angrypat

May 30, 2011 at 11:25am

USB cables are out of control in the number of iterations -maddening!

Every pc sold should come with an OS disc -period!

I do not want to download software to download a song! -This means you Amazon, etc.

Software updates are fine, but the reboots are not!

Hardware: Intel, AMD, NVidia, ATI, have all made it damn near impossible to navigate product ranges and probably on purpose!

Yes, I want to do what I want to do with whatever I purchase! Apple "You can do whatever you want with our products, as long as it is what WE want you to do, and the way WE want you to do it!" Jobs/Apple are responsible for more of this kind of crap than any other corp., and they charge a premium above and beyond all others for this treatment!

DRM sucks. HDCP, thanks alot for the support Microsoft. 

MP3 sucks, low bit rate MP3 sucks even more, if I buy music, it should sound the way it is intended to. Thank you iTunes/Apple for contributing to the death of good sound quality.

Politics: they all suck, Religion: they mostly suck, Spammers: a special place in Hell waits for you! 

wirehedd

May 15, 2011 at 3:22pm

Personally, I would add "all companies who have an online presence should have their online access in all ways REMOVED, temporarily or permanently depending on the extent of their CRIME, for employing any form of spam marketing."

Spammers are scum. Spam should be a punishable offense.

mdude

May 13, 2011 at 5:08pm

And they really apply to lots of things in the world.

The general mentality of corporations and companies is that the little people like you and me exist SOLELY and I mean SOLELY for them to pander their stuff to and make endless amounts of money off of. Hence why advertising (credit card offers anyone?), spam (classic case), and opt out (instead of in) is prevalent.

Secondly, and this is tied to the first point, is that corporations exist for one reason, and one reason only: to make money. And not just the same amount of money as last year/quarter/month, but more. Always more. The same as before is never good enough. They couldn't care less about their customers - at the end of the day, it's all about money. Hence why there is always cost cutting, and off shoring. Anyone notice how China is the new Mexico? It's because China has better slave labor prices. And that missing widget for your device? That $.50 for the cable times 100,000 sales adds up to a pretty profit.

Ultimately, it boils down to human greed.

Honestly, ask yourself, would you do better?

axiomatic

May 13, 2011 at 9:17am

The problem you discuss here is not the fault of engineers and designers. speaking as someone who works for the largest PC manufacturer on the planet the issue is the "suits" driving those executive desks and the marketers feeding bullshit to those same executives.

It's time to take the decision making surrounding releasing a product and also supporting it out of the hands of the executives and marketers LEAST QUALIFIED to make decisions on products in development and put the onus back in to the hands of Product Managers and engineers.

The outsourcing issue is just silly. I do not blame the actual outsourced engineers doing the support. Those guys are only doing what they have been told to do which is to do their best supporting products with a ham fisted script and a woefully inadequate database that has only the bare minimum of valid and relevant data. They have been set up to fail, and fail on the cheap.

I'm old enough (42) to have worked in the PC industry when things were good and to all of us engineers out there, we know where the issues are, we are just powerless to change it.

Ralph12345

May 13, 2011 at 9:06am

With the purchase of a new computer, I will get a real dvd with the OS on it!

SSquirrel

May 13, 2011 at 7:18am

IIRC, Apple has charged 2 and 3 bucks for some of the iOS updates due to their interpretation of some government regulations.  Basically, b/c they are adding new functionality to devices that has not been previously factored into their annual reports, they have to monetize it for accurate earnings reports.  Something like that.  You're still free to consider it a load of hooey, but that is the reason I've seen shared previously

joepullin

May 13, 2011 at 7:12am

I love Angry Birds. I was exstatic when I discovered it came to Windows. Not so excited that I had to download Intel AppUp and then download Angry Birds. And totally ticked that I can't make a backup copy. Sure I can copy the Angry Birds folder to anothger computer, but it won't play. Even after installing AppUp. This tells me that I will have to re-download Angry Birds if (actually when) I have to reinstal Windows. What if AppUp loses my user inforamtion? Which has happened to me before.

