

Best Buy: That Laptop Isn't "Open," It's Just "Optimized" - pwg
http://consumerist.com/2009/09/best-buy-that-laptop-isnt-open-its-just-optimized.html

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thaumaturgy
First, laptops (and other computers) now come with a buttload of crapware pre-
installed, because that's where the manufacturers are making their margins
now. A good "optimization" for new computers is not at all a bad thing: remove
the b.s. pre-installed software, create the recovery disks, make sure all
updates are pre-installed. We do this, too.

Second, if you really don't trust a place enough to do this for you without
doing something sneaky, then you really shouldn't be shopping there. It's not
hard for them to open it up and re-shrink it, after all.

Third, if you're super paranoid about this kind of thing, order direct from
the manufacturer. Dell, especially, is really good at this.

This is a tempest in a teapot. And, I don't even like Best Buy / Geek Squad,
so have no ulterior motive defending them.

