"One of the things that bother me the most about the PC industry is the inclusion of all that crapware (or crapplets) PC makers put in to their computers.  The same thing extends to the software industry as a whole because every time you download some software, you're prompted (often the default setting) to install some kind of add-on for your Web Browser.  By the time it's all said and done, we're looking at a computer that spends 3 to 5 minutes booting up and a Web Browser that's so jacked up that half the screen real-estate is taken up by utilities that people never use.  Of course this isn't entirely unique to the PC industry and I've seen Macs loaded with lots of junk during the startup process as well but at least you don't get all that crap in a brand new Mac."

"The first thing I do whenever I get a PC from any computer maker is to format the entire hard drive and start with a clean slate.  This often isn't feasible for most people and I'll usually resort to my second option which is to clean out the startup with the MSCONFIG utility that you can run from the start - run prompt (run prompt not needed with Vista)."

"The first thing I do is nuke all services that didn't come pre-installed with Windows.  I simply check "Hide all Microsoft services" and clear out everything else.  There's no reason software needs extra services to work with the exception of Anti-Virus software and some VPN or Network connectivity software (not entirely happy about that).  A lot of IT departments like to load a bunch of junk utilities and I've never been a big fan of that (at least when I was setting the desktop imaging standards).  Some readers know I'm not a fan of Desktop Anti-Virus either but I realize that your normal user will need Desktop Anti-Virus.  The least obnoxious Desktop Anti-Virus solution is a "

".  TrendMicro's corporate products seem to be tolerable and they're easy to manage though I do wish they would audit their code better so that the next malformed compressed file doesn't completely root your PC."

"As you can see from my configuration, VMware tends to load a bunch of junk that you don't need for the routine operation of VMware workstation.  Anyone who's ever loaded Oracle will be in shock when they see how many services and startups Oracle loads.  Logitech in the past has loaded a bunch of junk in to the services and startup area for their video conferencing products but I've been using the native Vista drivers instead.  A lot of printers and other consumer products like routers will load junk in to the services and startup area if you follow their instructions and load their CDs.  Internet service providers ask their users to load "Internet
... read the whole article