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Tag: Crapware

  • Verizon Gives Up on Verizon Apps Store

    Verizon has announced through its developer community website that as of January 2013, the Verizon Apps app store will be removed from all Android and BlackBerry devices. The company anticipates completing the removal process by March 27, 2013. The wireless carrier did emphasize, however that business applications submitted to the Private Application’s Store for Business will still be available for enterprise customers to purchase and download.

    Verizon admitted that most of the apps available through Verizon Apps were already available through other app stores, such as Google Play, BlackBerry App World, and Amazon’s app store for Android. From the company’s statement:

    Verizon set out to create an app storefront, offering device optimization, security and simplicity for developers. Verizon Apps launched in March 2010 – the beginning of what would be an app popularity surge. There’s now a whole new tech landscape in which both consumers and developers can interact like never before. We’re evolving our strategy to further simplify today’s experience and meet the needs of tomorrow.

    The company announced that it will be “introducing new merchandising strategies” in the future, starting with the AppLuvr app-sharing app, which it announced back in August. Current Google Play statistics show the app has been downloaded less than 5,000 times for Android devices, and the app is only available for Verizon customers who have Android 2.3 or better on their devices.

    The Verizon Developer Community is no longer accepting new app submissions, and apps that require a monthly license check will be some of the first to go. During the “transition” period where Verizon is uninstalling the Verizon Apps software (and presumably putting AppLuvr in its place) developers will still have access to app metrics and reporting, and the company will continue making payments “while the shutdown client is being deployed.”

    (via BGR)

  • Microsoft Will Remove Crapware – For The Same Price as Windows 7

    Microsoft is now pushing PC’s that not only come with Windows 7, but come with a “cleaner” version of the operating system that is free of “crapware.” Software, such as DVD playback programs, customer help icons, and trial games, is often installed by computer retailers or manufacturers onto the computers they sell. This software is often referred to as “crapware.” A Microsoft Signature computer is one that comes with no software installed by manufacturers, and on which Windows 7 has been tweaked by Microsoft to function best on the computer’s hardware.

    In addition to selling Microsoft Signature certified computers in the online Microsoft Store (including computers from manufacturers such as Dell and HP), Microsoft has also set up a program to help Windows 7 users convert their current computers to a Microsoft Signature set-up. Computer owners can bring their devices into one of the few physical Microsoft Stores around the U.S. and have it Microsoft Signature-certified for $99.

    Walt Mossberg over at The Wall Street Journal ran some tests with several different computer manufacturer’s computers and compared the speed and reliability of Microsoft Signature computers with those that were loaded with crapware. Not surprisingly, he found that Microsoft Signature computers were faster to start, wake up, and shut down, but only by margins of a few seconds. Note, though, that all of these comparison computers came straight from Microsoft.

    If you are looking for a clean Windows 7 install, Microsoft Signature isn’t exactly that. Signature comes with a plethora of Microsoft products installed, including some that could be considered crapware in their own right. Windows Media Center, Internet Explorer 9, and the Zune Marketplace all come pre-installed on a Signature PC. The Journal story states, however, that Microsoft Stores will help users uninstall or install any software, at their request.

    All of this seems silly when you consider that users can simply take an afternoon and re-install a fresh version of Windows 7 from the disc that they have already purchased. And, if the manufacturer of their computer did not provide a copy of their operating system, the price of an OEM copy of Windows 7 Home Premium is almost exactly the same as a Microsoft Signature in-store wipe. Still, I suppose that if you have more money than time, Microsoft Signature might just be the perfect way to get BonzaiBUDDY and all of those toolbars off of your mother’s computer.

    (via The Wall Street Journal)

  • Microsoft Charges $99 To Remove Bloatware

    Microsoft Charges $99 To Remove Bloatware

    For those of you who still buy PCs–the store-bought models that come with Windows already installed–what are your thoughts about all of that trial software that comes preinstalled on your not-inexpensive machine? If you’re like most conscientious computer users, you absolutely hate it. Not only for the inconvenience, but for the performance issues such software–bloatware or crapware–causes.

    The bulk of this putrid software can be classified as OEM, and it’s normally a trial version of a software package related to a piece of hardware in the computer itself. If you’ve bought a PC from Dell, and weren’t mindful enough to decline the excess software that comes with these computers, you know exactly what bloatware and crapware refers to.

    With that in mind, the small amount of Microsoft stores (currently 16 with further ones coming soon) offer a “Signature” version of their PCs, meaning the machine comes without the additional OEM bloatware installed with Windows, which is a very good thing. If you don’t want that crap on your brand new PC, you should have the option of avoiding it, and Microsoft (and Dell) deserve kudos for making that a reality.

    However, these same Microsoft stores also offer a service that removes bloatware from PCs that were purchased elsewhere. The cost of removing this crapware, er, allowing Microsoft to give it the “Signature” treatment?

    $99

    That’s right. Taking a page directly out of Best Buy’s “Geek Squad” playbook, the Microsoft stores are charging $100-plus (after taxes) to clean the crap off of your computer. The service, as described by Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal, sounds like a good way to make money off of consumers who do not want to take an active role in the lives of their new machine. A quick look at the caveats Mossberg described underscores my disposition:

    Microsoft loads Signature machines with its own add-on software, such as its free email, photo and video programs, its Zune music and video program, and a stripped-down “Starter” version of Microsoft Office, that includes only Word and Excel, plus ads, and an offer to buy the full version.

    However, the company says the stores will remove any of these a customer doesn’t want and even help the customer install competing software, such as Google’s Chrome browser, or Apple’s iTunes for Windows.

    While there’s little doubt some consumers will want, and perhaps even need such assistance, it’s hard to see the $100 value, aside from the fact you’re paying someone else to do the work for you.

    A quick Google search for “PC bloatware removal” reveals pages and pages of tutorials and utilities designed to do the exact same thing. Furthermore, many of these utilities, like PC Decrapifier, are free. From PC Decrapifier’s description:

    It’s a free tool for you to use that helps remove programs, unnecessary startup items and icons that can slow down your PC. It takes you step by step, giving you recommendations on what to remove, many of which can be removed unattended.

    So, you can pay the Microsoft store over $100 to remove this unwanted software, or you can download a free utility (more than one, actually) that does it for you. Which is the better deal?

    “But wait,” you say, “Microsoft will install the software I want them to with their ‘Signature’ service. They’ll even install Google’s browser if I ask them too.” To which, I say, “if you need someone else to install Chrome for you, you might want to reconsider purchasing a home computer, or, well, any technical device until you better inform yourself. If you need the Internet that badly, the public library keeps reasonable hours.”