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Setting Up a Linux Modem
---------------------------------------------------------- Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are...
Software for Cable TV Operators – A News
In India, the Cable TV Network today comprises more than 30,000 small and medium sized Cable Operators and caters to fifty million homes in the county. It is one of the classic cases of the enterprise building talent of Indian entrepreneurs...
The Hidden Tiger:
What can you do to avoid computer slow down? – Part Two Even the most experienced computer users find it extremely difficult to control all resource and system settings of their computer. How do they do it? The answer is simpler than one might...
The Other Side Of The Search Gods’ Abracadabra!
Thousands of servers …billions of web pages…. the possibility of individually sifting through the WWW is null. The search engine gods cull the information you need from the Internet...from tracking down an elusive expert for communication to...
your business at stake
(c) by Daria Winkler We do believe in healthy sense of paranoia. Not the paranoia, which makes us feverishly try to distinguish ourselves from our competitors, but the paranoia, which makes us feel the iron hand of competition and gives us the...
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Adware And The Case Against Bundled Software
Bundling software applications together is a practice much abused by purveyors of adware. The potential for sneaking unwanted software into a bundle of desirable software is obvious. The benefits of bundling software aren't so obvious. Isn't it time to consider dumping the practice of bundling software altogether?
Bundled Software: When Is It Not Adware?
If a user wants a piece of software, why can't he or she be allowed to install it separately? If the bundled software were essential to the functioning of the original software (excluding generic functions such as install, un-uninstall, and documentation), why wouldn't the developer build its functions directly into the original software?
Sure, sometimes there's a software application that clearly complements another application. But for users who do not want the complementary software, having it just means a bloated install file and a needlessly long installation process.
Does the chance that users will want the bundled software ever outweigh the risk of the bundled software being installed without the user noticing? In the case of adware, the technology community is increasingly willing to put the burden of proof on the adware bundlers:
* Cnet's download.com website recently removed any and all software that comes bundled with another piece of software that
shows advertising, regardless of how well informed the user is of the bundled software.
* Affiliate networks such as Commission Junction and Kolimbo have either cautioned advertisers against accepting adware distributors into their affiliate programs or kicked them out altogether.
* Many technology law experts are saying that the click-wrap license agreements that supposedly legitimate adware are not proof of informed consent. Some experts even say that such agreements amount to unconscionable contracts: the burden imposed by adware is so great and the benefit offered so negligible.
Adware and Bundled Software: A Modest Proposal
If the spam arms race is any indication, we may soon face even more aggressive attempts to get adware on our computers. There will be even more tortured arguments that bundled adware is installed with users' informed consent. Why not head off any of those arguments right now? Let's push for an industry standard that reputable developers do not bundle software (with a few highly specific exceptions such as documentation, installation, and error reporting).
In the end, by getting rid of bundled software, what do we have to lose except adware?
About the Author
Read more of Joel Walsh's articles on spyware and adware: http://www.spyware-refuge.com
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| Tucows Downloads - Download Freeware and Shareware Software |
| Download freeware, shareware, and demos. Maintains over 45000 software titles that are tested, rated, reviewed and ready to download. |
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| Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com |
| Download shareware, freeware and Demo software for PC, Mac, Linux, and Handhelds categorized into categories, plus software reviews. |
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| Computer software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| Shareware.com - Search for shareware programs and free software ... |
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| Computer Software in the Yahoo! Directory |
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| IEEE Software |
| IEEE Computer Society's magazine covering all aspects of software, including software engineering. |
| www.computer.org |
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| Free Downloads on ZDNet | Shareware, Trialware, Evaluation Software |
| ZDNet's Software Directory is the Web's largest library of software downloads. Covering software for Windows, Mac, and Mobile systems, ZDNet's Software ... |
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| FSF - The Free Software Foundation |
| Free software is a matter of liberty not price. Think of "free" as in "free speech". |
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| Apple - Software |
| Software products for your digital life. ... The perfect addition for professional review. QuickTime Broadcaster. Encoding software for live events. ... |
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| Open Directory - Computers: Software |
| In Partnership with AOL Search. about dmoz | report abuse/spam | help. the entire directory, only in Computers/Software. Top: Computers: Software (38471) ... |
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| freshmeat.net: Welcome to freshmeat.net |
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| Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) |
| Listing of the GNU software packages. |
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| Sun Software |
| Get enterprise-class software--Solaris 10 OS, the Java Enterprise System, ... Sun Java StorageTek Software reduces cost and complexity with a single, ... |
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| Joel on Software |
| A weblog by Joel Spolsky, a programmer working in New York City, about software and software companies. |
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| Amazon.com Software: Computer & video games, business, accounting ... |
| Online shopping for computer & video games, business & office productivity software, software from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe & more; accounting, antivirus, ... |
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| IBM Software - Home Page |
| IBM home page for all of its software products, including Lotus and Tivoli, with keyword search, category browse and AZ product names. |
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| Opera web browser: Homepage |
| Copyright © 2006 Opera Software ASA. All rights reserved. Skip navigation. Opera Software ... Copyright Opera Software ASA . All rights reserved. ... |
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| Google Directory - Computers > Software |
| Search only in Software Search the Web ... Software Categorized by Letter: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ... |
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