Windows 7 Launch

[#1]

How about Lenovo adding a crap free option when customizing a new Think product and customer have to pay little more for it because we all know that crap software makers pay PC makers money to bundle their crapware

[#2]

We've discussed that very option, but have not arrived at a consensus.  What do you guys think, would you pay extra for such an option?

[#3]

Perfguy - First of all - YES, I would indeed pay to have:

a) a clean Windows install when I turn on a Thinkpad for the first time

b) a clean Windows install disc in case I screw things up and want to start from scratch again

* Note: this also includes not having the Rescue partition taking up valuable hard drive space!  Unfortunately, I use alternative backup apps for my backup routine.

....but of course, then comes the big question: how much to charge?  That's for you guys to figure it out. =D

I had ordered a Dell Vostro for my sister about 1.1/2 years ago - they had an interesting option I have never seen before - they gave you the option to partition your hard-drive a certain way.  Hmmm....nice little option for those that want the drive partitioned out of the box!  Thanks to Windows....they don't make managing partitions easy!

Hey - tell your Lenovo tools guys to come up with a cool Partition app....that is something that I think alot of people could use.  Myself - I don't partition anymore since it was too much of a pain in Windows.  Drive 1 = apps, Drive 2 = data.

For me....I'm a die-hard Lenovo fan and have been for years and don't intend to change unless you guys end up going into another direction; you have the best laptops out on the market bar-none esp. with your keyboard....I love them, I love them, I love them, but! when it comes to having to reinstall Windows....I'm not a very kind person then. LOL

Again...I'd like to stress that anyone buying a computer online is 9 times out of 10 going to know what they are doing and know their stuff esp. with all the options you guys have today to go through the process of purchasing a computer.  Heck....with already all those options - what's one or two more?

And if one needed to have the Lenovo stuff....then just go and download System Update - and boom, can download and install it from there...and or at least have a separate disc with System Update and maybe all the other Lenovo and Third-Party apps.

I just want to say thanks again for talking to us here, Perfguy.  It's nice knowing you guys are genuinely interested in what we have to say and want.....eventhough you're a massive company and I'm sure every decision is "by committee", so not easy to move things quickly I bet.

[#4]

What you propose confirms exactly the attitude that frustrates many consumers: that Lenovo knows very well that much of the pre-installed software HINDERS the user experience.  The fact that it is subsidized is irrelevant.  The question that should be answered is why Lenovo would pre-load this if they know it hinders performance and the customer experience.

You're effectively holding the consumer hostage here.  What if some other business gave Lenovo $XX million to install Conflicker?  Would the harm this does to the user experience be offset by the subsidy, which we are to accept is "passed on" to the consumer through a lower retail price?  (That's a hard one to swallow, by the way.)

I would think the better model is to deliver a product that Lenovo can confidently state delivers a quality user experience, no questions asked.  This should be the product by default, not an option to be upsold.

[#5]

I think it would be very useful to trade ideas on how to improve our user experience with regard to crapware.  In particular, I am thinking of software that does not need to run at start up.  If you take the software out of the startup list, boot time should be faster.

My candidates:  Adobe Reader (don't even really want it on the machine since I have Acrobat, but if I didn't I would not need it at start up.  It can start when an app calls for it); the camera app (again if I want to use it, I will start it manually); bluetooth (ditto). 

Any others that we might usefully add to a list????

[#6]

I would pay it too.  Just to make things complicated:

Education win7 is 29.99 retail - you can choose to download image file (no ship fee) or additional shipping fee for the retail disk.

And this is "retail", no need to buy vista for upgrade or any sorts of stuff.  This information is from a friend in Taxes who went back for master school in this ecnomy era.  Since win7 is out now not sure if this is still valid.

I would serious want a installer disk that accepts OEM serial number at the bottom of my machine - a chean install is a really good experience.

[#7]

fakelogin...maybe you're right, but I think that's way over the top what you're thinking....I could hardly follow your logic.

Mantice - sorry, but no idea what you're trying to say.

Let me throw a little wobbler....how about this to shake things up in the laptop world; I relate this to my experience of shopping at Honda vs Toyota for a minivan back in 2003, which by the way....we ended up with a Honda Odyssey as the Toyota was too painful with the way too many options we had available....and none of them available on the lot...or for negotiation.  Honda had everything on the lot.

