MajorGeeks State of the Union (On software, wrappers and ads)
Posted by: Timothy Tibbetts on 01/21/2015 10:01 AM
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Recently I got to chat with How-To-geek who asked if we serve what we call “Bundleware”. I explained my situation to him and he quoted me. I hoped to chat with him more at length about what goes on behind the scenes. Very few websites will tell you what goes on behind the scenes but MajorGeeks is transparent. So, because his article was already jam packed, I thought I would take the time to tell you what we do and why we do it. So, to take a play on the State of the Union last night, here is MajorGeeks State of the Union - on download websites.
At the heart of MajorGeeks are 2 guys; Jim and Tim. Jim manages the business and Tim manages the content. We also added Jon (apparently 3 names is a must) to help with content. We have a couple other people who do work, like on the servers as needed. There are no offices, days off or much else. It’s a home based business and as long as we own it, it will always be.
The goal was, and still remains, to offer the top 1% of the best software out there by testing it for quality which covers quite a few things. When we started, that was easy. Now we must test for quality and third party programs. Here’s a video we did to give you a general idea of what we go through to test software:
Now for the heart of the matter; third party software and avoiding it. It’s how things are done, for now. Companies used to upsell (we like that model) where the free version is limited in features. They used to run ads. We’ve seen popups, popunders, popouts, inline and all sorts of ads but this bundleware has become lucrative. It has become so because people fall for it.
Some websites are even adding their own bundleware (known as wrappers) meaning you have to avoid bundleware not just once, but twice. Because of the popularity of Android and iOS the PC market has shrunk. This means we are all fighting for the crumbs. Imagine if you will, the next time you go to work and your boss tells you that you have to take a 50% pay cut. What would you do? For us, we work harder like a lot of Americans today.
We did the math. If we added wrappers we could make our 50% back and maybe more. We even discussed it. We had no choice. But, we couldn’t do it. It’s not worth killing off a hard earned 15 year reputation. We had literally dozens of offers on the table to add wrappers. We started MajorGeeks in 2000, during the dot com bust and if we could survive that, we think we can survive this and hold our heads high. And that’s before we talk about all the highs and lows in-between that any small business has to deal with.
So, why list Bundleware at all? Great question! Some of the best software on the internet uses this model. It’s that simple. Bundleware is the new popup. We’re not removing the best software on the internet but we can warn you to watch out for the installers. So, instead of having a software site with the top 1% of software, we would have very little left at all. Actually, we could just close the site down. So we do the dance until, hopefully, this market fades away. Another thing we do is offer as much Open Source and portable software we can. Portable, IMHO should be the only software available. Extract it, run it and delete it if and when done. Installers are a plague and always have been. They don’t always remove files, folders and registry entries when you remove them and will slow your computer down over time. Also, many installers add items to your start-up which slow your computer down.
Now, let’s get to the heart of the matter. Why are people so happy to click a picture and not read? We mark Bundleware as the name if it has third party software and add a footnote to the page in red italics. Back in the day, we used to just click, click, click to install software but that was before this problem. Now you need to read. We also know people blame us for having an advertisement that says Download Now on it. Here’s the catch; MajorGeeks does not have a Download Now. We have Download Locations with animated arrows and we are currently in process of making that stand out more. The Download Now advertisement actually says ADVERTISEMENT in red letter. Your download starts automatically in only 5 seconds. In only 5 seconds you had to scroll past the red word "advertisement" and click the ad? Also, there’s an animated gif with scrolling arrows we added that says “CLICK HERE IF IT DOES NOT” to start your download manually.
In other words we try really hard to give you a safe, pleasant experience and if I could go to everyone’s home and read the page for you, I swear I would. Since that’s not possible how about we spread the word with some simple advice – Slow down.
We have screamed as loud as we can about slowing down, using portable software and will continue to do the same. We have done the same with warning people to backup, yet backup is our least downloaded category.
We also have a Top Freeware Picks page that is always being worked on where you can find true freeware programs and the best in that category.
We thank you for supporting MajorGeeks and a prosperous 2015.
At the heart of MajorGeeks are 2 guys; Jim and Tim. Jim manages the business and Tim manages the content. We also added Jon (apparently 3 names is a must) to help with content. We have a couple other people who do work, like on the servers as needed. There are no offices, days off or much else. It’s a home based business and as long as we own it, it will always be.
The goal was, and still remains, to offer the top 1% of the best software out there by testing it for quality which covers quite a few things. When we started, that was easy. Now we must test for quality and third party programs. Here’s a video we did to give you a general idea of what we go through to test software:
Now for the heart of the matter; third party software and avoiding it. It’s how things are done, for now. Companies used to upsell (we like that model) where the free version is limited in features. They used to run ads. We’ve seen popups, popunders, popouts, inline and all sorts of ads but this bundleware has become lucrative. It has become so because people fall for it.
Some websites are even adding their own bundleware (known as wrappers) meaning you have to avoid bundleware not just once, but twice. Because of the popularity of Android and iOS the PC market has shrunk. This means we are all fighting for the crumbs. Imagine if you will, the next time you go to work and your boss tells you that you have to take a 50% pay cut. What would you do? For us, we work harder like a lot of Americans today.
We did the math. If we added wrappers we could make our 50% back and maybe more. We even discussed it. We had no choice. But, we couldn’t do it. It’s not worth killing off a hard earned 15 year reputation. We had literally dozens of offers on the table to add wrappers. We started MajorGeeks in 2000, during the dot com bust and if we could survive that, we think we can survive this and hold our heads high. And that’s before we talk about all the highs and lows in-between that any small business has to deal with.
So, why list Bundleware at all? Great question! Some of the best software on the internet uses this model. It’s that simple. Bundleware is the new popup. We’re not removing the best software on the internet but we can warn you to watch out for the installers. So, instead of having a software site with the top 1% of software, we would have very little left at all. Actually, we could just close the site down. So we do the dance until, hopefully, this market fades away. Another thing we do is offer as much Open Source and portable software we can. Portable, IMHO should be the only software available. Extract it, run it and delete it if and when done. Installers are a plague and always have been. They don’t always remove files, folders and registry entries when you remove them and will slow your computer down over time. Also, many installers add items to your start-up which slow your computer down.
Now, let’s get to the heart of the matter. Why are people so happy to click a picture and not read? We mark Bundleware as the name if it has third party software and add a footnote to the page in red italics. Back in the day, we used to just click, click, click to install software but that was before this problem. Now you need to read. We also know people blame us for having an advertisement that says Download Now on it. Here’s the catch; MajorGeeks does not have a Download Now. We have Download Locations with animated arrows and we are currently in process of making that stand out more. The Download Now advertisement actually says ADVERTISEMENT in red letter. Your download starts automatically in only 5 seconds. In only 5 seconds you had to scroll past the red word "advertisement" and click the ad? Also, there’s an animated gif with scrolling arrows we added that says “CLICK HERE IF IT DOES NOT” to start your download manually.
In other words we try really hard to give you a safe, pleasant experience and if I could go to everyone’s home and read the page for you, I swear I would. Since that’s not possible how about we spread the word with some simple advice – Slow down.
We have screamed as loud as we can about slowing down, using portable software and will continue to do the same. We have done the same with warning people to backup, yet backup is our least downloaded category.
We also have a Top Freeware Picks page that is always being worked on where you can find true freeware programs and the best in that category.
We thank you for supporting MajorGeeks and a prosperous 2015.
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