Oftentimes, we look at things on many different ways and our reactions sometimes depend on who commits the act and not if the act is inherently malicious.
Mozilla’s CEO, John Lily, has recently criticized Apple for sneeking in a Safari browser installation on a regular Apple Software Update. Mozilla Firefox is a competing browser to Apple Safari so others looked at his statement as a sign of threat:
What Apple is doing now with their Apple Software Update on Windows is wrong. It undermines the trust relationship great companies have with their customers, and that’s bad — not just for Apple, but for the security of the whole Web. What they did yesterday was to use their updater for iTunes to also install their Safari Web browser –what follows is some background and analysis.
He has point — a software update is supposed to be just for already-installed applications, not new or related products by the same company. This is not the first time Apple has did this. They done that with iTunes and Quicktime.
I don’t mind it really, since I know I have the option to uncheck that part of the update. Others though, esp. the click-happy ones, get past that part in a millisecond they wouldn’t even notice it.
Certainly, this practice is an industry norm. Microsoft is infamous for doing so, especially with Windows and Internet Explorer. But pundits look at Microsoft differently (mostly, as an evil empire) so another well-regarded company such as Apple doing the same normal marketing strategy will be frowned upon at more than the normal eyebrow’s height.
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I’ve always wondered why the anti-trust lawsuits of the 90s banned Microsoft from bundling Windows with their own software, but didn’t bother when Apple started bundling OSX with iLife, iTunes, Safari, etc.
double standard much?
I guess you have to be no. 1 (in terms of sales) first before jealous people start dubbing you evil. It’s human nature - pull down the leader of the pack in any way you can.
An an example, Google was cool then. It’s still cool now. But it’s beginning to grow a bull’s eye.
Thats Why I uninstall Apple Update Software! I thought this was found when you start iTunes but now I know that its caused by Apple Software Update..
Solution would be uninstalling that and you might not experience it anymore.
Apple is starting to become EVIL!
I have to agree Apple’s auto update feature is annoying.
Well, for me, Safari is better than Firefox. Aside from the fact that Safari is the fastest browser, I also enjoy my favorite sites through Safari unlike Mozilla whose fonts seem to be pixelated for me.
I already have Safari for the PC so what Apple is trying to trick me into downloading is iTunes.
Sorry Steve, I’m happy with WinAmp and I don’t care what others say.
So he changed his mind? The original reason for Safari for Windows AFAIK was for iPhone web developers.
It really amazes me how any write-up about APPLE or MICROSOFT becomes a MAC vs PC thing.
I must admit, though, that I enjoy reading exchanges between apple fanboys (which I think is not a bad thing) and microsoft enthusiasts (also not a bad thing).
Personally, I…
A. like and use apple products
B. use microsoft products most of the time
C. once in a while dab into Linux stuff
I don’t see the point in being loyal to one company/platform. The competition actually benefits the end-users.
If safari has add-ons like Mozilla that makes life easier, like the Google Toolbar and built-in spell checker, I’d be happy with Safari. Firefox keeps freezing on my Mac.
I already have Safari 3 and it is indeed the “fastest browser”, well, they load the sites differently so it “appears” to be faster.
What I want to remove but have no choice is iTunes. I switched to the FLOSS app “SongBird” (http://songbirdnest.com), but iTunes & Quicktime are bundled together NO FREEDOM! Well, those are not FLOSS anyway….
The QT Alternative is good, but there are times when you really need the real QT. Thank God RM is dead, I don’t have worry about it.
Wait for FF3, it has improved compared to FF2, but as usual, memory leaks, not as bad though. FF’s problem with memory leaks always occurs with the badly written addons, so sooner or later you have to restart FF….
Linux parin!