You're right, I keep saying iMac, but it's the Mac Mini that has the $599 price. But no monitor appears to be included in that price.
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APPLE MACMINI 1.66GHGZ |
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| APPLE: FRYS.com #: 4984461
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Posted on 04/12/2007 7:36:38 AM PDT by Swordmaker
Last week, when I condemned the flood of crippled trial software, ads and offers that come loaded on new Windows Vista computers, readers reacted strongly. I received roughly 700 emails, all but a handful agreeing with me. The column was the most popular article that day on WSJ.com and was cited on numerous other Web sites.
Clearly, many people are furious about these unwanted programs and icons, which are sometimes called craplets. Many would like to smite them without going through the laborious process of uninstalling them manually, one at a time. Some readers suggested strategies. The following are some options.
One ray of hope is a free program called PC Decrapifier. It can be downloaded at pcdecrapifier.com. This software automates the process of uninstalling craplets. It was written originally to clean up Dell computers, but its author says it will work on other brands, too. Before PC Decrapifier runs, it allows you to remove from its proposed deletion list any programs it considers junk, but which you might prefer to retain.
(Excerpt) Read more at ptech.wsj.com ...
“I can uninstall any software from the “Add/Remove Programs” control panel in minutes.”
Care to make a bet on that? I can name a couple of commonly found pieces of software that you cannot uninstall that way.
Ever heard of “Comet Cursor”?
I don't believe that statement is accurate. The cost of Macs fell dramatically during the PowerPC era, mostly due to declining costs for other components, like memory, disk drives and display panels - the same factors that allow other manufacturers to reduce their prices.
Apple did earn a reputation for high prices in the late 1980s and early 1990s when John Sculley tried to corner the market for high-priced RAM - and then the price of RAM fell and Apple was stuck with a large inventory of overpriced chips. Apple's prices have been much more competitive over the last ten years, especially since the iMac was introduced.
The problem with Dell computers is you can't get a great operating system for them - only mediocrities like Windows or Linux. I wouldn't pay $100 for a Dell computer if I had to use it.
Dell should invest in creating a great operating system. It would take billions of dollars, hundreds of engineers and several years to complete, but they could do it. Unfortunately, Michael Dell probably isn't smart enough to do that.
Did Dell actually swap out the hard drives and replace them with smaller ones or did they just send you whole new boxes with the documentation of system capabilities for the new box? I have had them just swap out the whole machine rather than bother with a repair, for instance.
I know that at least one of them had the same numbers on it (model and Serial).
The others, I could not tell you. My assumption was that they replaced the HD first, then the MB... but I really don’t know. All I do know is that it has been a nightmare and our administration has sworn off ever doing business with Dell again...
Never seen “Comet Cursor”. Since it’s not a program it won’t appear in the “Programs” list. But I can remove it in seconds by deleting the files from C:Windows/cursors.
Me too. I got pretty good at troubleshooting Windows computer problems mostly because I had a lot of experience, i.e. lots of problems. The issue with my Dell laptop turned out in the end to be due to a defective hard drive. But it took Dell 18 months to finally admit the problem and send me a replacement. Prior to that they gave me one nonsensical "fix" after another to try, such as update the BIOS and video drivers, as if out of date drivers would cause a four month old machine to freeze. It got to be infuriating, especially dealing with their India call centers. Just proves the old adage that you don't lose business because you make mistakes, you lose business because you don't fix the mistakes. We're a happy Mac family now (five Macs and counting) and I really like the fact that all my time on the computer goes toward productive work- and productive Freeping- and none toward troubleshooting.
As of 18 months ago, when my parents replaced their old iMac, the iMac was still a $1000 machine. Since then the iMac has dropped in price to ~$700 ($599 plus monitor) with the only significant alteration being the move to Intel CPUs. Perhaps it's just coincidence, but the timing certainly seems right.
I bought a new computer with Vista and haven't noticed any of this.
What the heck is he talking about?
The author is being somewhat disingenuous. The problem is not a PC platform issues, it's vendor specific. Dell preloads a lot of trial software on their machines, as do some other vendors. The fact of the mater is anyone who cares to take a few minutes can uninstall all the trial software without any problems. The author is pretending the problem is significant in order to plug Apple.
That's really cool. It's pleasant to have a discussion with someone who is positive about their own choices, as opposed to being negative about mine. If money were no object, I would probably own at least one Mac (my wife still like the Mac) but the cost of switching platforms vastly exceeds the cost of just the machine. I don't mind troubleshooting, and my experience is that I have to do it less than once a year.
Like you I dislike OS wars, and flame wars in general. We should just use what works for us. That being said, some of my co-workers tell me I’m turning into an insufferable Mac snob, so I need to watch myself!
Sorry, no. If you do that, it will regenerate the files the next time you start.
iMacs have never had separate monitors.
You're right, I keep saying iMac, but it's the Mac Mini that has the $599 price. But no monitor appears to be included in that price.
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APPLE MACMINI 1.66GHGZ |
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| APPLE: FRYS.com #: 4984461
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OK so it's malware, not intentionally installed software, which was never part of the discussion.
gracias.
dells are crap?
I looked at comparable Mac/PC deals; I’d be spending $1K more, at least, for a Mac....not counting software. The Mac experience isn’t worth it, unless you constantly brag about it.
That’s just it. Comet Cursor is a commercially available software.
It's typically classified adware/spyware. Check out the manual removal note, LOL!
http://www.spywareguide.com/product_show.php?id=428
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Full Name:
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Comet Cursor Websearch |
| Type: | Adware |
| Also Known as: | IncrediFind Comet Systems |
| Created by: | |
| SG Index: |  7 [Explain] |
| Removal tools: | List of products that detect/remove/protect against Comet Cursor: |
| Category Description: | Program that delivers advertisements on your PC. Note that many websites have their own advertising, unrelated to adware. Adware is any software application in which advertising is displayed while the program is running. The authors of these applications include additional code that delivers the ads, which can be viewed through pop-up windows or through a bar that appears on a computer screen and sometimes through text links or in integrated search results. Adware may or may not track personal information. It may also gather information anonymously or in aggregate only. Users should check the EULA and Privacy policy to ensure if the adware on their machines conforms to their standards. |
| Official Description: | Comet Cursor changes the mouse pointer when hovering over partner sites. It is infamous for being one of the first programs to install sneakily with another, and for tracking viewing of partner pages. pqnelhleyy 4a0c66a9 461fd156
Newer versions of Comet Cursor have grown very big indeed, with all sorts of features unrelated to mouse pointers. They seem to have "cleaned up their act" for the most part. |
| Comment: | Comet tracks visits to web sites that use its cursors, with an ID unique to each installation. However since the sites must deliberately include the Comet code in each page, this isn't much different to third-party advertising banners with cookies. |
| Information URL: | http://www.cometcursor.com/ |
| Manual removal: | Should be removable through 'Add/Remove Programs' in the Control Panel. |
| Properties: | |
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