Let's dedicate this thread to the whys of not getting a clean Vista OS when you buy brand-name PCs made by Sony, HP, Compaq, Dell, etc.

I was reading the recent article of Wall Street Journal. In that article, Walt Mossberg complained about the crapwares/craplets you get beside Vista. I totally share his sentiments but there is one inalienable factor that he neglected to cite. Hence the reason for this thread.

Vendors crapwares/craplets resulted from the U.S. Appellate Court rule of June 2001 during the landmark antitrust trial against M$. The decision forced M$ to change Windows license terms so as not to have a monopoly over computers not built by M$ themselves. Unfortunately the change introduced the crapware/craplets and it uktimately became a money-making opportunity for both the PC makers and the software vendors. For more info, read this article.

Where do you think M$? Of course they care. They have expressed their concerns that it can cripple Vista. The bottom line is they cannot do anything given the Appellate Court decision.

My goal here is help you understand the reality of what is preinstalled Vista as you go out to buy that shiny new OEM PC.

Good luck.

i_XpUser

typo...

Where do you think M$? Of course they care.

should read

Where do you think M$ stand? Do they care? Of course they care.

i_XpUser

OEM's should have two images - one with a fresh Vista install, and one with all that crap bundled in. You should be able to choose which upon ordering your PC, or both images should be included.

It's also a security issue. If exploits are found in products you didn't install, it's possible those products could be exploited without your knowledge.

TECH-NO-LOGICAL ROMANCE!

http://www.homestarrunner.com/tgs12.html

You don't get the option to select one of the two images when you either (1) buy the PC through the retail chain, or (2) order it online with your credit card. You will need to speak directly over the phone with the PC maker sales representative. Chances are they will try to dissuade you from ordering it because it will be considered a loss of revenue to them just like when you opt not to purchase the extended warranty coverage.

i_XpUser

Yep. Which sucks. Dell used to offer an option to get the OS installed and no other apps, but I noticed that hasn't been on there whenever I've gone to order any PC's/laptops for awhile now.

I don't have so much a problem with pre-installing an AV, at least that's often within the best interests of the customer, but putting in a crap load of various apps people don't need like AOL, media players, etc., it's typically NOT in the best interests of the consumer because extra crap slows the machine down, could be bad for security, and takes time to uninstall without a guarantee all the remnants of the apps are gone.

TECH-NO-LOGICAL ROMANCE!

http://www.homestarrunner.com/tgs12.html

The best one can do is bypass the big boys and patronize the local PC shops for custom-built PC's. You get one-year warranty with it anyway - and a shiny OEM Vista CD not restoration CD.

i_XpUser

Don't get me wrong, I like good hardworking, quality whitebox builders (heck, I used to do that myself), but they're a dying breed, and realistically it's not gonna change the problem. People are buying more and more from large OEM's, not less. :-(

TECH-NO-LOGICAL ROMANCE!

http://www.homestarrunner.com/tgs12.html

Yes I agree. BTW I noticed a lot of Mom & pop PC shops have already folded due to the big boys's relentless competition with its low prices & bundled deals.

I guess the more people buy OEM PCs the more we get busier especially with Geek Squad & FireDog not knowing what the heck they are doing and do it quickly.

i_XpUser

This sounds bad, but the rise of the OEM's made me richer. I find I make more money fixing broken Dells than I made building PC's because my PC's don't break. LOL...

TECH-NO-LOGICAL ROMANCE!

http://www.homestarrunner.com/tgs12.html

Not rich but much more richer now that the Mexico City mogul decided to close many CompUSA stores. Look up the list HERE for the locations that may be near you.

i_XpUser