How To Banish Bloatware

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How To Banish Bloatware

#1 PCWorld

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Posted 20 June 2012 - 05:01 PM

Post your comments for How to Banish Bloatware here

#2 TheodoreDiVito

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Posted 20 June 2012 - 07:59 PM

There are plenty of free office suites that are just as good as MS office. Libreoffice and Openoffice to name two.

#3 JonTeatxdg

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Posted 20 June 2012 - 10:02 PM

TheodoreDiVito, on 20 June 2012 - 07:59 PM, said:

There are plenty of free office suites that are just as good as MS office. Libreoffice and Openoffice to name two.

I agree with using Libreoffice or Open Office. As for email client like Outlook there is also Evolution by Novell. I also think that getting rid of Windows is one of the better alternatives to bloatware. There is too many Linux distributions to shake stick at. I would recommend using Linux Mint.

#4 Mattvm8v

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Posted 20 June 2012 - 10:32 PM

JonTeatxdg, on 20 June 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

TheodoreDiVito, on 20 June 2012 - 07:59 PM, said:

There are plenty of free office suites that are just as good as MS office. Libreoffice and Openoffice to name two.

Good for you for liking Linux. Unfortunately the idea of recommending an alternative is to offer one that works similar to the original. And Linux is not a good replacement as most Windows software doesn't work with Linux and even if you use Wine it doesn't work exactly like it would work on Windows. So gamers aren't gonna like Linux or is typical user who wants what they're used to. Plus for the common Windows user want something simple and easy to use and no matter what you want to believe no Linux version is as simple and easy to use as Windows.

#5 Midnight1

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Posted 21 June 2012 - 12:36 AM

Mattvm8v, on 20 June 2012 - 10:32 PM, said:

JonTeatxdg, on 20 June 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

TheodoreDiVito, on 20 June 2012 - 07:59 PM, said:

There are plenty of free office suites that are just as good as MS office. Libreoffice and Openoffice to name two.

Wanna bet?

LINUX is just as simple and easy to use as Windows, even for Novices!

Been using Suse LINUX for years and it's a breeze to install, very user friendly, feature rich and guess what?
NO BSODs!!!

Granted, it's not an O/S for gamers, but for everything else, it's fantastic!

#6 ccat11

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Posted 21 June 2012 - 03:18 AM

Surprised some of the most popular replacement programs aren't mentioned - LibreOffice, OpenOffice (MS Office), Foxit Reader (Adobe Reader), Media Monkey (iTunes), and Gmail.

#7 Internet2k4

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Posted 21 June 2012 - 05:28 AM

People - MS Windows/Office users use it because it's what everyone they need to work with uses. Recommending Linux to them is like recommending Facebook when the people they want to know re on Linkedin. Moreover, while I quite like my Mint thumbdrive and Lubuntu (netbook) installs for what they do, what they don't do is permit home LAN device and drive sharing (easily done with a Windows wizard) without a weird complicated thing called "Samba" - Linux will not be a consumer device until it simplifies and builds in home networking as Windows has.

#8 gundark

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Posted 21 June 2012 - 09:44 AM

Internet2k4, on 21 June 2012 - 05:28 AM, said:

...a weird complicated thing called "Samba"...

Right on. I remember how @#^&!*! frustrating it was to get Mint Linux to access my NAS. Mounting...editing fstab...too much trial-and-error. I did learn a lot in the process, but if my wife had to do it, there is NO WAY she could get it done. This is similar to the hoops we had to jump through years ago to get Linux to recognize a wireless network card.

My rig:
Commodore 64 with Modem cartridge. Tape drive. Zork. OKI thermal printer. 13 inch RCA color TV with tuning knob busted off. Atari 2600 joystick, and a list of all the best BBS numbers.

#9 KarlMueller

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Posted 21 June 2012 - 09:58 AM

Midnight1, on 21 June 2012 - 12:36 AM, said:

Mattvm8v, on 20 June 2012 - 10:32 PM, said:

JonTeatxdg, on 20 June 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

TheodoreDiVito, on 20 June 2012 - 07:59 PM, said:

There are plenty of free office suites that are just as good as MS office. Libreoffice and Openoffice to name two.

#10 NEOStephens

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Posted 21 June 2012 - 02:41 PM

I use Foxit instead of Adobe, but I'll keep my MS Office suite, thank you very much.

