Filed under: Cult of Mac, Apple
Why the Mac is better than the PC: Crapware
InsanelyGreatMac has an excellent article outlining another point in the ongoing battle of which is better: PC or Mac? The article gives the examples of computer companies such as Sony, which install "crapware" (or demo versions of software that you have to manual uninstall) on new machines. At the time of the IGM article, Sony was charging $150 to get your machine free of unwanted software -- a $50 fee for not installing the extras, and $100 for an upgrade to Microsoft Vista Business Edition (whoa, say that 5 times fast). Wired has since reported that said Sony has removed the $50 "Fresh Start" fee, making one only pay $100 to upgrade to Vista Business. IGM also made the point that Mac users may pay a premium, i.e.the "Apple tax", to get a better, crapware free product.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Gian said 12:06PM on 3-24-2008
It's real simple. You get what you pay for.
Gian
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Bassir said 12:18PM on 3-24-2008
I hate these things.
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achiu31 said 12:27PM on 3-24-2008
That's true... but isn't Apple somewhat guilty of the same thing? When I got my iMac I had to uninstall the demos of iWork and M$ Office for Mac.
Don't get me wrong, it's nothing compared to the 500MB worth of crapware installed on the Dell I bought back in 2002.
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Aron Trimble said 1:24PM on 3-24-2008
Those don't do anything to your experience unless you choose to run them... Many of the bloatware that is installed "sans gratis" have services and such that are running in the background.
Mark S said 4:56PM on 3-24-2008
True. However, you do have the option of actually buying iWork from within the application. It's not "crapware" in the same sense that PC makers dump on your machine. And Office 2004 Test Drive on the other hand… Well, we'll leave that one alone. I am a little disappointed in Apple for removing all bundled software (with the exception of iLife) on the last couple revisions of their machines. I feel it takes some of the value away in comparison to a PC. That removed one of my arguments for why Macs are better. I guess it's not a huge deal. I think I've used OmniOutliner twice (I'm a Circus Ponies NoteBook user).
Mellotron said 12:32PM on 3-24-2008
I wholeheartedly agree with this. My father bought a Sony desktop about two years ago that was filled to the brim with bloatware. My mac came with a couple items that I dragged into the trash bin. Much quicker.
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ErroX said 12:33PM on 3-24-2008
Sure, but what about the wonderfull iLife?
What if I would'nt need that? Sure, I can just remove the applications from my MacBook. But this news item is just crap. Apple is just as worse as most PC builders (note: not Microsoft on this one, as Microsoft does not build PC's).
But I like my MacBook though.
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Justin said 12:39PM on 3-24-2008
There's a large difference between iLife as an included FEATURE of the mac and installed advertisements.
That being said, Apple is guilty of "crapware" thanks to iWork and Office. And although I think it is a different category, the amount of mentions of .Mac on a fresh Mac are ridiculous as well.
Poltras said 12:46PM on 3-24-2008
I don't remember having Office or iWork pop up advertisements when I boot up. My sister's notebook literally took half a day to remove the crapware - and most of them were started at boot-time. Sorry, but Mac OSX's default installed stuff is not even close to this level of intrusive.
David Owens said 12:56PM on 3-24-2008
are you retarded?
ErroX said 1:04PM on 3-24-2008
Haha.. I just don't need iLife '08 (note the '08, that way it 'sounds' like an separate product. But it in fact its just the same as Microsoft's Mediaplayer and internet explorer integration in Windows). I agree on the .Mac fact. Ohwell.. both party's include crapware, whether you like it or not.
Zak said 1:15PM on 3-24-2008
I'd have to agree with David Owens, I think you may actually be retarded. In what possible way is iLife the same thing as Microsoft's integration of IE in Windows? If you removed IE from Windows, Windows doesn't work any more. That's why they were getting sued. What happens if you remove iLife, or Safari, or any of the apps that come with a new Mac? Nothing happens. Because they're not tied into the OS, which is the entire problem with IE in Windows.
iLife is not crapware because it serves a useful purpose and it's not advertising or demos. It's full featured real software that's not tied into the OS and has absolutely zero negative effects if you simply leave it on your HD, even if you don't use it. Do you even know anything about the iLife apps? Garageband is such a good music creation app, Apple should be charging money for it. It's worth paying money for. But it's free with any Mac you buy. I really can't see how it's even possible to put a negative spin on that. Unless you really just don't understand how it works.
