Kazaa Without The Spyware
from the good-idea dept
It's amazing how the first thing companies seem to think about when anyone does anything relating to their company is how quickly they can sue them. Kazaa, who has pissed off a large number of people by sneakily adding spyware and other random programs to their software, is angry at a new program called Kazaa Lite - which is basically Kazaa's file sharing program, without all their annoying spyware. The funniest part is the statement from Sharman Networks (owners of Kazaa), saying: "Consumers are being deceived with ripped off and highly suspect code, and we are determined that their rights, enjoyment and machines are not prejudiced." That's funny, I would think that Kazaa is guilty of deceiving and ripping off customers with their own highly suspect code. Anyway, at the end of the article, the guy who hosts the Kazaa Lite website makes a very good point - saying that Kazaa Lite is actually very beneficial for Kazaa. It attracts people who otherwise wouldn't use Kazaa (because of the spyware), but puts them on the same network so Kazaa users have more users to trade files with.
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Kazaa's Partner programs
Thanks to Kazaa's popularity and the fact they bundle that crap with their install and that most users dont even pay attention to what they are installing makes for a lot of time, money and effort by the people charged with repairing stuff when they break it.
I hope Kazaa sees the error of their ways with this Kazaa lite and actual takes steps to reduce and/or eliminate their partnered programs.
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The thing that amazes me is how concerned people are with questions like this. Honestly, it's their job to figure out a business model. Sure, they want bundled programs, but consumers don't like. Consumers want a program that comes without spyware, and so someone has figured out how to give that to them. It's up to Kazaa to design a better business model.
Morpheus worked on the same network and they never saw the need to bundle spyware and other hidden programs.
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Bye
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