Next iTunes update will load OSX on to your PC

Apple is just another business workin' those shady tactics. Like, well, every business.

It's BS like this that makes me sooo glad that I'm finally migrating to Linux...

Interesting that others think it's snappier than Firefox....I downloaded it a few days ago and went right back to Firefox because it seemed quite a bit slower, and I already had Firefox customized with addons and stuff.

God dammit, the browser wars have been over for years.

It ended with Microsoft's gross overreaction to the threat posed by pre-AOL acquired Netscape Navigator. Web developers are still suffering from its consequences. IE (#1 web browser in terms of share) was originally designed to use proprietary web standards in order to kill Netscape. The legacy of that still lives with IE8.

WTF is Apple hoping to achieve with forcing Safari down non-Apple users?

I saw this pop up and was like, "Hey cool, and update for my iTunes...oh wait...Safari...WTF?" This smells an awful lot like what people said MS was doing with IE. Get an MS OS, get IE...now it seems if you get iTunes, you get Safari and Quicktime whether you like it or not. What a load of crap. I don't even use Quicktime except through websites for movie trailers and wotnot. I generally have it turned off in the startup process cuz I don't need extraneous junk running in the backround. And I certainly don't need another browser, FireFox FTW!

Apple is now including Safari as their "desktop package". You will get these three items, constantly:
- Safari
- iTunes
- Quicktime

Want one? Tough luck, you'll get the others.

Does anyone here on TR volountarily install quicktime or iTunes?

I might be a bigot, but everything about both products offends me. The earlier post likening Apple to Real really hits the spot, and Real is the company that destroyed hopes for a single-purpose tool.

Now we have to have iTunes and Media player. Except they're not media players. If you look at the ingredients list you'll see the following:
Media Player = 4%
Advertising =16%
VirusTech self-updater = 9%
File-associations wizards = 22%
Fille-associations protection agent (to stop other programs stealing the stolen associations) = 15%
Browser plugin that's almost impossible to turn off = 4%
Nasty stuff in the EULA forbidding you from eating cake = 18%
DRM nastiness = 7%
A choice of garish, nasty or misfitted GUI skins that prevent easy use and intergration with your OS = 5%

I really, really like MPC. I bet you couldn't tell. Winamp is quite handy too.

I'd love to hear what Microsoft has to say about this.

Hands up. Who trusts Apple? Yeah, thought so.

From the "Rules of Acquisition":
239. Never be afraid to mislabel a product.

This is the kind of thing that spins me into a state of pissed off like nothing else can. I have used iTunes as my mp3 player for quite a long time. With this little stunt pulled by jobs and co I think I will ditch iTunes and use something else.

I've got iTunes installed and never minded when it automatically let me know when there was and update. But now every time I launch it it prompts me to install Safari too. I don't want it and I wish that I had the ability to hide it, like you can do with Windows Updates. I'll just have to turn off the automatic update in iTunes. Not cool Apple.

Yup, the Apple updater just pulled that on me before I came over and read this story!

It's easy enough to get rid of, but it's still scummy and annoying,

I tried it for a few minutes, and I think it's certainly gotten a lot better, but it's sure as hell no Firefox. The default font rendering, for one, is just awful.

Can someone tell me what's even the point of pushing your web browser to the masses? What does the marketshare gain give you?

It doesn't BORDER on malware distribution practices. It IS a clear cut case of following popular malware distribution practices.

That doesn't make Safari malware, of course.

There can be no question, however, regardless of what one thinks of Safari or Apple in general, that this kind of distribution (pushing a separate product as an "upgrade" through a trusted channel) is despicable. Plain and simple.

I have to agree. Using the Auto Update program to install a brand new program on your computer instead of updating software that is already pre installed is pretty low from Apple.

They should have just pulled the old bundling trick when you try to download iTunes from their website if they really wanted to push this on as many people as possible.

Safari is not as bad a browser as many of you here make it sound. It is indeed quite fast and when it comes to standards compliance, it just OWNS IE 6, 7, 8 hands down.

This is bad publicity for Apple that is well deserved. As an Apple user, i do NOT approve this move and i agree it borders malware distribution practices. Whoever thought this was a smart move at Apple, needs to resign. Fast.

Adi

hmm.. other than the speed, what's so great about safari?

Today shall be known as the the day apple became another Real. Seriously how low can a company go.

I just installed Safari on my XP machine, and the text seems blurry. I've played with the font smoothing settings (it actually looks better with it off, rather than on) but it hurts my eyes to read TR :(. What's this about??

It's not just you. It's doing the same thing on my Vista rig. Makes reading completely painful. Uninstalled it in about five minutes.

I will say it's a damn fast browser, but I don't see what the big deal is otherwise. Nothing special about the interface.

This my good fellas is why I refuse to install any Apple crap on my machine. I had a beta version of Safari installed some time ago. I was utterly disgusted by the innumerable bugs, the horrible font rendering and the junk that it installed on the side (like Apple update... what a PoS).

Use Firefox or Opera when it comes to browsing... They are made by serious companies that don't infect your computer with "notrequestedware".

Oh and I skipped Quicktime as well... I did, and everything is working great. If I have a .mov, I'll play it on KMPlayer... No codec needed. Quicktime is another PoS software imo, bloated and invasive.

Ahh, the ever-humble Steve Jobs.

Heh, at least Microsoft was a little more subtle about IE. Imagine the up-roar if Windows offered a *dis*service like this, pop-ups for IE, or any other MS product. Heh, next time an apple fanboi tells me how evil MS is I don't think I'll be able to contain my laughter...

MS got sued for using a monopoly in one area (desktop operating systems) to gain market share in another area (web browsers).

I saw iTunes has around a 90% market share. Not sure if that counts as a a monopoly or not but if not, it's pretty close. Apple needs to be smacked for doing the same thing Microsoft did.

http://secunia.com/advisories/29483/
Unpatched. Apple will get around to it when itunes has a new store.

Programs tend to run a little more "snappier" when the developers don't hassle themselves with things like security, interoperability, functionality, etc.

I've been annoyed by apple bundling itunes with quicktime for a while. whenever i get the prompt to update quicktime freakin itunes is checked off as well. it makes me just close the window rather than updating quicktime on a few machines . .

I find their software and updates to be as annoying as real player is lately. Not impressed.

I just installed Safari on my XP machine, and the text seems blurry. I've played with the font smoothing settings (it actually looks better with it off, rather than on) but it hurts my eyes to read TR :(. What's this about??

I think its about time someone sued Apple for doing stuff like this. hell I believe they are monopolizing the music industry with itunes so I want the EU to fine them...