#11 NEOStephens

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Posted 21 June 2012 - 02:41 PM

I use Foxit instead of Adobe, but I'll keep my MS Office suite, thank you very much.

#12 TruthRevealed

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Posted 22 June 2012 - 08:29 AM

TheodoreDiVito, on 20 June 2012 - 07:59 PM, said:

There are plenty of free office suites that are just as good as MS office. Libreoffice and Openoffice to name two.

JUST as good? I don't think so. Great free alternatives sure (which is exactly what they are), but if they were JUST AS GOOD no one would pay for Outlook.

#13 francisjav

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Posted 22 June 2012 - 09:17 AM

I would seriously consider switching to Linux if that couldn't interfere with my gaming habits... The final barrier guys... do something about it!

#14 rje49

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Posted 23 June 2012 - 12:58 PM

A few weeks ago, I used Revo Uninstaller to remove MS Office Professional. It set a record (for me) of deleting 16,000 registry entrys. The previous record was 9,000, for a H/P "market research" program that apparently came with a printer. That's bloat!!!

#15 porcupins

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 10:24 AM

Internet2k4, on 21 June 2012 - 05:28 AM, said:

The article just turned into one Linux Propaganda at the end. The only advantage of Linux is it's price. It's no better than Windows or OSX. So is Windows slower than Linux? Sure. That's because it's designed to do more things.

Notice that the faster a Linux Distro is, the more complicated it is to use and the less it can actually do.

This post has been edited by porcupins: 24 June 2012 - 10:25 AM

#16 TheodoreDiVito

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 07:22 PM

TruthRevealed, on 22 June 2012 - 08:29 AM, said:

TheodoreDiVito, on 20 June 2012 - 07:59 PM, said:

There are plenty of free office suites that are just as good as MS office. Libreoffice and Openoffice to name two.

JUST as good? I don't think so. Great free alternatives sure (which is exactly what they are), but if they were JUST AS GOOD no one would pay for Outlook.

Obviously you haven't tried them. and you use thunderbird if you want an outlook type program.

But that's your opinion.

#17 Casstwa

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 02:03 AM

TheodoreDiVito, on 24 June 2012 - 07:22 PM, said:

TruthRevealed, on 22 June 2012 - 08:29 AM, said:

TheodoreDiVito, on 20 June 2012 - 07:59 PM, said:

There are plenty of free office suites that are just as good as MS office. Libreoffice and Openoffice to name two.

JUST as good? I don't think so. Great free alternatives sure (which is exactly what they are), but if they were JUST AS GOOD no one would pay for Outlook.

Obviously you haven't tried them. and you use thunderbird if you want an outlook type program.

But that's your opinion.

Yes, obviously he hasn't tried them. After getting fed up with Windows Live Mail I went to Thunderbird. Then, when I got Outlook for free I tried it ... and went screaming in horror back to Thunderbird. Darn right I won't pay for Outlook, and if I had paid for it I'd feel ripped off. What a mess that program is. And still no unified inbox option!!!

#18 julio99

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 05:27 AM

We really resolved this issue didn't we? Now I'm really confused as to which apps and systems to use. Let's just agree to disagree and keep these topics on point.

#19 mail2ri

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 07:31 AM

I have been wanting to try out Mozilla's Thunderbird for the rave reviews it gets all the time. Sadly, none of the popular security software (I have used Kaspersky IS 2011, Norton IS 2011, now with NIS 2012) support Thunderbird. Email clients leave gaping holes for hackers and can make me vulnerable to email worms/viruses, if my security s/w doesn't take care of email scanning & spam. Though MS-Outlook has been known to be a bloatware for long, it is well supported by all popular security s/w, which makes it 'safer' as an email client. Would welcome views / suggestions on using Thunderbird under these circumstances.

#20 charlesdoub

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 04:14 PM

I've tried many PDF readers, and finally i've stuck to sumatraPDF.

Foxit and Evince generates unjustified CPU consumption.
Evince is very similar to sumatraPDF on interface, but has this problem.
Foxit, use tabs and now has a button distribution like office 2007, but also has this problem.

And Adobe Reader, I didn't like the interface, and the installation of unasked other stuff, like browser support and update stuff.

SumatraPDF is simple and with a alternative style.

Also, the is apvlv for vim-like keyboard shortcuts is very cool, but I've haven't use it too much.