Customer service, the Soup Nazi, & an Impulse/Object Desktop question

NO SOUP FOR YOU! 

 

 

 

 

Hehe, great episode.

On the games side, Impulse is used to download and update and then can be completely removed without issue. Lots do and if an update comes they can quickly reinstall impulse, update then remove impulse again. I dont use OD though but should be the same across all their software.

I found that funny, if you send us again yur on the bottom, if yur mad yur still on the bottom send us again.   NO SOUP FOR YOU!

As myfistO points out, you can install as much of Object Desktop as you like and then uninstall Impulse although having it on your system isn't a big deal.

You can configure it not to run at start up and it uses no resources that I can see. Then it's there in case you want to update or add or remove parts of Object Desktop.

I have it installed but disabled. I run it occasionally to look for updates and then close it out. No big deal.

Impulse was sold recently and Stardock is creating a new installer for thier software. I would imagine it will be an updated version of Stardock Central but that's just a guess. Once it's released and Object Desktop is moved to it, I will more than likely uninstall Impulse since I will no longer have a need for it.

 

Everytime you send another reply it sets your place back to the back of the line, that is why multiple e-mails on the same problem can sometimes cause delays.  

As others have pointed out, you can install Object Desktop (or any other app or game), and then uninstall.  Just note that to install updates you will need Impulse, but you don't necessarily have to update unless you want it (it is advised though).

 

There's no functional benefit to removing Impulse and reinstalling each time you may want to update.  In ancient history when harddrives were measured in meg....maybe...but not now.

The support ticket queue reset is simply a case of first in first served.  Once an issue is responded to support moves on to the next in line.  Further communications are added to the queue in sequence.  The reason for that is support cannot respond...then sit and twiddle thumbs waiting for a reply - doing nothing until this one issue is sorted because meanwhile others are disadvantaged in the wait.

It's actually quite logical and certainly doesn't need comparison with an over-rated and banal comic ....;)

 

Not a Seinfeld fan, I gather..... 

That's okay. I don't like Seinfeld either. I think its dumb.

Same here. Wish they would get the hint and have it like that by default, would sure cut down on the "impulse is evil spamware!!@!1" threads. It's just like stupid Adobe...every time Reader is updated, it throws an icon on my desktop. No...I don't want your damn icons on my desktop without my permission, just like I don't want programs added to startup without my permission.

Ditto.

Thanks to all who replied to my question.  Sorry it took so long for me to get back & leave a thank you post.

Exactly, Bebi!  (Also you're right, Adobe is a serial offender; very arrogant).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Warning!  Rant Ahead.)

And so, logically, Stardock's line "Please do let us know if we can assist you any further" actually means "Please don't let us know if we can assist you further until you've waited a week or so for us to answer your first question"? You should change your version of that statement then because, as is, it implies that you're generously giving me a way to ask a further question without getting kicked back (a question like say, "am I gonna have to wait more than 5 days for a response because I'd like to get this installed tonight?").

Functional benefit?  You actually think the reason people may not want Impulse is because it takes up X amount of hdd space?   How about the functional benefit of being able to rest a little easier because there's no intrusive Impulse that might be doing God knows what to my system?   Yes, I'm paranoid:  I don't trust it.

I don't trust it because Stardock lost my trust from the get-go.  After I paid, I couldn't even get started downloading.  I'm not a gamer, just a dumb guy who wants to install a desktop utility the same way I've done it for the past 24 years.  Nope, not with a Stardock Utility.  I had to install & try to figure out how to use Impulse first (which gave me several hours of trouble).  Impulse placed 1330 files/folders & 2379 registry keys/values on my Win 7 machine (1358 & 2591, respectively, on my Vista laptop).  All that unwanted junk plus the bad download experience from Stardock makes me unable to trust Impulse.  Along with it's 'convenience' features, how do I know what else Impulse is doing?  Probably collecting stuff for marketing.  Just how extensive is that collecting?   How can I know how much it's able to collect?  All my personal & financial information?

And that's why I want to get rid of Impulse (about 200MB installed, by the way).  Plenty functional benefit for me.

(Statistics courtesy of Total Uninstaller.)

I agree with all these offenders which is why I make it a habit of turning off auto-updates and only manually update if I have to. Sometimes updates change the program so much I don't even want it any more. The last IE and Java update had serious problems and was not recommended to use until the next update of which I got neither and have no issues.

