Filed under: Utilities, News, Windows, Apple
Apple Software Updater won't shove Safari down your throat anymore
by Simon Kerbel Apr 18th 2008 at 3:00PM
You've got to hand it to Apple: they listen to their detractors, and listen fast. When they dropped the price of the iPhone soon after its launch, and the responding outcry was fierce, they doled out credits to the Apple Store as an apology. The 10.5.2 update, while fixing many other issues, was also a response to customer complaints about the new Leopard feature Stacks.
The most recent Apple fiasco had to do with pushing Safari for Windows via Apple's Software Update. The sticky wicket was putting Safari in a software update as if it were a necessary update, or an update to a piece of software already installed on your machine. Detractors claimed that amounted at worst to trickery, at best to an unfair advantage in the ongoing browser wars. Frankly, we kind of agreed.
Well, Apple has listened again.
The newly released Apple Software Update now has two panes instead of one: Updates, and the new pane, labeled New Software. This small but significant tweak allows users to easily discern whether a product is an update to an existing piece of software on their machine or a new offering.
Some might say that the change is still not enough. After all, the Safari install is still checked by default. We're also left to wonder, in the intervening time between offense and repentance, how many new Safari "users" can Apple claim?
The Illusionist's Dream is a simple platformer; you play as a magician who needs to get through each level by transforming into any number of animals that you encounter along the way.
Each animal can do different things; the butterfly can obviously fly, but if it encounters a frog, the frog eats it, and you have to start over again. There's also a fox that runs fast and leaps far, but it eats any rabbits that cross its path. That means that, if you may need to be a rabbit later on, you need to take that into account ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TM` said 3:45PM on 4-18-2008
hahaha this is absolutely ridiculous. It's just as bad they didn't do anything. They need to uncheck that little box by safari. Typical arrogance from Apple.
Reply
Taylor said 4:57PM on 4-18-2008
Yeah... this isn't even close to okay. This is just weak, no company should do this - it pisses me off when people try to trick you into installing software you don't want, no matter who it is. If i want safari, ask me. I uncheck safari every time the updater comes up and it STILL comes back checked! What does that look like they are trying to do? I said no, don't try to install it again! :(
-Taylor
Reply
Peter said 5:19PM on 4-18-2008
Absoultely, the minimally acceptable change should have been to have it unchecked.
The correct response would be to remove it from the list completely.
ShadowGod said 5:21PM on 4-18-2008
Good. Now when are they going to stop forcing that piece of shit Quicktime down people's throats?
Apple sucks.
Reply
Taylor said 5:26PM on 4-18-2008
This reminds me of the AOL days. It was only a year ago that installing AIM tried to install a browser called AOL Explorer that was just riddled with ads and totally sucked. I think you actually had to install it, if i remember correctly, and it would open links clicked in AIM in AOL Explorer, even if it wasn't the default browser.
Or when installing NERO around the same time, it tried to associate itself with every possible kind of media it could, which was a huge list, and EVERYTHING was checked, and there was no "uncheck all" option! That and the AOL thing have both changed, but now it's Apple trying to invade my personal space with unwanted software! :(
-Taylor
Reply
kerrickter said 8:09PM on 4-18-2008
First time I have ever contacted Apple customer support with a concern. The Safari nag was super annoying. Their support team advised me to turn off auto updates, which I felt was a weak response, but I figured they would patch this eventually so I let it go.
Thanks Apple for fixing this.
Reply
Andy said 5:53PM on 4-21-2008
This post still reads too much like praise for Apple for "correcting" a problem that shouldn't have existed. The people who read this blog will have unticked the box first time around; even with this fix, the casual computer user who installed the iTunes they got with their iPod will find Safari on their computer next time this software update runs.
Reply
Dave Forster said 3:58AM on 4-19-2008
The fact is that most people in the world haven't got a clue about computers or software i.e. how they work, why they break and the difference between good and bad... it will be people like this who install this crap...
the rest of us will get by because we don't just click 'ok' buttons aimlessly
Reply
Max said 11:14AM on 4-19-2008
Sure glad MS does not shove IE down our throats
Reply
Mysterius said 5:14PM on 4-19-2008
Well, if Microsoft didn't provide a default browser, it would be much more of a hassle to get Firefox. ;)
Mysterius said 5:17PM on 4-19-2008
This post was misleading. When I started reading it, I though "Well, Apple probably already got Safari to most of the customers who click thru updates without checking, but at least it won't try to trick users when update time comes around".
Instead, I find out near the *end* of the post that Apple is *still* leaving Safari checked by default. Only *then* does DownloadSquad give a weak condemnation of Apple's deceit. Apple's move is simply still *wrong*, and DownloadSquad's post should reflect that.
Reply
DarkDay said 7:56PM on 4-19-2008
I have to agree.
I love reading download squad but whenever this topic has been discussed there always seems to be told in a way that almost praises Apple. I honestly doubt Microsoft would come across so well if it were them trying this...
Paul Mccann said 8:33AM on 4-20-2008
But they are still trying to force ITunes onto customers that dont have it. i have quicktime installed and not Itunes, yet every update I get has Quicktime and Itunes update ticked by default and the quicktime only not ticked. I dont have nor do i want itunes, so why do they try to force it on me each time. Its totally put me off actually using Itunes.
Reply
TurboFool said 12:02PM on 4-21-2008
Still not enough. It needs to be unchecked by default. You can't overestimate enough the stupidity, laziness, or pure cluelessness of the average consumer. These people get a window that pops up and says it's an update, and they click yes. It's the same way most of the malware infections I clean up on PCs are due to people clicking OK on fake virus warnings that then install fake anti-virus software. Since Apple started pushing Safari out by default, I've seen Safari installed on nearly a dozen client machines. So far I've only caught one user using it, but the rest clearly auto-installed it without a second thought. Somehow this seems worse to me than when Microsoft was "forcing" IE on people by building it into the OS.
Reply
Dwight Stegall said 4:24PM on 4-21-2008
That's too bad. I will miss it in there. Now I'll have to waste my time looking updates. Another black eye for Apple. :(
Reply
JayMonster said 4:09PM on 4-21-2008
Chalk me up as another one that doesn't feel that this is properly "listening" to critics. Instead it is Apple's typical arrogant snubbing. Fine you don't want to call it an update? We're still gonna try to shove it down to you. It is an absolute joke!
The praise for this "fix" (as others have pointed out) was also sickly sweet. They "listened" to complaints? Yeah, just enough to allow a fanboy claim of how "responsive" they are. HA!
You could be sure if Microsoft "listened" to customers in this fashion, the torches and pitchforks would still be out.
Reply
OldTimer said 12:11PM on 4-22-2008
and why do we need iTunes with Quicktime?
Stopped using Quick time because I don't need iTunes. No Apple on my machine now!
Reply