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All those complaining about Vodaphone S3 coming with a little bookmark which can't be deleted, and still somehow don't find Apple's crapware which can't be unin

All those complaining about Vodaphone S3 coming with a little bookmark which can't be deleted, and still somehow don't find Apple's crapware which can't be uninstalled too bad, two things: 1) That was really only the stock browser. You can very easily install much better browsers and make them the default - Chrome, Firefox, Dolphin browser. Isn't it amazing and unheard of in Apple's world? 2) And, FYI, you can still delete those bookmarks by a small trick, without rooting. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1707047 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1707047

comex 13y ago
There was also a trick to hide Newsstand in a folder without jailbreaking, before that became a feature. Doesn't matter to almost all users. I'd say the main factors for determining whether something is "crapware" are (a) the inherent odiousness of the software/bookmark/etc., (b) the difficulty of avoiding it, and (c) the level of technical justification for making it unremovable... For Pizza Hut: (a) very odious, because it's pure marketing, irrelevant to the normal use of the device, and adds no useful functionality, since most users probably don't want a Pizza Hut bookmark, or could easily add one if they did; (b) requires switching completely to a new browser; (c) none, since a user is very unlikely to accidentally delete the bookmark and then be at a loss for how I get it back. For Apple apps: (a) not much, since the apps are well designed and using Apple services with Apple's phone is a normal use case that applies to most users; (b) generally can be entirely avoided by moving to a folder, although it isn't always possible to replicate their functionality in third party apps, which is unfortunate (the previous inability to do so with Newsstand is essentially an implementation defect, since it was treated as a folder itself); (c) some, since although all apps ought to be redownloadable from the App Store, system apps are sort of a holdover from the original iPhone OS, and most new Apple apps have been put on the App Store, even things like iBooks. Neither situation is great, but there's a big difference.

comex 13y ago

There was also a trick to hide Newsstand in a folder without jailbreaking, before that became a feature. Doesn't matter to almost all users. I'd say the main factors for determining whether something is "crapware" are (a) the inherent odiousness of the software/bookmark/etc., (b) the difficulty of avoiding it, and (c) the level of technical justification for making it unremovable... For Pizza Hut: (a) very odious, because it's pure marketing, irrelevant to the normal use of the device, and adds no useful functionality, since most users probably don't want a Pizza Hut bookmark, or could easily add one if they did; (b) requires switching completely to a new browser; (c) none, since a user is very unlikely to accidentally delete the bookmark and then be at a loss for how I get it back. For Apple apps: (a) not much, since the apps are well designed and using Apple services with Apple's phone is a normal use case that applies to most users; (b) generally can be entirely avoided by moving to a folder, although it isn't always possible to replicate their functionality in third party apps, which is unfortunate (the previous inability to do so with Newsstand is essentially an implementation defect, since it was treated as a folder itself); (c) some, since although all apps ought to be redownloadable from the App Store, system apps are sort of a holdover from the original iPhone OS, and most new Apple apps have been put on the App Store, even things like iBooks. Neither situation is great, but there's a big difference.