From: "Rich Gauszka" 

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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