Text 17430, 90 rader
Skriven 2007-04-18 16:12:50 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: The need for 'crapware'?
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From: "Rich Gauszka" <gauszka@dontspamhotmail.com>

Dell may claim they are letting consumers have their say if they wish the
trialware on a new PC but I opted out of trialware on a Dell notebook order
this past Xmas and Dell still put the trialware on it.

http://news.com.com/PC+makers+walk+fine+line+with+crapware/2100-1041_3-6177050.
html

For years, computer makers have managed to wring a few extra bucks of profit
out of each PC sale by bundling all sorts of third-party software.

While adding software, setting default search engines and including toolbars
can all put money in PC makers' pockets, the practice has also alienated some
consumers who say all such "crapware" is clogging their hard drives and bogging
down their systems.

For the moment, computer makers appear to be trying to walk a fine line,
tweaking their approaches slightly but hoping not to have to slay a cash cow.
Gateway, for example, offers only one program in each category, while Dell has
added an option for some models that allow a user to configure a system with no
trial software.

"We've seen the evolution," IDC analyst Richard Shim said. "The desktop became
kind of a billboard for Internet service providers and software. Now the
pendulum is swinging the other way."

At one time, PC makers thought they might be able to subsidize the whole cost
of a PC through a combination of advertising and bounties from signing up ISP
customers.

While those dreams have largely faded, companies have continued to make money
from including trial software, desktop icons and more recently, by agreeing to
include a toolbar or other service from the leading Internet search providers.

Despite some outcry from consumers, there's still plenty of software being
loaded on new machines. In part, that's because the PC industry needs the cash
that such deals offer. Even if the companies get less than $1 per software
program that they include on a PC, that can still add up to $10 or
$20 in revenue.

"On a $400 PC, that's a big thing to get," said Stephen Baker, an analyst at
The NPD Group.

In one sense, such bundled software represents free money for the PC industry.
But at the same time, if it adds up to support headaches or causes customers to
shy away, such software may not be worth adding.

Samir Bhavnani, an analyst at market researcher Current Analysis, said one
option computer makers should consider is letting buyers order a software-free
system but charge a premium to make up for the lost revenue. Bhavnani figures
an extra $25 should be enough to cover the company's shortfall.

"It would be so simple for them to come out with an anticrapware PC," Bhavnani
said. "People would love them for it. The question is, who has the (guts) to do
it?"

Apple, for its part, is playing off the growing outcry, highlighted in a recent
column by Walt Mossberg in The Wall Street Journal. In a new ad that debuted
this week, the "PC guy" played by John Hodgman appears so bloated he can barely
move.

"It's all this trial software," Hodgman says in the spot. "They pack my hard
drive full of it, all these programs that don't do very much, unless you buy
the whole thing...it really slows me down."

For the record, Macs do come with trial versions of Microsoft Office and
Apple's iWork, though all other included applications are full versions of
programs, including the company's iPhoto and iMovie, as well as third-party
titles such as Comic Life.

Plus, Bhavnani said, Apple systems sell for far more than the average PC. "They
make more money on the box than (Hewlett-Packard) or Dell does," he said.
"That's why they are able to do that."

Ultimately, consumers are going to have to decide whether it is worth paying
more to get their new computers clutter-free. The addition of trial software
and other offers, along with falling component prices, is what has made PCs so
cheap.

"One of the reasons is, they are being basically subsidized with billboards,"
Bhavnani said. "It would be like driving around in a car that you save 10
percent on, but with a big Google sticker on it."

Dell said it has started letting customers have more say about which programs
are loaded onto its systems. It says that in many cases, consumers are choosing
the free programs, including trial software.

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