AOL is without merit when compared to legitimate ISPs. The proprietary software loaded onto their client's hard drives defies axplanation even by their own technicians and support personnel. In part, the proprietary programs required to use the AOL software certainly provides for tracking by advertisers, but why the huge download?

For wincustomize (or anyone else) to serve as enablers to this affront to common sense is bafffling.

C'mon Stardock ... c'mon wincustomize ... c'mon anyone who's been on the Internet more than two or three yaers ... AOL's suckage extends beyond any reasonable person's acceptance of conduct that we would acept from any other online business or even a web page we might visit insofar as violation of our privacy.

Stop supporting them. These guys might control a sector of ignorant Internet users, but not our OS's or anything else that cannot be changed or upgraded at a lower cost with only a positive result.

Friends don't let friends use AOL!

WTF are you thinking?

~Michael T.

OMG.... did he say suckage...

There should be a Surgeon Generals warning label on AOL software. Use of this product will only make you stupid.

Anyway, back you your point, I think that Stardock was using AOL as an example in displaying the capabilities as well as a posible type of software vendor that could benefit from the technology.

Yes, it's a good business opportunity for Stardock. Go for it.
Question though: desktop icons can be deleted very easily. Are the icons on the taskbar or My Computer just as easy to remove? Otherwise, although it's good news for Stardock, it would be bad news for users.

Taskbar toolsbars can be removed in 2 clicks.

seriously people, this isnt for us. Its not meant to target us, 99.999% of people here will ignore, and delete it within the first 60 seconds of getting windows installed. However, its serious marketing tool for joe/jodie consumer.

Its kind of funny that no one else thought of a way to get around the icon bit, unless they think that M$ would get pissed, and say they were breaking contract.

Nice article in BetaNews! You make some very good points which I'm sure will have some people in Washington and Virginia thinking...
I've often wondered why though OEM's and MS don't allow the first boot to be customizeable though. Let's say you go out and buy Max Payne, when you install it you can pick the default or custom select what and how you want to load. I don't see why the OS can't be the same...

Do you want to install the AOL package? "NO"
Do you want to install MusicMatch? "NO"
Do you want to install java support for IE? "YES"

All the junk could be kept in the cabs or on the disk in case I ever needed it. Haha

Wouldn't this make more sense? The user gets the choice. But let's face it 95% of computer buyers don't care one bit what's on their desktop. It would be easier than making the first thing I do with a new computer a Format C:......

Bill

Hey anyone have info about those COM objects mentioned? I'd like to play with making some stuff too

Good comments, Bill. Personally I'd like to see a pick-and-choose interface pull the data off a CD -- that way the software I don't want to install *never* corrupts my hard drive or my registry.

It's sad but true... many users don't care about these issues. In fact, when I worked at a I remember I was sent out on one delivery and setup where the customer had insisted at the point of sale that *every* piece of software in the box be installed with a desktop shortcut. And of course she was a personal friend of the general manager . So they sent me out instead of one of their techs... It was a nice 5-hour break... and the folks ordered pizza, too...

I wonder if they noticed that their computer was about 25% slower after all that installing?

oops... that was supposed to read when I worked at a ...

Must have been those years of dissolute living...

ok... so it's the brackets. i used to work at a now-defunct computer superstore.