   Warented 

F.U.D.

It's always nice to see the concept is still entertained....;)

Impulse does NOTHING 'to my system', other than occupy a little space on the harddrive....if you choose NOT to have it run.  If you have 1330 files and 200 meg then you've clearly been using it.

Impulse_setup.exe is 6.55 meg [it's predecessor sdcentral_setup.exe was 8.52 meg] [I have both archived so can see their size].

Now, if you are making actual USE of Impulse ... to download/update/archive your purchased products then yes, it'll get bigger.

My current 'Impulse' folder shows [c-programdata-stardock-impulse] 815 files and 421 meg on disk..... but you'd expect that, since I have been using Impulse since prior to its release.  Largest piece is the most recent update to WB at 44.5 meg.

If you don't use the functionality of Impulse then it WILL remain small.

If you DO use it but prefer to reduce the 'footprint' of the backups to an alternate location you can do that too.

As I mentioned earlier, 'size' is unlikely to be a concern to anyone these days as Harddrives are both large and cheap, but if you're using Impulse [or any OTHER form of software backup] to backup you do so at the expense of 'space'. [my backup of Microsoft's Flight Sim 10 is measured in gigs, not megs - done via a proggy called 'Syncback'....;) 

 

 

Incredible. You answered almost verbatim what I was going to write at about 9 pm. I then decided it was pointless to answer netyam, since that same twaddle is written and repeated endlessly.

Odd how it's almost always in the Support threads when asking for help it turns into a rant about "Why I hate Impulse" in 250,000 words or more.

You wanted answers? You got them. Now go away: You give me a headache. 

 

This is not a rant, just me calling it like I see it...

Actually Doc, it's not odd at all.
Because if for example in my case, Impulse refuses to accept my registration code,
and thereby refuses to allow me to use software that I PAID for,
and my "support ticket" has left me a second day now without any kind of response,
then yeah, of course I don't like or want Impulse.

BUT, this is the first time I ever had to use support,
yet I have said many time that I neither like nor want Impulse.
I haven't said, and still don't say I hate Impulse, I just find it VERY inconvient.

As for this statement:

Let's pretend for a minute that netyam IS Impulse.
Now can you understand the feelings of those who are innocently affected by Impulse problems,
and are forced into long-ass waiting around for support to actually do something,
without even being able to ask what's the status of the problem?




Speaking of support and tickets,
how long on avergae does one have to wait for simple solutions to problems that shouldn't exist?

Even Microsoft solved the problem I now have with Stardock software within a few minutes.
That is to say, I could not activate my XP a couple of times back in the early XP days,
called the support line, and had it activated 3 minutes after I called.

So where's the problem with Stardock offering the same kind of solution?
Sorry, but it just doesn't make buisness sense to me.

M-203: You have a problem with Impulse? Write to Support. 

They aren't working fast enough for you? Have your ticket punched by the Chaplain, or write to [email protected] .

I'm out of Tylenol. Going to the Drug Store.

bbl. 

None of this thread is particularly a 'Support' request but more a discussion/complaint/beef about Impulse and its support process.

Comparing a Private Company of finite means with an 'entity' such as Microsoft is a flawed analogy.

The mechanisms [and necessity] of support are on two entirely different levels.....using any specific for comparison you wish.

Examples...

Price.  The MS OS is significantly more expensive [order of magnitude] and thus more directly funds its own support process.

Importance.  The MS OS [if problematic] affects ALL OTHER programs on the computer [both purchased and free].

Market spread.  The MS OS is on 80% -odd  of the world's computers. An 'issue' potentially affects more people.

Scale. MS can 'afford' to buy half of India's work-force to sit at a telephone and be 'Support' at $2 per hour - [maybe]. 

 

Now, does Impulse ever have problems? Yes.  Does Impulse sometimes fail to 'do' what the user expects? Yes.

Does the MS OS ever have problems? Yes.  Does the MS OS sometimes fail to do what the user expects? Yes.

OK, NOW we see an actual similarity.

In reality you can google just about any program/product and find people with issues with that product.... some far more 'Mission - critical' than an OS Customization and Game delivery system.

***********************************************************************

My turn to rant....

Once there were Baby Boomers, then Generation X....then Gen Y.

Now it's Generation Me .... probably a product of the world of cell phones and instant messaging - where if it's not done NOW it's too late/slow and ADHD means I've moved on.

