Minimal nag like winzip or something like that.

Much less subterfuge. something like … pay no adware, dont pay we serve you ads.

Simple. Tie the payment to the digsby account. easy … no messy authentication etc.

Another question is: Whenever your product potentially will make the other add financed services, that Digsby communicates with, loose money. If it does, you might have to face a hostile environment – where all the services that Digsby can integrate tries to fight you!

I just tried your software, and it froze up my entire computer while installing. I couldnt even click anything in the explorer. It took over everything while installing and when it first ran to create my digsby account. I couldnt even click on a task in the task manager to kill your software.

The only way to get Vista64 to come back to life was to force a log off which inturrupted your processes enough to kill them and then i could use my computer again.

This is unacceptable. Put all of the spyware you want in the software. I wont be using it anyways.

Anyways… this news is rather sad. My cousin goes to RIT. Its a good school full of smart folks, and being as such… I find this typical attempt at maximizing profit thoughtless. There has to be other ways than imposing cpus around the world to do your trojan bidding.

Bundling adware is as lame as it gets and you know it. Hell it doesnt even work anymore. When given the option, those who arent in a hurry, always avoid it. So you’re banking on someone will be in a hurry and accept all of the garbage your bundling during the install. Thats evil.

I’m sorry.

You set out to do what when you made digsby? make money or provide a nice IM client?

Did you find that you couldnt find work in other fields and then tried to turn this into profit?

Was your plan to rope people in with a free version until it was good enough to slip in spyware?

Just what was your plan for Digsby?

It is somewhat noble to try and keep it free, but you cant tell me that you didnt know how people would react to bundled adware/spyware.

YOU KNOW… such software does not care about the end users system, and the condition that it is in. You know they have a history in abusing end users computers, and you’re doing the very same thing.

Not a wise move.

I am not a fan of the install ads in any way shape or form as they can be somewhat confusing.

Oh and please put up a store asap. I’m dying to purchase a plush digsby.

However, I, too, would just pay for Digsby to avoid these extras. How about just having Free and Paid versions? You could limit the Free version by allowing only 1-2 email, social networking, and instant messaging services.

1. put up a donate button in your ‘about’ section of the app, and put one up on your website. You’ll be surprised how many people would want to pay you to keep the project going.

2. Please make the research bit ‘off’ by default. You can run a accept/decline screen during install as well.

3. To sweeten the pie and to incentivise the ‘on’ for research, split the computing into 50% cancer research, and 50% for your commercial research. Help the digsby project and help cure cancer – what could be better than that? I know you guys are going to do some non-profit work with that – but by having a constant consistent platform for this – it reinforces the message.

In either case, I’d definitely prefer a pay-for-use program; I’m actually surprised that there isn’t a pay-for-use that rivals the functionality of Digsby. Either a yearly subscription or a lifetime one, I’d be in for one.

-Ryan

Why isn’t the option in the preferences? Are we hiding something? You can’t make it ok by just explaining it either. Excuse my being lazy here (because I didn’t check myself), but is this module discussed in the EULA when you install the app? If not, this qualifies as being a virus. Not giving the user an option, or disclosing changes you’re about to make to the machine is completely unacceptable and inappropriate.

I think we can all agree that it’s not a bad idea to want to generate some revenue, but the installer is absolutely hideous (and obviously subversive as people have pointed out). It’s a huge turn off that in my opinion really sends the wrong message and sets the wrong tone, for a great app.

Sad, because this is the same “feeling” I had when Cerlulean started pushing Astra to the detriment of the existing version of Trillian. Again, people have to eat, and I totally respect that, but you don’t rob Peter to pay Paul.