woodie - thanks for all the posts, you've made some good points.
jmagaram - good questions...
First of all, let me point out that Thinkpads have 2 types of buyers: transactional (you the end-user/consumer) and relational (enterprise/business). Thinkpads dominate the enterprise space and as such a lot of the software design and development decisions are primarily made with that environment in mind. Since Thinkpads are so awesome, end users/consumers like/want them as well - but the use cases are much more varied. Obviously it's in our best interest to satisfy as many customers as possible, regardless of what customer model they come from - but let's just say the decisions are weighted.
Take ThinkVantage Access Connections for example. I agree with you, for my tastes it takes up too much space and the built-in OS control works just fine for the environments I'm in. It certainly has applications for a very mobile end user, but it's real strength/value is in the enterprise space where corporate IT shops can streamline connectivity with profiles, something they've been doing with AC for years. Sure it'd be nice if I could order a system w/o it, but a lot of people bought the system (or many of them) and are happy TVTs come with it for free.
That's really the answer to 1), 2), and 5). Uninstall them if you don't like them, you can always download and install later if you want.
3) Windows can burn ISOs and there is some limited authoring. Roxio Creator provides additional feature/function. I know we've published updates, but for royalty reasons posting the full install has been a challenge.
4) Sonic Icons is part of Roxio. I believe it consists of skins for the app so it looks how Lenovo wants it.
6) NetWaiting is installed by the modem driver. It doesnt do anything if you're not using a modem. However, I do recommend removing Digital Line Detect (dlg.exe) from teh startup folder if you don't use a modem.
7) You don't "need" TVSU, but it will provide updates that arent published to Windows Update.
