Computers purchased from Microsoft's retail and online stores won't have any of the junk software you often find on new PCs.
Only a select batch of software is bundled with what Microsoft dubs its "Signature PCs," which include desktops and notebooks from Asus, Dell and Lenovo, among others. The selections include Microsoft Security Essentials, Zune 4.0, Adobe Flash for IE and Windows Live Essentials, which itself is a suite of other tools. All told, there are eight programs pre-installed on these PCs.
So, while the computers don't have a clean install of Windows 7, they're also free of trialware and third-party applications. This is blessing, because when you get a new computer it's not always clear which software is needed for certain features, such as a Webcam utility, and what is just wasting space. Ars Technica, which favors PC Decrapifier for removing these unwanted applications, wrote that none of the usual suspects came pre-installed, not even Microsoft Office trials.
Why do computer manufacturers install crapware to begin with? Money. Third parties pay to get their trialware loaded onto a PC, and in a way, this benefits the user as well by keeping costs down. At one point, Michael Dell said this business brings in up to $60 per computer, and at one point Sony asked for $50 to ship a computer without crapware, though the company later said this was a mistake.
Microsoft seems to be doing the right thing by offering crapware-free PCs. Perhaps manufacturers realize that the extra exposure from Microsoft is a worthy sacrifice.
