Downloading the free Adobe Reader I suddenly got more than I had bargained for – an unwanted copy of McAfee Security Scan Plus. So I had to stop the download. Check the conditions – sure enough, I had left the “install free McAfee Plan” button checked. And so I nearly got what I didn’t want – thank you Adobe for not making this an opt-in choice.
But hey Adobe is just following the latest bad trend in online software delivery. Go to Downloads.com or TuCows.com and you run a gauntlet trying to download free and sampleware software. And its not just software purchases – the checkout at Amazon.com has now become dangerous to your economic well being plus a tedious and timemine field to get through safely. Hey Jeff, I now have cut my purchases at Amazon by 35-50% this year. Congratulations!
Who does one attach the Blame Name to? Well there is no doubt in my mind – Go Daddy and Goldman Sachs.
For more than a decade I have had to run the GoDaddy Checkout Gauntlet. It is several pages long for even the simplest transactions. I suspect that the reason GoDaddy can afford those slavishly craven Super Bowl commercials is because they have managed to way lay their fair share of nerds and suckers. This of course leads one to Goldman Sachs who have redefined slavishly and cravenly Fiduciary Trust and Customer Service as “Take what the Muppets give you and steal the rest”. It might be thought of as the new Ode to Business Online and Offline too. Thank you America’s great Financial Community Leaders – you too, Anthony Mozilo.