“Lenovo’s additions, by and large, actually increase the value of their PCs to users. This is not usually the case with PC makers, in my experience.”
Interesting piece on Crapware — the software applications, trials, and other non-OS software PC makers put on their PCs to subsidy costs; and the suite of system level utilities Lenovo puts on ThinkPads – ThinkVantage technologies. Win7 puts an new emphasis on our system level tweaks to improve boot and shut down times. My X200 can take up to five minutes (I need to time it) to fully boot (and longer after than to light up enabling applications such as my VPN) so boot time is a major issue with an “always on” experience.
This time Lenovo is hammering hard on stuff the user will never see, but will experience as drivers are streamlined, and system level tweaks are making a huge difference.
via Windows 7, Lenovo, and the Death of Crapware.
Nearly as frustrating as Crapware on Windows PCs are all the Crapstickers plastered all over casings and keyboards, most recently evidenced by a brand new gaming PC on loan to me, from a high-end manufacturer (not Lenovo here). Nearly as frustrating as Crapstickers are all the Crap-promotion pamphlets filled inside the box. all these violations are like a supermodel with THREE massive zits on her face: one on her forehead, one on her nose, and one on her upper lip.
(Go Mac.)
David,
I have a couple of suggestions to reduce boot time.
First, run a program like autoruns.exe
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
and deselect those programs that don’t need to be run at startup.
Second, treat yourself to an SSD drive. Intel X25-M (Generation 2) drives are the best and cost around $250 for the 80 GB (75 usable) version and less than $500 for the 160 GB (150 usable) version. Just be certain to get the Generation 2 models that have a G2 instead of G1 in their model number.
I’m running with the X25-M 160 GB Gen 2 SSD and it is truly wonderul. I picked it up at Costcentral for about $470. Amazon has them. Newegg (where I purchased my first Intel SSD) has them also but is overcharging.
Thirdly, time to install Windows 7.