The Best Buy Geek Squad's PC and Mac optimization services are worse than a bad deal, since they can actually make your new computer slower. Apparently Best Buy heard our heckling: bullshit optimization is on its way out.


A tipster sent us this memo, which outlines Best Buy's new Best Buy Installer Software, which is an app that lets customers choose which apps (and bloat) to install on their new computers, excluding Dells and HPs. It's never good when a store starts adding their own software to new computers, but one preinstalled bloat app is better than 20, even if said app leads you straight to others. Oh, and Best Buy earns about $5 from software companies for each BBIS install, so make of that what you will.


Anyway! Here's the meat ("this" refers to BBIS):

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Best Buy's pitch is that their new service negates their old one, and that Windows 7—which has been out for three months now, by the way—starts up fast enough that optimizing it, whatever that means, isn't necessary. But remember, their optimizations don't help in the first place. The Geek Squad optimization brand is tainted, so this smells like damage control more than anything. Full memo below. —Thanks, M!