Selio

May 13, 2011 at 6:50am

for the redownload one, Apple allows free redownloads with apps, but the record labels and movie studios don't yet want to allow free downloads. rumors are that Apple is pushing for the ability though. just FYI, it isn't ALL Apple's fault

Aronek

May 13, 2011 at 5:27am

As a whole, consumers don't have any idea of the value of support, updates, or upgrades, before they buy something. They don't perform research on products, and instead assume larger version numbers are better. They don't care about connectors, and if they do: they don't want to pay a bit more up-front for a product with a generic connector... and instead will buy the cheaper option from the manufacturer that's recouping margin on the back-end by selling proprietary addons. When they first pay for something the only thing they're concerned about is price, not value.

For the comparatively few customers that do end up needing upgrades... or cables/addons... or support: they _then_ see value in those things (long past the date of the initial sale) and then are willing to pay for them. While everyone else that didn't end up requiring the extras spent less on their initial purchase. The companies selling all the gadgets/software this article is talking about are competing almost entirely on price... and are pushing as much of the extras possible down the road to the point consumers find those extras valuable and will then pay.

This article touches on all the right points, but could have been spun 180 degrees and started off by saying "Consumers aren't rational. In general people buying technology/gadget think like _this_, and they're often shooting themselves in the foot in the long run, and paying more. Here's things you should consider before making a technology purchase" blah blah blah...

I make these mistakes myself all the time :) - it's good to see an article that lumps all the modern tech problems in one place: but it should end with "...and we've brought this all on ourselves by making poor purchasing decisions in the past" :)

 

 

 

 

 

TsunamiZ

May 13, 2011 at 5:10am

on a related note, microsoft should support users' efforts to make custom skins to replace the default.  instead of trying to lock it down even more, like in windows 7.  i mean real full-fledged custom skins, not just basic recoloring of the window frames and taskbar.

heck, windows 7 won't even let users change the startup sound to a different one anymore.

rawrnomnom

May 12, 2011 at 10:51pm

as to the update reminders, i looked, and the "current" windows driver for realtec audio is from 2005. yeah... real updated O_o

andrewc513

May 12, 2011 at 10:38pm

As for the crapware... this is why I recommend Dell Vostros and Latitudes. No junk. If a friend or relative gets something like an HP, Dell Inspiron, etc. without consulting me first, I'll always reload the OS fresh once I get my hands on it.

nsvander

May 12, 2011 at 9:15pm

While we are on a rant about what should and shouldn't be done, why can't maximumpc make the damn facebook an opt in not an opt out!  Its really annoying!!!!!

Homer2029

May 12, 2011 at 8:18pm

The Murph's back!!!  Great article.

matthewrhoden1

May 12, 2011 at 7:48pm

I think it's really dumb that cell phone companies force their crapware onto my phone and make it so that I can't uninstall it. Even worse is, in my case, the virginmobile app that essentially just launches the web browesor and sends me to their desktop website. That's right, it's not even the mobile version. 

I also hate how ISP's sell me a 20 mbit connection but it always tops out at 5 mbits. I don't care what's going on, on the network. I only care about getting what I paid for, so if you can't provide, don't try to sell. 

Developing an uninstaller would be convienent to the consumer, but I think the operating system's uninstaller should handle that. If anything the developers should be able to specify a listing of what to remove or keep. In some cases it's convienent to leave a config file with old settings for when the application is reinstalled. But by default take everything with it. 

szore

May 12, 2011 at 7:27pm

I mostly concur. Mostly the one about hardware version numbers being clear. The way these people label their mobos, and cards, etc is ridiculous and stoopid.

HoopSpread

May 12, 2011 at 7:24pm

First I would Like to say Hi Loyd Case ! And MaximumPC.com.

  1.Camera manufacturres' should list the software that will work with there formats to allow competitive and distinguishable software applications that work with the specific camera.

  2. Application,Software manufacturers should list publications/reading publications of which to easily reference utilization of the software. Again allow distingushable reference,and competitive association. Within the box,or download they come with.

