.
You can always tell in Internet Tech Support when Norton do an Update... a Million customers call wondering why nothing works anymore.
XP to iMac
I agree with most all posts. I install XP, then Avira and Zone Alarm. Avira is just what you want compared with bloaty Norton et al. But in the long run, I got so fed up with the cycle: clean -> install -> lock down -> firewall & AV -> update , that I got an iMac. Just turn on and use it :)