1) No more 2,3,4 base models - 1 base model, like 1 hat fits all (KISS = Keep it Simple Stupid)

2) Come up with memorable names for the models - not just numbers; marketing dept will probably have a fit by me saying that as I know what they are thinking: "...numbers relate more to the next version than names and hence want to make people upgrade quicker....which is what we want!" T61, T62, T400, T500, T10000, T-123, T-erminator, LOL

3) With the 1 base model of the "series"....offer an option for the Operating System (Win 7 Pro, Home, Linux, OSX, etc.. LOL), Memory, Hard Drive Size, etc.

4) Offer whatever accessories you want to offer, but put an obvious button on the page to skip that whole section

5) same extended warranty terms...that's easy to pick and easier to understand for Grandma and Grandpa if they were going to order it on the internet themselves.

6) Finally....the 1 base model to hopefully shorten the shipment date to only 1 or 2 days from the date of order ! 

Everytime I've ordered....it takes 3-4 weeks before it's delivered....because it's coming from "Hong Kong".  WTF?  Why can't Lenovo make a b u t t-load of base models over there, ship them here, put them on the shelf...and then assemble the "options" here...and boom, out the door in less than 48 hours?  I cannot believe or understand why that is not happening already... 2-3 weeks is very painful to wait if you're in dire need of a laptop.  On top of that....tracking my last laptop - it got held up in customs!!  WHAT!!  You guys almost caused me to have a heart-attack when I saw that online!!

7) Finally...as a marketing major - it's text-book that you need to come up with something new and creative for your products to differentiate yourself; here's my idea - "Artist" models, like....the Jeff Gordon Edition, Nascar model......or the Beyonce Edition.....or the Judas Priest Edition (for metal freaks like me...LOL).....or even the MacDonald's Edition....heck, you get what I mean! LOL

Do something different....come up with some different ideas marketing team - differentiate yourself !!  Lead the Pack....don't follow everyone else !!

[#8]

---

woodie wrote:

Let me throw a little wobbler....how about this to shake things up in the laptop world

---

I buy ThinkPads for the sausage, not for the sizzle.

Cheers,

Bill

[#9]

Oops - sorry for my poor wordings.

I'm trying to see what price is reasonable for a windows 7 installation disk.  If 30 is all it take for educational people to buy it full why not a 10$ extra for a clean installation disk?

Microsoft did it a long time with installation disk that only accepts OEM serial number - for volume purpose Lenovo can try to create Win7 installation disk that accepts OEM vista serial numbers (at the bottom of our computers) if they ever worry about piracy, etc..

[#10]

I would pay an extra $50 for a totally clean install. No one is buying a T500 because it is the best deal around. I find it incredibly annoying to deal with all the extra stuff on the computer that isn't needed and complicates the user interface. For example, the "Access Connections" think takes up a tremendous amount of space on the Windows 7 task bar - about 10 times as many pixels as the Windows 7 network icon. Same for the battery meter. I personally wasted about an hour dealing with the problem of trying to activate Office - the trial version prevented the activation from working properly.

Practically, and at a bare minimum, I'd like to see a article posted by Lenovo listing all the extra stuff (not part of Windows 7 Ultimate), what value it provides above and beyond the built-in software, and how to remove it. I'd also feel more comfortable removing stuff if I knew there was a way to get it back piecemeal without wiping out the whole hard disk.

Here are some specific questions about the trialware on my brand new T500 with Windows 7 Ultimate.

1. Does the "ThinkPad Power Manager" - not the driver - provide any value above and beyond the power controls built-in to Windows 7? I like the UI for the Windows 7 power management. It seems to provide every widget you could think of to tweak power options.

2. Does Rescue and Recovery provide any value above and beyond the backup tools in Windows 7 Ultimate? Windows 7 Ultimate has a schedulable backup system that can make incremental backups and full image restore.

3. What does Roxio Creator Business Edition do? Can't Windows 7 already burn ISO files? If I uninstall it, can I download it later?

4. What is "sonicicons"?

5. What value does "Access Connections" provide above and beyond Windows 7 Ultimate? Windows has built-in networking, can detect wifi hotspots, etc. If all I'm doing is wifi, can I get rid of it? Can I install it later if I need it?

6. What is "netwaiting"? How do I get rid of it? I'm never going to use phone connection on my laptop.

7. Do I need "System Update"? Won't Windows 7 get me the stuff I need via "Windows Update"?