Shovelware

Shovelware

Shovelware (sometimes also crapware or garbageware) is a derogatory computer jargon term that refers to software noted more for the quantity of what is included than for the quality or usefulness. The term is also used to refer to software that is ported from one computer platform or storage medium to another with little thought given to adapting it for use on the destination platform or medium, resulting in poor quality. The term is also sometimes used to refer to pre-installed software.[1]

The metaphor implies that the creators showed little care for the original software, as if the new compilation or version had been indiscriminately created / ported with a shovel, without any care shown for the condition of the software on the newly created product. The term "shovelware" is coined with semantic analogy to phrases like shareware and freeware, which describe methods of software distribution.

Contents

Media format conversion

Shovelware is often used to refer to conversions from one media format to another (also known as "porting"), in the manner floppy disc collections were aggregated onto CD-ROMs. Today there is potential for similar shovelware in converting PC websites into mobile websites with little thought to optimizing for the new platform or the conversion of console games to PC games resulting in unprecedented poor quality unfit for the platform to which it is ported.

"Shovelware" CD-ROMs

Although poor-quality collections existed at least as far back as the BBS era, the term "shovelware" became commonly used in the early 1990s to describe early CD-ROMs such as collections of shareware or public domain software. The large capacity of CD-ROMs—equivalent to around 470-500 floppy disks, the former distribution method of choice—encouraged producers to fill them by including as much existing content as possible, often without regard to the quality of the material. Software reviewers, displeased with huge collections of inconsistent quality, dubbed this practice "shovelware".

The practice of shovelware has largely decreased due to the wide availability of high speed networking and software downloading and the limited capacity of removable media in modern computers compared to the growing massive file sizes of newer software packages. It continues in some cases with bundled or pre-installed software, where many extra programs of dubious quality and usefulness are included with a piece of hardware.

See also

References

  1. ^ Seltzer, Larry (May 25, 2007). "The Google Crapplet". IT Security & Network Security. eWeek.com. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/The-Google-Crapplet/. 

External links

v · d · eSoftware distribution
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • shovelware — sho‧vel‧ware [ˈʆʌvlweə ǁ wer] noun [uncountable] COMPUTING 1. material that is taken from newspapers, television etc and put on a website as quickly as possible without being changed in any way: • Unfortunately, a lot of on line learning relies… …   Financial and business terms

  • Shovelware — es un término despectivo en la jerga informática que se refiere al software que destaca mas por la cantidad que por la calidad o utilidad. El término también es usado para referirse al software que tiene soporte portable desde una plataforma o… …   Wikipedia Español

  • shovelware — n. Content from an existing medium (such as a newspaper or book) that has been dumped wholesale into another medium (such as a CD ROM or the Web). Also: shovel ware. Example Citation: David Pogue, who has written two books about computers and is… …   New words

  • Shovelware — Die abfällige Bezeichnung shovelware (dt. „Schaufel Ware“) bezieht sich auf Software, die mehr für die Quantität der Programme bekannt ist, und weniger für Qualität oder Nutzen. Die Bezeichnung wird meist für Software auf CD ROMs verwendet, deren …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Shovelware — Un shovelware ou truelleware est un logiciel employé pour remplir l espace restant sur un CD ROM commercial, sans qu il ne soit intégré au logiciel principal. Catégorie : Terminologie du logiciel …   Wikipédia en Français

  • shovelware — shov|el|ware [ˈʃʌvəlweə US wer] n [U] information that first appears in printed form, for example in a book or newspaper, and then is put onto the Internet or ↑CD ROM without any new or interesting ways to look at or use the information ▪ Many of …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • shovelware — noun a) A haphazard collection of software assembled in terms of quantity rather than quality. b) Traditional media content, such as printed news reports, republished hastily on the Internet without considering the needs and capabilities of that… …   Wiktionary

  • shovelware — ● ►en n. m. ►WARE Deux sens possibles: * Logiciel qu on a fourré sur un support beaucoup trop grand. Par exemple, un jeu ridicule de 3 Mo de long sur un CD ROM, ce qui permet d en faire exploser le prix car jusqu à maintenant, un CD est difficile …   Dictionnaire d'informatique francophone

  • shovelware — shovˈelware noun (comput sl) Data, esp originating from traditional media, published in electronic form without appropriate adaptation to the new format • • • Main Entry: ↑shovel …   Useful english dictionary

  • Mark Dery — Born December 24, 1959 (1959 12 24) (age 51) Braintree, Massachusetts Occupation …   Wikipedia

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