I prefer to see it this way: Y combinator is funding the future of the Linux desktop by encouraging crapware on Windows :)
Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
51–60 of 468 posts
Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#52The crapware situation on Windows is horrible. I'm a Mac/Linux user but from time to time I have to power up my Windows VM. A few days ago I wanted to install the Partition Magic trial on my Win XP VM. Having left Windows around 2005 I figured that typing "Partition Magic Win XP download" in Google would be helpful. I got a handful of "reputable" download sources like CNet and the like. I went there and was bombarded…
Agreed, a lot of the reasons that non technical users dislike Windows seem to be the result of these. It really takes control out of the users hands. We can see the origins of this becoming a problem on Ubuntu with Canonical adding stuff like the Amazon search and seemingly having no issue with bundleware as a means of monetisation. On the other hand I'm surprised this isn't more of an issue on the Mac, since Mac (es…
I can see the future of apt-get on Ubuntu now...
$ sudo apt-get install emacs
After this operation, 86.3 MB of additional disk
space will be used and AVG Toolbar Pro! GOLD EDITION
will be installed to Chromium
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like I said, review the software and get rid of the bad eggs. Not all of it will be bad, I'm sure, since not all of it is bad now. The incentive to leave some of the money on the table (the money from the bad people) is in not tanking your brand just to scrape in a few extra dollars.
The problem is that the end user is not the customer here, so the perception of their brand in the users eyes is nowhere near as important as the ROI they can deliver for the bundleware vendors. Think of it like the IRS, they don't increase the tax take by being nice to people.
So who cares about their image then? The original software vendor, probably. If they bundle crap with your install then take it up with them. If enough people did then they would probably stop using this company. So it all comes back to them eventually. Even if it's not in a negative PR way.
Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#54[deleted]
Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#55The crapware situation on Windows is horrible. I'm a Mac/Linux user but from time to time I have to power up my Windows VM. A few days ago I wanted to install the Partition Magic trial on my Win XP VM. Having left Windows around 2005 I figured that typing "Partition Magic Win XP download" in Google would be helpful. I got a handful of "reputable" download sources like CNet and the like. I went there and was bombarded…
I'll take this chance to recommend the following linux distributions to those non-sysadmins who are wondering which one they can try out:
- Fedora 17 with Gnome. Out of the box it offers all kinds of installation options, like the one I always wanted and only found in Fedora (in my words): "Use all this but only this free space, and also encrypt it". The only downside is that out of the box it lacks some things every desktop user will want, like media codecs, but can be installed very easily. There are also tons of addons for Gnome that you will want to improve the UI (eg: get back the minimize button -.-), you can get them at extensions.gnome.org.
- Ubuntu 12.04 server edition. I chose server edition because it has an option for disk encryption, but it will use the entire disk, which sucks unless you have two disks like I do. Then you install 'ubuntu-desktop' and you are done. There is also a problem with both server and desktop edition when installing into some HDD's, they fail to align correctly for different block sizes. Other than that, this is the perfect distro for me. It is LTS so it will be supported for 5 years, and I hope that by that time they have rolled back the crap that they added to 12.10.
- Fedora 18. It should be released today, let's see what they got.
Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#56Y Combinator also funded our solution to crapware. http://ninite.com Basically we automate multiple installers and decline toolbars just like you would. Users range from the nontechnical to NASA. We even have a huge blind user base because these installers are frequently hell to navigate with a screenreader. We make money selling a Pro version with extra features to businesses and school IT departments. It works well…
So basically, they're funding the problem AND the solution. Pretty nifty business-wise, if not very ethical :)
Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#57Y Combinator also funded our solution to crapware. http://ninite.com Basically we automate multiple installers and decline toolbars just like you would. Users range from the nontechnical to NASA. We even have a huge blind user base because these installers are frequently hell to navigate with a screenreader. We make money selling a Pro version with extra features to businesses and school IT departments. It works well…
Wow, I didn't realize ninite was YC. Awesome.
Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#58The crapware situation on Windows is horrible. I'm a Mac/Linux user but from time to time I have to power up my Windows VM. A few days ago I wanted to install the Partition Magic trial on my Win XP VM. Having left Windows around 2005 I figured that typing "Partition Magic Win XP download" in Google would be helpful. I got a handful of "reputable" download sources like CNet and the like. I went there and was bombarded…
Yes, I've run afoul of the "download button" adverts before. I'm not surprised to see them on torrent sites etc, but it amazes me that some supposedly reputable download sites would allow such things.
Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#59Y Combinator also funded our solution to crapware. http://ninite.com Basically we automate multiple installers and decline toolbars just like you would. Users range from the nontechnical to NASA. We even have a huge blind user base because these installers are frequently hell to navigate with a screenreader. We make money selling a Pro version with extra features to businesses and school IT departments. It works well…
Wow, thanks for the link to the great product!
So even on a platform that's opened up to applications, the threat of crapware can create a business case for a curated third-party app store :-)
Re: Y Combinator is funding the future of spam in Windows
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like most people they probably know what sucks to have sprung on them. If they don't want their brand to suck as well then they can strive to align with peoples' expectations of how such software should behave. You don't like popups? I'll bet they know that. I think the investors can see the value in not tarnishing the brand and so that might fuel their efforts to make sure none of their advertisers can be classified…
Problem is that the end user is probably going to think "My computer is full of pop-ups wtf is going on?" not "oh, I have popups because I installed FreePornApp 2.0 which came with InstallMonitizer 3, I'll make sure not to get anything with that bundleware again".
I've mentioned several times now that this company could review software that gets bundled. It's going full circle. Let's end this with: Who cares.