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CNET Top 5: Worst downloads of the summer 2008 Video

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CNET Top 5: Worst downloads of the summer 2008

Created: 07/29/2008

Video description: Just because it's free, doesn't mean it's great, and these downloads prove it.

CNET Top 5: Worst downloads of the summer 2008 Video Transcript

Welcome to CNET top 5, where each time we meet we count down another hot CNET list. I'm Tom Merritt. Unfortunately, this Top 5 is not so hot. Download.com's Senior Content Manager Peter Butler has once again waded through the dreck, the lowest level of colossal failure, the software programs that should never have been coded and collected a handful of - ?well, crap. Let's count down the top 5 worst downloads of the summer. At number five, Offspring. This $9 shareware program purportedly mashes up images of say yourself and a celebrity, to see what your offspring might look like. Kitschy right? Wrong. It pretty much just places one image on top of another with some sort of masking. The results are not impressive Coming in at number four, Poet in a Box. 10 years late to the magnetic- poetry fad, this $5 shareware app lets users write poems "without even using much thought." Well, sort of. More accurately, you can mash up random pieces of scripture and public-domain hymn lyrics by clicking buttons 1-100. They're right though. Not much thought went into this. Up to number three ? Automatic Print Email. It does what it says. Prints every single e-mail you receive, so that you can read the hard copies on good old paper. Yep. Every one. From that oil baron who's offering you dividends to that offer for federal proposal writing software. Every one. Sliding in at number 2. Birthday eCards With Your Personal Voice. Now that sounds nice, right? Well it's really just a download of a website and it requires you to be connected to the Internet. And to get your voice into one of the six included cards you need to install an active x control. Thanks but no thanks. Before we get to number one, let's check in on the most popular downloads at Download.com. See. There are more good ones than bad ones. All right. Let's get to our number one. The worst download of the summer of 2008. At number one, It's....Lightes. As in ye olde lightes above the corner shoppe. This one claims to be educational! Click "Green" and the program turns green. Click "Yellow" and it turns yellow. Click "Red" Can you guess? Yep. Turns red. Click "Off" and the screen goes blank. But that's not all! You can also enter a number into a blank field and click the "Timer" Ten you get a "Done" message,--that doesn't actually "do" anything. See? It--- teaches. What is it teaching?!!! I suspect something nefarious is going on here. It can't be that stupid. Can it? Well That's it for this edition of CNET Top 5. You can find all the good downloads. As well as these. At CNET's download.com.

CNET Top 5: Worst downloads of the summer 2008

Just because it's free, doesn't mean it's great, and these downloads prove it.

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