Why the Mac is better than the PC: Crapware

The problem I'm finding with Macs is that they're not good for gaming for people, myself included, that don't know how to manually remove parts of a computer, such as the video card, and put in another one safely.

http://www.appzapper.com/

''and yeah, .mac ads are annoying, but it is a built in functionality, by the company you bought the hardware and software from"
So then its okay? If you take this very seriously even the .Mac ads are'nt okay. I don't use .Mac so it has no use for me, so its crapware. In other words: I don't need .Mac for the full functionality of OSX (full OSX experience is an other thing).

To be fair, one of the reasons these computers are cheaper is because Sony, Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, etc...get paid to include the extra demos. It's what helps offset the steep discount they sell the computer for. So it isn't really fair to outright claim that they're being unfair for charging money to not have the programs installed. Is it worth $100? Hell no, but they shouldn't take this much crap for it.

I haven't owned a PC in years, and in no way am I advocating for them. Just trying to be fair here. I'm sick and tired of coming home to my parents house and helping them "fix" their PC (aka deleting malfunctioning bloatware that came installed on their dell). Next computer they by is going to be a Mac.

I can't believe a company would not be savvy enough to NOT do things like this. It's amazing. Makes you wonder how Sony won the HD fight.

The answer is quite obvious. It's far beyond crapware but rather the power of the Apple logo. It draws out creativity. wjere have you been all weekend. The power is in the Apple. Duh!
http://www.iphonesavior.com/2008/03/hundreds-migrat.html

Two years ago I purchased a Sony notebook that came filled with bloatware. Every time I booted up, all of the damn reminder pop-ups would prevent me from quickly accessing the one piece of financial software I ran on the Sony.

It got so bad, I felt like I was playing Whack-a-Mole at a carnival. So, one day, I put my fist through the keyboard out of complete frustration. I left a giant divot where the "TYGH" keys are located. Wouldn't you know it - the damn thing kept working.

I eventually threw it out after putting a wooden stake through it. I'll never buy another Sony computer.

whenever I have to setup a pc laptop for a friend (desktops are mostly custom made boxes that have all crapware in separate cds) there is a very easy standard way I do it: format the preinstalled OS and put WinXP SP2 + updates. From then on, we continue with antivirus, firewall, Spybot, Office 2000 and Firefox. End of installation, no more crapware, 600$ laptop ready for home use as intended.

Sorry, but in reality what this article is saying is that Mac is better becuase it is controlled by a totalitarian regime that doesn't allow crapware.

The same reason PCs have crapware is the same reason why Macs lack applications you can only find on PC. It is a double-edged sword.

I work in a mixed OS environment. About a year ago one of our VP's needed a new computer and she wanted something small, light and with a SSD drive (she had two previous HD's die on her). We got her a Sony TZ series that cost $2500 and is billed as a "mobile professional" laptop by Sony. It took IT a bit to approve because it only came with Vista, but finally they agreed.

The computer arrived and I was initially impressed with the machine. It was exactly what she wanted. Then I needed to set it up for her. It took at least 20 minutes to get to the account setup screen after pressing the power button as who knows what was going on. Then I created an account and logged in to Vista for the first time. The desktop appeared (which its self was a promo for Spiderman III) and then another 5 minutes elapsed as all of these demo programs and trials popped up. I figured that this was an initial startup thing so I shut it down and restarted the comp and the same 5-minutes-to-load-all-the-crapware delay presented itself again.

This computer came with pretty small storage, 32GB, which we felt would be OK as the user is mostly an email and office docs user and doesn't need storage for photos, music, or videos. Once all for the startup crapware was finished I look to see the available storage space. IT WAS ONLY 6GBs. As I remember it broke down like this, drive formatted to 30, vista took 8, Sony's hidden restore partition 10, and 6 for other software. I was floored. $2500 and Sony can't just include some restore DVDs (like every Mac comes with) and leave another 10Gb of usable space (not to mention all the unneeded software).

There was even a card in the box advertising that a copy of Spiderman III came pre-installed on the computer! After spending some time searching for the giant, full length movie file on the computer to free up some disk space I called Sony who told me that that model does not actually come with the movie preinstalled (the HD based models do), but I could download it if I wanted. Wow what restraint!

I spent most of a day deleting all sorts of junk software that Sony had included and made about 10 GB of free space. I don't know about any "Apple Tax" but I know that there is certainly a "wasted time tax" with this Sony. If I had that day back I would have just nuked the whole thing and installed a fresh version of the OS from scratch. Let me reiterate that this is not a bargin bin WalMart cheapo in need of a subsidy, but an expensive computer purchased directly from Sony and marketed to mobile professionals.

I'd bet my Mac that the CEO of Sony Computers isn't given a laptop in the state that Sony sells them to everyone else. That's what makes Macs different. I am certain the SJ wants to know exactly what the end user will see when their new Mac is plugged in and turned on. It shows in the product.