On Apple Software Update, Safari, and the blogosphere

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 25 March 2008 09:23

Opinion and Analysis

So what we're really talking about is whether or not an updater utility should present new versions of software that isn't already installed on that particular computer, and whether users should have to opt in or out of the presented updates.

It seems to me that the latter is easily dealt with. Why do you run Apple Software Update, or allow it to run automatically? Duh! It's because you want to update the Apple software on your computer. In this situation, opt out seems to make much more sense than opt in, especially as a large proportion of the updates include a security component.

Furthermore, if you want to permanently opt out of an item, Apple provides a mechanism for that (Ignore Selected Updates, in the Tools menu).

That leaves the issue of whether an updater utility should only update the computer's existing software.

I have some sympathy for that position, but it's not as if Apple has gone it alone. For example, running Google Updater not only provides a convenient mechanism for bringing Earth and Desktop up to date, it also gives me an opportunity to install other Google software such as Sketchup and Notifier.

The difference is that the two aspects are clearly delineated. And that, I reckon, is where Apple made its real mistake. It's hard to see why updates for installed software can't be separated from offers of additional software, yet remain inside the confines of Apple Software Update.