By Nick Farrell
28 August 2008, 9:11 AM

PC BOX BUILDERS are thinking of getting rid of the tradition of stuffing your new PC or laptop with trial software that you don’t really want anyway. The reason is that some retailers, such as Best Buy, are making a small fortune removing the software and charging punters for the privilege.

According to the New York Times software companies pay hundreds of millions of dollars to PC makers like Hewlett-Packard to install their photo tools, financial programs, virus killers and other products, usually with some tie-in to a paid service or upgrade. PC makers have come to lean on this cash as profit margins become thinner than a French catwalk model who has skipped eating for a month, fainted and fallen under a steam roller.

Circuit City and other US chains also report that users are miffed at the amount digital infomercials which are being packed onto the PC. The Times claims that HP is listening to the complaints and is thinking of sticking all the advertising and software onto a website where punters can buy and download games, productivity software and other programs. Cash from the site will be split in some fashion among HP, a retailer like Best Buy and the makers of the software.