Whiterabbit, while I was editing mine, you were writing yours. Understand, I would never accuse you of arrogance. But I believe some are missing parts of the bigger picture.
This is directed to the "you can't read people" in the comments section and the few here who may post unfortunately fooled by that argument. So you had a big laugh, but aren't you the ones with egg on your faces? Fortunately, a VERY few people did read carefully - many thanks to them - and realized that Starburn was giving away practically NOTHING. It appears the ONLY signifcant difference between yesterday's software and the free version you can download EVERYDAY is the ability to burn from a remote machine? Do that much, folks?
The truth is Starburn put one over on the majority of the GOTD community because they stampeded the supposedly "smart" people into downloading something that was supposedly offerred only one day, but is actually available everyday, and - some would say - is no better than the free ImgBurn, for one, anyway. For 99% of downloaders, there was no hurry at all. So who's the sucker, again? Look at how many people Starburn p***ed off. Look how much good word of mouth and goodwill they lost. Which, from the developers point of view, is the PRIMARY purpose of GOTD. Now THAT'S funny!
You have to look at intention. I don't care if Starburn, MS, Sun Java, or Jesus Christ does it. The only reason for an opt out is that you're TRYING to sneak your software under the radar. Period. You can easily write your install routine so a customer can have a yes/no box choice - and even a "more information" link - and have the routine not continue until the customer makes a selection. That way they can't miss it! That's the honest way. AND the smart business way.
Now when you consider that Starburn chose an opt out, didn't provide info. on Sky Media (like adding the word toolbar), and offered a giveaway that wasn't a giveaway, it better not be good software, it better be the greatest software EVER for me to fool with that. To quote a little known but great Chuck Berry song, "Too much monkey business for me to be involved with." I'm not accusing the Starburn of being evil. Just of making a bad choice that a lot of business people make, because they think of getting what they want installed and not about the bad feeling it creates. Heck, if they just had it add itself as a search option and not change the homepage, they'd have cut that problem in half (though it will still be shady). One thing I've learned: every young entrepreneur thinks they have the magic formula for riches, but around 85% of small businesses in America go under. (Don't believe me, call your local Chamber of Comerce. I used to be in the local news biz. I know the figures.) If the only way Starburn can stay afloat is by sneaking in a, possibly tracking, toolbar, what does that say about their business model?
So you say we're fools because we lost out on a great piece of software. BUT WAIT! WE CAN STILL DOWNLOAD IT TODAY, AND EVERYDAY. AND GET SUPPORT, TOO! WOW! Again: Now THAT'S funny!
Arrogant much?
And no, I'm not in the habit of accidentally adding toolbars.