  3. Make server use available on ISPs w/o depriving the use of them. I mean I don't have a million to buy ICAHN addresses. But I 'might'be able to create a server that asks someone to 'knock before entering'. Or get bandwidth that does not create a 1099 form for a family of 5.
    - heres a short. A application is a
     3.1 one to one interface.
     3.2 one to many interface.
     3.2 many to many interface.

  ... I created it,so get off me. But I could use a little help.

  Winners

  Owning your software
  Inform us of Updates. [still ya know,you may not 'want that update]. Platform dependencis etc.
  Bakup copies a winner.
  Product versions a winner.
  DRM hmphf,show me the warrant. I buy a 3 copy version.
         ____________

   Note: I have thouroughly enjoyed emails from editors from Windows magazine.

meangenedrlove

May 12, 2011 at 7:24pm

I have a right to not have one piece of software install another piece of software or a damn toolbar by default.

During software (free or purchased) installation I shouldn't have to uncheck a box to prevent another program or toolbar from installing. I'm fine with having an option to install other software, but I don't want the default to let the software invite their friends in too.

Toolbars are the DEVIL!

Markitzero

May 12, 2011 at 6:17pm

I thought of one

The right to Decent Broadband with a Decent Price even in when in Rural Areas.

Joji

May 12, 2011 at 6:18pm

"Provide Us with Free Tech Support"

 

I once believed Microsoft was a mega corporation, and that  tech support like the image on page 2 should be free. I mean, seriously. $50 just to chat with them or get technical support!? With $50, I can buy any descent game off Steam!! Sheesh...

 

But now I realized that Microsoft is slowly loosing its power over Google; the overlord of the digital world!

Scythian

May 12, 2011 at 5:52pm

I have long since stop buying computer hardware from local brick and motar stores because of the product version numbers. Best Buy, Circuit City (when it exsisted) and others seem to have there own special numbers which adds to the confusion. I like your suggestions but how about an easier way to do a clean install of Windows. Why does Windows need this? I'm aware of the reasons givin but my PS-3 has been running for almost four years now with all kinds of upgrades, deletes and new software installs and it still runs like it did when it was new. I would be happy if someone remind the programers that the little X in the upper right hand corner means to shut the heck down not wait while I do housekeeping or whatever.

 

knexkid

May 12, 2011 at 5:30pm

I like this but I have a small bone to pick with the "include cables". Example by your arguement:

My video card should come with an HDMI, DVI, and Displayport cable since it has those 3 ports.

Now I buy a nice monitor to go with it, and it will have a DVI cable, VGA cable, possibly Display Port cable, maybe even a component cable? Now my cable drawer is twice as large as it used to be.

illusionslayer

May 12, 2011 at 5:22pm

The sad thing is that we shouldn't even have to demand half these things.

aarcane

May 12, 2011 at 5:06pm

The software Master Key idea is a good one, and Microsoft of all companies has found a solution to the multiple activation "problem".  By limiting the number of automatic activations, or limiting the number of automatic activations over time, and requiring manual interaction (calling the activation hotline), microsoft allows you to re-use your purchased operating system within reason, while still preventing software piracy on a large scale.

dgourd

May 12, 2011 at 3:48pm

I disagree with your software liscensing critique.  The actual difference in the wording of the agreement has no practical effect on how I would use the software.  However, I think the wording of permission to use is intended to avoid a conflict over source code.  Selling you the program implies access to the code, but using the program excludes that.  If a company makes great software, they reserve the right to protect their intellectual property.

Maktaka

May 12, 2011 at 3:17pm

Don't be too quick to knock the 0 day patch. For a digital-only release, there's obviously no such thing as "going gold"; the developer can work right up until the day of release. For products that have any kind of physical release though, there is always a gap between when the master is sent off to production before the game is released. This is at least a month, but the bigger the release and the more copies that need to be made, the larger the gap (at the long end, Windows 7 was 3 months). Isn't it a GOOD thing that progress continues during this time to make sure the product is as good as possible when it's first used? Would it be better if the developers wait a couple months after release to fix a problem they found after the master was sent off for duplication?