In 'the good old days' patience was a virtue...and plainly REQUIRED because snail mail meant if you wanted a 'problem' fixed it might take weeks/months.  WTF is it with the Now Generation [Generation Me] that their time is so much more precious/important that they see waiting as an insult/affront to their very being?

The REAL WORLD has not changed.  People have problems....people report problems....problems get resolved.

Only the PATIENCE has been lost.

Jafo your rant is so easy to read and consider and.. you are correct sir.

How does one mistakenly buy objectdesktop ?  

Impulse is a better scenario for install/uninstall than what you have right now for all the other junk software you've installed each requiring more junk just to install/uninstall a single program i.e adobe,ms office,antivirus etc etc,where as impulse is the install/uninstall for many junk softwares,way i see it better to have less junk than more junk  & impulse serves it's purpose well 

^ Yes it does, and it's nice to see someone admit it.   

If it didn't do what it was supposed to, GameStop would never have bought it. It also wouldn't have beaten "Steam" as the software of choice for netbooks, because it isn't required to be working (and doesn't) when playing games. "Steam" is just the opposite and severely taxes netbooks' limited resources. 

Jafo,  I know it's not a support Thread, but the one I posted was.
And I got 2 of the standard 'email support' answers,
one of which was made by a certain mod who seems to think I'm an idiot,
and who's reply in this Thread I find to be just a tad insulting.

Anyways, in 'the good old days' I wouldn't have had this problem or a need to write to support for a Ticket,
because I would have downloaded a software installer package which was bound to my registration number.
Registration numbers mostly ran out when a software had a major version number change,
until then you could use the minor updates posted on the software manufacturers website.
I could have then reinstalled and used that software, including using saved updates, ANYTIME I wanted to.
In fact I still have a 16-bit program from JASC Software that I still occasionally use, serial still works.

But three days so far just to reset a registration, or send links to software that WILL accept my registration?
Come on, that is gone beyond busy customer service, and in my opinion, more into the realm of,
'we have your money already, so we don't care if you can't use the software which you paid for'.

You talk about cost of hiring half of India's workforce to man the phones.
Is there really that many registration/activation problems with Stardock software?  I think not.
I would guesstimate that one, perhaps 2 people would suffice to be the "registration/activation-problem-solvers".
I'm unemployed and and need work, through no fault of my own, have Stardock give me a call, I'll man one of those phones.


As far as games go, I'm 45 and not much of a gamer, but if I did want a game,
I'd go to a shop and buy it, so I could install and use it any time I wanted to.
If I ever get unemployed and could afford an Object Desktop renewal,
this situation would definitely give me grounds to rethink buying it again.



PS.  Just so you know, even though I don't like Impulse, I always kept it installed.
My only beef at this point is the fact that it refuses to let me register/use what's rightly mine.

Support routinely solves these problems.

If you have approached them and they haven't solved the problem, why not pm a Mod and ask for help with Support? We can help clear up any misunderstandings and/or help re-establish the connection with Support. Just make sure to note your ticket number.

As for Impulse? SD is working to create/revive/alter (whatever) software that will deal with SD software renewal/update/installation. That will take time and until then, Impulse will do.

If you have problems with non SD games, email [email protected] is the correct address (for anyone who needs it).

Fair enough Doc, check your PM inbox. 

Thanks for the Impulse info, a little news goes a long way.

The info isn't really new, I'm afraid... Trying to help through irc, but the one who'd be best for it isn't there at the moment. Awaiting an answer.

Stay tuned.

Update:

Your problem is that your subscription is expired (per support). Do a restore from your archived software in Impulse>Restore Archive.

You should be getting an email from Support.

It's not Impulse's fault that your registration is being rejected. Your subscription expired. I only hope you didn't archive in one OS and are trying to restore to another. That won't fly. I also hope your archives are not really old (they can become corrupted).

M-203 ...'the good old days' don't really exist...you know that...I know that.

It's the historical/hysterical slant on 'rose coloured glasses'.

The reality is that you [or others] will have experienced the 'shit that happens' with any and all forms of product ownership/record/updating ... at one time or another ever since Adam was a pup the problem has BEEN THERE.  Heck, I alone have seen as many permutations of 'systemic failure' as anyone really would want to experience.

