Junkbusters!
New PCs come littered with demoware and ads you never asked for. Does all that stuff affect performance? You bet. Here's how to get rid of the crud--or avoid it in the first place.
Jon L. Jacobi, PC World
The Best and Worst Preinstalls
Not all preinstalled non-Windows software and links are created equal. Here are the least offensive items--and the worst--that we encountered.
The Most Useful
Adobe Reader: Though it lets you view PDF-format system documentation, it's extraordinarily slow. The equally free and substantially leaner and faster FoxIt Reader would make a better bundled item.
Office 2007 60-day trial: Okay, so they want to sell it to you--it's still a very nice productivity suite to use until you get around to buying and installing your own. That said, we find the desktop and Welcome Center shortcuts too pushy, and OpenOffice.org is a free alternative.
The Most Annoying
Online game links: These items vary in their presentation from machine to machine, but many users will believe the games are installed on their PC until they click on the shortcut and are directed to Wild Tangent's online gaming center, where they can either download a 1-hour free trial or play ad-supported versions online for free.
Google Desktop: Vista's improved indexing and search functionality largely remove the need for this program, and its high profile on the system tray and sidebar is irritating, to say the least.
Travelocity Search Sidebar gadget: This tool might be useful for travel agents, but we just plopped down cash for a new PC, so we're staying home for a while. Basically this is a service that we would rather surf to when we need it.
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