On Apple Software Update, Safari, and the blogosphere

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 25 March 2008 09:23

Opinion and Analysis

The degree of sophistry shown by some IT commentators astounds me.

Let's start by cutting through the rants and name calling, and get a few things straight about the way Apple offered the new version of its Safari browser to Windows users.

Firstly, the piece of software at the centre of this storm in a teacup isn't iTunes Update or QuickTime Update, it's Apple Software Update. So we shouldn't be surprised if new versions of software other than iTunes or QuickTime is offered through it.

Secondly, Safari wasn't "bundled" with an iTunes update as some suggest. When you run Apple Software Update you're free to accept or reject whatever items are offered. Updating iTunes and QuickTime doesn't automatically install Safari.

Furthermore, regardless of what you like or dislike about Safari as a browser, it's not as if it sends a copy of your browsing history to the people in charge of the black helicopters - at least not as far as we know. (For those that struggled to cope with Alex's recent flight of fancy: that's a joke, Joyce - so open source fans needn't bother posting "it couldn't happen here" comments.)

Trying to categorise Safari as "malware" is hyperbole, pure and simple. Calling it "potentially unwanted software" might be literally true in that not everyone wants Safari, but is misleading because the "potentially unwanted" phrase is commonly used to describe malware that is compulsorily installed alongside another program that the user really does want.

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