I am so sick of every piece of music hardware from mp3 players to dvd burners who want to force me to use their own crap inhouse music management software. Are you not happy that I just spend alot of money to buy your hardware? Why must you assume that I want your second rate software to reindex what I've spent alot of time sorting just the way I want it?

I'm very angry with the numbnuts' at Rio right now. I'm calling their toll free number over and over until I either get an apology, or the toll free charges equal the profit they made off me buying their product. There is no way I'm allowing them to make money for annoying the crap out of me. I may not get the money back but I'll be damned if they're going to keep it.

cv

Is 'crapware' the official term?

I know what you mean. I am always shocked at how *bad* software from hardware vendors is. Uniformly, utterly crap. It's even worse than the manuals.

I try to avoid any piece of hardware that demands use of vendorware (particularly from those bastards at Sony), as the third-party offerings are usually better anyway.

Agree with Crushdepth, no more Sony products for this household after the virus stunt they pulled recently.

LOL, good luck with anyone answering your calls at Rio, they've packed up and went out of business

why would you install any software you don't want?

I can't recall being forced to install software other than drivers. Sometimes when installing drivers they try to foist software on you .. but I put in drivers only.

Or have things changed. Maybe I am too stingy to buy new hardware and so have not encountered this problem

LOL, good luck with anyone answering your calls at Rio, they've packed up and went out of business

Their patents were bought out, but the company is still limping along and support still is availible. One of the major suppliers to Apple's iPod operation purchased Rio's core assets, including it's R&D department.

Hate to kick them while they're down (and probably out soon) but they're still hearing from me

cv

I am so sick of every piece of music hardware from mp3 players to dvd burners who want to force me to use their own crap inhouse music management software. Are you not happy that I just spend alot of money to buy your hardware? Why must you assume that I want your second rate software to reindex what I've spent alot of time sorting just the way I want it?

I'm very angry with the numbnuts' at Rio right now. I'm calling their toll free number over and over until I either get an apology, or the toll free charges equal the profit they made off me buying their product. There is no way I'm allowing them to make money for annoying the crap out of me. I may not get the money back but I'll be damned if they're going to keep it.

cv

Well you sound a little bitter! If you didnt want their software and their product will not work without it then why buy their product? do your research first and stop complaining!!

Well you sound a little bitter! If you didnt want their software and their product will not work without it then why buy their product? do your research first and stop complaining!!

Actually I bought it because iPod/iTunes does even worse. There's software all over the place that vendors try to force on you and based on a different product of Rio's I had in the past they didn't.

I choose to complain rather than bend over and take it. The reason these companies do this is partly because few bother to complain, preferring to be compliant consumers taking whatever kind of crap is given them.

I'm not that guy. If I'm not happy with a product/service I do something about it.

cv

Actually I bought it because iPod/iTunes does even worse. There's software all over the place that vendors try to force on you and based on a different product of Rio's I had in the past they didn't.

You don't have to use iTunes to load your iPod

There are lots of alternatives - including using Winamp to load it.

Just be grateful that you aren't using anything by Sony or HP

Right attitude, CV! Mysef, I can get quite abusive communicating with hotlines if the product delivered is not the one I paid for. My hope is that one day all hotline staff resigns because they cannot take it anymore and the responsible managers have to face the music from their unsatisfied customers again by themselves as they diserve it.

Keep complaining, yell the sh1t out of them for a better world without call centers!!!

Well you sound a little bitter! If you didnt want their software and their product will not work without it then why buy their product? do your research first and stop complaining!!

Actually I bought it because iPod/iTunes does even worse. There's software all over the place that vendors try to force on you and based on a different product of Rio's I had in the past they didn't.

I choose to complain rather than bend over and take it. The reason these companies do this is partly because few bother to complain, preferring to be compliant consumers taking whatever kind of crap is given them.

I'm not that guy. If I'm not happy with a product/service I do something about it.

cv

I think my point was if you had researched what you are buying in the first place then you wouldnt be in this situation and having to complain.

My point is that this practice has become widespread and that I'm sick of the practice in general. The player is actually quite good, and well worth the purchase price, but this company and others seem intent to force unneeded garbage on their clients. I'm usually savvy enough to get rid of the garbage software, but many people aren't, and get victimized buy software that takes over their computers everytime they purchase a new item. Then they buy a different item which comes with software the manufacturer claims is needed to run the hardware but is actually just more useless software that tries to take over the last unwanted program.

cv

Creative labs/Archos - no proprietary software - drag/drop! I'm with you btw - fking annoying shi*e which slows down my puter, freezes it or some other rubbish.

There is absolutely no need to install all these crappy softwares that you get with hardwares... On GNU/Linux we use the same hardwares as on Windows and no proprietary software is available, only GPL ones. And they works like a charm.

After all, this softs are only GUI's (grafical user interface) to the command line. Throw them in the garbage as soon as you unpack your hw. It will save you headaches and conflicts between applications.

Aside from Sony and players that are pre-USB-2.0, every player I have ever tried has some mechanism for bypassing its crapware.

For the ipod, drag and drop works just fine, although figuring it out might require a second on Google.

If you want to complain, how about every gadget having its own frigging wall wart power supply! (Especially when they all have USB ports...)