The mechanism that is Impulse is pretty darn good at getting it right.  That's not to say that those it's failed aren't going to be uptight...but it does mean there are not MILLIONS of people out there engaging in a class-action suit to have it's coder chemically castrated either.

Impulse simply works.

The fact it fucks up now and then does NOT mean it doesn't.

The same goes for it's and Stardock's support processes.

They work.

The fact that there are people out there who demand/assert that they do NOT is their prerogative but it does NOT make them right....but only that their PERSONAL experience has found the system wanting.

....and that can be solved by [email protected]

Simple, really...;)

Apologies for my rant (#9) which was a reaction to Jafo's post (way back on #5).  I visit hardware forums mostly & there's a fair amount of rants by folks who've paid multiple hundreds for a MBoard or something & had to RMA it multiple times.  You do sympathize but it gets tedious & I usually stay away.  So I should know better. 

But in my defense, it's gotta be Jafo's crack about Seinfeld being anal, no, banal!  Seinfeld fans like myfist0 & I take our Seinfeld show very seriously.  No, that is, we take it very humorously.  Anyway, I apologize to Jafo for my unpolite response to his post.  And thanks to myfist0 for his posts. 

(You also mentioned F.U.D.  What that?   Sorry, I'm acronym-challenged.  Which concept?  'Fear, Uncertainty, & Doubt', 'F***ed Up Disinformation', 'Female Urinary Device'? )   

You focused on stats I gave, & you said Impulse does nothing to a system other than occupy hdd space.  But I respectfully submit, again, that it makes a lot of additions to the registry (which is an important part of the system to say the least).   All of the figures I listed came from the Total Uninstall (TU) monitoring module which catches changes made to a system when you install a program under it's watch.  I've included a screen shot of the 'Summary of Changes' section of TU so you can see where I got them (I hope it's readable).  I just added up the categories in both registry & file system changes to come up with those figures & also, you can see the installed size 203MB file system total (that screen shot is for my laptop which had the 1358 files/folders & 2591 reg keys/values stats).  I think just adding up the sizes of obvious places where an Impulse installation lives will not catch all the unobvious changes an installer makes.

The method I used to monitor Impulse was this:  I started the TU monitor process, installed Impulse, went online, let it do whatever it does initially, then clicked around to explore it's user interface, then  went offline, then stopped TU's monitoring.  I -did not- do any downloading.  I was probably online about 4 or 5 minutes (you can check the total time of the monitoring in the screen shot).  The reason for looking around online was to include anything it might additionally add to it's overhead up to but not including downloading, since that's the minimum you're going to have to live with.

Yes, I did use Impulse to download Object Desktop because I decided to keep it after getting the helpful feedback from my OP.  After I was done downloading (I went the archive route & moved the archives to external storage), I used TU to uninstall Impulse.  Then I installed/uninstalled Impulse several times because I'm a new user of TU & Impulse made a good test app for learning to use it in more depth.

I agree with you completely that it's not important how much total hdd space Impulse takes up:  20 or 200 or 2000 MB, I don't care.  You can buy 2TB external drives now for under 100 bucks.  But the amount of registry stuff Impulse adds (according to TU) does seem very high.  Also the sheer number of files is surprising, although again, their aggregate size is unimportant.  I read on some other forum recently that MS's Silverlight makes over 3000 changes to the registry & folks were also bitching & moaning about that.

Here's (I hope; haven't done this recently) a shot of the Total Uninstall screen & a link in case I screw up the Insert Image:  

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/9819/tuscreenshotimpulseitem.jpg

 

netyam....sorry...maybe not so much 'banal' as unfunny.

You want comedy....think Python...;)

I can't help but wonder how many reg entries 'Total Uninstaller' adds when IT installs....;p

Impulse probably DOES add a fair few [I've never felt the urge to find out whether it's 10 or 1000]...as its functionality is more than just a single one-proggy installer.  It'd be more pertinent to do the math with individual installers/updaters for, say, a dozen programs and add in forum connections/linking for community info/support and see how many entries are made.

The 'FUD' refers to the paranoia and assumption that Impulse is evil and is stealing your soul one reg entry at a time.

The reality is that no matter how many additions is made the only tangible effect will be on how long it takes for something like 'Total Uninstaller' to count them.

Wow....;)

 

Just to add...Win 7 has a different architecture when it comes to Users, libraries, Personal Docs, et al .... ANY program install will have more reg entries because of that than for example Win XP ...;)