Alternatives To Popular PC Crapware

Lifehacker has a good article and follow-up comments about some alternatives to popular crapware. Crapware in this case being used to describe common programs that have superior alternatives, but the common program is so common that it still gets used despite it seeming like crap compared to those alternatives.

I could have found a better way to phrase that last sentence but we’ll leave it as a brain teaser.

Why are the alternatives better? Looking at just a few of the items listed should give a good idea of what makes them better.

  • Using Foxit Reader instead of Adobe Reader will give you a faster response and some good functionality without all the extra bloat that Adobe Reader tends to have.  This makes viewing PDF files easier. To be fair, the latest version of Adobe Reader seems to have slimmed itself down quit a bit.
  • Using AVG instead of Norton or McAfee will free up lots of system resources making your computer less sluggish without sacrificing protection. AVG is also free so you don’t have to pay those annual subscription fees for up-to-date virus definitions.
  • Using 7-zip instead of WinZip is simpler with more file type support and free. 7-zip also uses fewer system resources.

As you can see, the common trend here is free vs paid and slim vs bloat. Replacing some of these common programs with the popular alternative can help your computer run a little better while also saving you money. Some of the alternatives also offer more functionality than the crapware. Be sure to read through the article for more options and alternatives for CD/DVD burning, IM, and a few others.

This entry was posted on April 28, 2008 at 12:02 pm and is filed under PC, Software, Tech Info, Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Alternatives To Popular PC Crapware”

  1. Marc Brooks Says:
    April 28, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    I actually prefer AntiVir for the free AV tool… much lower system overhead and faster updates to live virii

  2. Jon R Says:
    April 28, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    Perhaps more users should try out linux…then they wouldn’t have to worry as much about viruses…

  3. insomnic Says:
    April 28, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    @Marc - I’ve used AntiVir as well. AVG released a new version just last week that works pretty well for regular users and uses a bit fewer resources than previous versions. Lifehacker’s article actually recommends AVG, AntiVir and Avast as all being good options. All three work rather well and it seems to be a feature or interface type that determines which one people prefer. It definitely doesn’t hurt to try out a couple different ones to find one you like. They are all free so there’s no cost issue.

    @Jon - The first post on that Lifehacker article says “‘Or you can just download Ubuntu.’ There. Got that taken care of, now please, nobody mention Linux anymore.” I thought it was pretty funny. Wubi in Ubuntu certainly makes trying out Linux much easier for basic computer users and the virus/spyware issue is a really good argument for the switch.

Leave a Reply