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What the hell is OpenCandy?

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mikiem:
OK -- here's the deal...

If you're familiar with the GOTD site (giveawayoftheday.com), today (5/29) they're offering a copy of StarBurn. StarBurn offers in an very upfront, opt-in/out way to add a toolbar etc -- check out the high % of negative comments & comment ratings, mainly because the add-on's even offered. Take that to mean whatever you want... myself, I think it's an expression of the indignation many users feel when they find developers even approaching anything beyond the normal expectations of their app. Personally I think a full statement & notice should be presented as the 1st step in the install, & NOT in the EULA.

I think any developers, marketers etc reading this should take note -- people do get upset. They should also note the loyalty & respect so many users give to whatever anti-spyware apps they favor, & they do go wild over that sort of software. I'm NOT saying Open Candy is spyware, but rather that people are rather paranoid & distrusting of this sort of thing.

That said, I feel it reasonable that developers include Open Candy if they wish, & I will act accordingly, now that I'm (embarrassingly late) aware of it. If it's an app I can do without, I will. If it's an app I don't wish to abandon, I'll do my best to remove / disable Open Candy, & will make others aware of it as possible &/or reasonably convenient.

Thanks Much, kartal, for bringing OC up!

mikiem:
wraith808,

You make a very good point about installer software & it's often abusive nature. It's a solid endorsement of uniextract, when it'll work, along with Regshot & maybe even installwatch pro when it won't. In my personal experience easily 90% of the registry entries made by most installation software is not needed, nor are the redundant, hdd stored install files they sometimes provide helpful or wanted. Just like OC, IMHO they should be avoided if at all possible, and usually circumvented when not. In fact, bypassing the install often tackles OC from what little I can tell scanning my drives & registry very quickly.

mikiem:
In other words -- I really think its misdirected energy to be complaining about the abstract concept of using a DLL in an installer -- there is just nothing to complain about regarding such a trivial everyday thing.  And I don't see why anyone should care if an installer makes an opt-in recommendation to a user about another program that the author wants to recommend.

--- End quote ---

FWIW there are folders & reg entries created without the user's awareness / permission, even if you ask politely as with the StarBurn example I mentioned. People don't watch because they don't feel that they should have to. I'm not saying that's right or wrong -- just that it is. If it bugs some % of customers & potential customers, it's still the developer's decision -- I think they should approach it with their eyes open. Users are after all more than occasionally fickle, & telling someone that logically they shouldn't be upset is kinda like throwing gasoline on an open flame.

drapps:
OK -- here's the deal...

If you're familiar with the GOTD site (giveawayoftheday.com), today (5/29) they're offering a copy of StarBurn. StarBurn offers in an very upfront, opt-in/out way to add a toolbar etc -- check out the high % of negative comments & comment ratings, mainly because the add-on's even offered.
-mikiem (May 29, 2009, 03:19 PM)
--- End quote ---

It's funny that you posted this because this morning I was scrambling to find out what "Skymediapack" was and whether it was a required component of Starburn. I didn't think it was because I've installed Starburn many times before and never noticed it.

I DON'T think Starburn was "very upfront" about Skymediapack at all. There is ZERO explanation in the Starburn installer of what Skymediapack is, what it does (like change your home page), whether it is optional AND to top it off... it's pre-checked to install (aka opt-out). So, many people are probably installing Skymediapack by accident which is why they're mad. I would be too. I (obviously) didn't install it, but some people in the GiveAwayoftheDay comments are saying that Skymediapack doesn't have an uninstall entry.

The way I look at it, this is exactly the reason why OpenCandy exists. OpenCandy recommendations are crystal-clear that they are optional, there's useful information about what a recommended application (or service) does (app highlights), and all OpenCandy recommendations are OPT-IN.

Dr. Apps

EDITED: forgot the word 'application' and added '(or service)' in the sentence "...about what a recommended does (app highlights)..."

mikiem:
Hi Dr. Apps,

I don't disagree with you or OC at all... really. But going from here I read a few Google hits and read what seems to be the same sort of upset user response. From a purely Marketing & Customer Service / Satisfaction standpoint, where a lot of my work was focused for a couple decades, there's a perception problem, & those won't just go away by presenting logic or even facts.  :P 

Saying another product does worse, or has more dangerous potential [mouser / wraith808 etc], only heightens an already suspicious customer's suspicions, & goes over less well if there's any sense of competition -- it's then seen as a "grasping at straws" sort of desperate defense when you can't or won't fix the customer's problem. [It does however work apparently with potential customers when a clear A/B choice is presented (for example MS Shopper ads).]

That all said, myself I'm rather neutral... my sole attempt at being useful was to post another point of view -- that of some % of any coder's clientele or customers. While not Obsessive - Compulsive like Monk (at least I hope not), personally I like to keep additions to my hdds to a minimum, & be aware of every addition made. Media Coder, which was already on my "Questionable" list is gone -- it only offered an in-case alternative to other apps, the author stopped providing a zipped, no-install d/l, & now it results in a few extra folders & entries to get rid of, which tipped the scale. Media Info I use daily, & it stays, though I'll still remove any extra folders / reg entries, & take another look at uniextract-ing it. The same criteria applies & will apply to programs I pay / paid for... a simple cost benefit analysis that includes the unwanted stuff I have to either ignore or remove. I would like to say I'm average, but I think I'm to the moderate side of center -- I've seen several GOTD visitors make negative comments because the developer included an innocuous ad for their pay-for upgrade in the GUI!

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