ErroX said 3:01PM on 3-24-2008
Its not advertising? How about iWeb? Constanly its reminding me of the exiting of .Mac. It serves a usefull purpose, so then its not bloatware anymore? I see this a lot. Oh its from Apple.. so its not bad. Its innovative!
Then again, ofcourse.. I don't know how good you are with computers, but when I remove Internet Explorer from Windows, nothing happens. No troubles, no BSOD's, nothing. I guess the true retard are those who don't want to see the problems that come with [b]every[/b] Operating System. OSX is not perfect nor is Windows. I use 'em both, simply because they got both pro's and cons.
Matt McNamara said 2:20PM on 3-25-2008
I don't know what you're doing in iWeb that makes .Mac popup constantly, but .mac has only popped up once on my machine ever, when I got it and it asks whether I would like it or not. I said no, and it never bothered me again.
ErroX said 2:35PM on 3-25-2008
Try publishing a website in iWeb. Default it will search for my non-existing .Mac. To 'upload' it locally you'll have to search for the Apache folder. It would be a lot better if the system would change that into locally the moment you say 'no' to .Mac.
And no.. It'll only take you like 2 seconds. But thats not the point. Especially not when we're all bashing on PC vendors. But I still like my MacBook, no worries:P
Besides.. every computer nerd builds and (re-)installs his/hers own computer(/laptop). So care..
Tony said 12:38PM on 3-24-2008
I've seen both sides: an HP loaded with crap, and a few new intel Macbooks. The HP was an absolute pain to clean off, and thanks to Windows, we all know "clean" isn't really "clean"... i'm still suspicious of the machine, but it's at a point where it's (just barely) good enough that the family can use it. Sure, there's iWork, Office, and some other game trials on the Mac, but like Mellotron pointed out, it's a matter of dragging some things to the trash. Big deal.
Sure, apple users may pay an "apple tax" but I like to think that's justified by the product superiority in the first place. There's nothing that comes close to the stupendous hilarity of Sony charging its customers the advertising fees they're used to getting from other SW vendors on the mac side.
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David said 12:38PM on 3-24-2008
Yeah, my MacBook came with more crapware than my Dell. I don't want trial versions of iWork and Office pre-installed on my system, or a bunch of crappy third party apps.
Thankfully, Apple includes a full install disc that one can use to do a clean install with just what they want, while very few pc vendors do this anymore, least not without paying extra for a full Windows install disc.
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harsh said 12:38PM on 3-24-2008
I unfortunately bought my mom a Compaq last week with Windows Vista installed (she can't use Macs, and I don't have the time to train her). The system restore discs span 3 DVDs. 3 DVDs!! That's gigs and gigs of extra crap-ware.
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Frank Furter said 1:40PM on 3-24-2008
Let me get this straight - you 'bought' your Mom a Compaq, and she can't use Macs?
Mom didn't teach you well. If I bought my Mom a computer, it would be a Mac. She doesn't like it? Hmm. Perhaps she'd rather buy her own then.
JEFF FRIESEN said 3:06PM on 3-24-2008
Dude,
If your mom can't use a "mac" then she sure as shit can't use the POS Compaq. Besides the ongoing and constant security concerns and problem, there is the tons of crapware, pop - up BS, and shitty error messages. Not to mention the ever present blue screen of death.
Jesus. My dad made the same decision about 3 years ago and bought a top of the line, spare no expense DELL [the award winning DELL POS featuring lots of shit that doesn't work]. He used it for solitaire and it broke down so much that he doesn't use it anymore. There goes emailing my parents. And now?
After Dad saw my laptop over Christmas he commented to me how easy it seemed to run. I casually told him that he could get a mac mini for under a $100 and use his peripherals. And finally this month he told me to get him one.
If you love your mom you will return the Compaq and get her a MAC and then spend the 10 minutes it will take you to teach her everything she needs to know about it. Here is the list. The open/close/minimize buttons are on the LEFT. To exit a program push Apple Q. Now go have fun and don't worry about any security crap.