I was reading about an idea to remove all those trials and demos from a new computer for those willing to pay a fee for a clean install of Windows (or OS X).
I think the last paragraph sums it up. The average user – think about your Mom or Dad or other family member not working for an Internet company and how savvy they are when it comes to computers – would suffer without all those apps that get bundled. Taking home that shiny new computer would be disappointing when you realized you couldn’t connect to the Internet for example without additional software.
Another honorable way to deal with this would simply be to include the media and marketing material in the box but not have it pre-installed. This doesn’t clutter your new desktop but still provides the offers for those that want them. In this model the manufacturers would still be able to collect the marketing dollars and save the consumers the trouble. If a consumer wanted or needed them they would be there.
