Over the years I have seen many software applications become resource intensive that they cause a drag on other resources. Anti-virus programs are normally guilty of falling into this category commonly called as bloatware. Bloatware is normally a result of poor and inefficient programming techniques.

I have observed a new class of software which is persistent on hugging your system resources, and no matter what you do to terminate the application it simply does not go away. This type of software I’ll call goatware, derived from the four legged hoofed animal called goat.

The goat is a very stubborn animal in nature because it has the tendency to return to a crime scene no matter how much you take steps to chase it away, hence goatware. Goatware leads to computer rage and frustration, such as the one seen on Youtube where the man smashes his computer because of the persistent nature of the problem. Although I am a keen supporter for Enterprise Rights Management, my concerns are that as this software evolves it might go down the route of becoming goatware where it hugs system resources like some encryption tools and antivirus software we all know.

The success and continuous acceptance of Enterprise rights management is predicated upon having little or no impact on system resources, as well as not impacting the way users perform their normal duties. So it is imperative that all enterprise rights management software do not hug system resources in a way that will bring about its demise before it becomes a main stream product.