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. 

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.