Auto-install of Safari

Is anybody else a bit ticked off at Apple?

I have QuickTime installed because I like multi-media content to be available within Second Life, and because there are some webpages outside of SL that need it.

I have it configured to let me know when there are updates, because I want to know such things.

I'm now getting pounded by Apple, wanting me to download and install Safari.

No, thank you very much!!! I'm quite happy with Firefox. I love Firefox. I see no reason to get rid of Firefox. Leave me alone, Apple!!!

- Ace

:\ heard about that on slashdot a few days ago. sounds pretty crummy; i love my mac but hate spamware tactics!! :\ hopefully they will give that a 'don't remind me' button soon...

as is the latest safari on mac is a little goofy; it seems to open tabs when i'd just like the link to go to the current window (as i have it set)...

I am getting that too It made me :argh:

Yup got that the other day and declined it, I hope it's not going to be bundled with itunes updates.

Although I usually reject unsolicited offers of software I thought having Safari would be cool so I took it... And I kind of like it, but now I'm thinking that was right about the same time that my default browser, Firefox, started freezing up on me (a lot). Could it be that Safari was a Trojan horse?

I downloaded it too when it said it had an update, now I keep crashing upon login to SL is this connected in anyway or is it just a SL quirk that others are getting too

I use both, (mostly Firefox) and have no problems with freezing .

I caught this stupid thing before it installed. I'm a proud and contented Firefox user. I am NOT swapping over to some sneak attack download. Grrrr.

I got this message about safari too...it didn't auto download though. Happy Opera user here, no desire to switch.

Beware this download. Safari for Windows is getting very bad reviews on all the major download sites. It is very fast to load the pages it will accept, but other problems (including a massive memory leak) indicate it is not yet ready for prime time.

I share Poopmaster's sentiment about this thread being a little inappropriate for a forum about SL. However, I'll chime in anyway.

I didn't look too carefully when the Apple updater thingy appeared on my screen the other day. I just figured it was another Quicktime or iTunes update, since those are the only Apple programs I have, so I hit OK. I was then a bit shocked when it proceeded to say "downloading Safari". WTF? That's not an update! That's a brand new installation of a brand new program. I dind't even know Safari was available for Windows, let alone expect it to sneak itself in under the radar like that.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I absolutely hate the way Apple does business. They're by far the shadiest major tech company on the planet. As if all the bald faced-lies lies in their TV commercials weren't bad enough, now they're passing off new installations as updates. Wow.

I haven't gotten around to uninstalling Safari yet, but I will soon. I have no intention of using it. And if the updater then yells at me for not having it, well that will be the end of iTunes and Quicktime for me. No big loss there, for sure. I can get music elsewhere easily enough, and from what I hear, Quicktime Alternative works just fine.

I don't have Itunes installed, but it tries to install it with every quick time update. I have learned to uncheck that box before proceeding. Now I just have to uncheck an additional box.

What's bugging me lately is Adobe trying to install the Google toolbar.

I tried the Safari browser and uninstalled it within a few minutes. Anything that tried to sneak in an installation of Safari might meet the same fate that Safari did.

Fortunately I don't have iTunes so I suppose I'm safe.

It will come with Quicktime to, if you don't uncheck the box.

I will try to use quicktime alternative instead of quicktime itself . The Quicktime program drove me nuts with it's aggressive seizing of control of every file extension.

Oh man the Real Audio Real Player products - aiggh!!! I don't recall if they tried to install additional software but just the way they would nag you about updates all the time . I don't install them except if there is a file I can't hear some other way and then I uninstall them.

Winamp is being pretty annoying lately too. The "upgrades" are all about marketing and not much about doing anything I want done any better.

What was that old thing, Gator Software ? That was pretty aggravating.

Off topic?!? Raising the issue of unwanted software trying to install itself on every PC that people use for SL is off topic?

If QuickTime wasn't so tightly married to SL, you may have a point, but given how in-world media capabilities are dependent on QuickTime being installed on your PC, this isn't the case.

I'm comfortable with my original post.

- Ace

I use ITunes, because I once got free downloads for it and since they're in an odd format for Itunes only..

Doesn't help that of all the music players I've tried, they are the ones that drive me the least crazy.

Quicktime Alternative works perfectly with streaming content in SL. As always, YMMV.

Yes, but I was ticked off at apple long ago. I have no Quicktime, no iTunes, and no Safari. If I wanted a mac I would have bought a mac. I said the same thing when Vista came out

Quicktime Alternative (google it up) seem to work for most people. I have not used it personally tho; I just have no need for it. I don't do streaming media in game so YMMV.

Foxit replaces acrobat reader and to me is better in every way.

Ain't that the truth.

I don't have an iPod. If I want to listen to music when I'm at my PC, I turn on the radio or CD player.

For some reason, Apple seems to think that if I want to be able to have quicktime on my system, I must want them to also install an iTunes service that runs all the time. And a mobile device service that runs all the time. And, now, obviously, I need iSafari, too.

This is exactly why Quicktime Alternative was developed, just as Media Player Classic was developed due to feature cruft on Windows Media Player. At least the Quicktime download page on the Apple site now offers a selectable download without iTunes and all the associated crap. They used to hide the minimal-frills option deep in the site.

Sorry, Ace. I didn't read your original post carefully enough. You did indeed make it clear why it was relevant to SL, but somehow I missed that the first time around. My apologies.



Can you elaborate on that, Suzanne? Does the Adobe updater prompt you to install The Google toolbar similarly to how the Apple updater prompts you to install Safari?

I don't get anything like that at all on my end, but I suppose maybe it's possible that that's because I have the full versions of the relevant programs, not just the players/reader. If you only have the player/reader instead of the whole thing, does the updater act differently?

The Adobe website says all they're doing is bundling the toolbar as an optional add-on with downloads of Reader and Flash Player, and with new installations of Shockwave Player. It doesn't state that the updater will try to get you to install the toolbar if you don't have it. But it also doesn't say that it won't. So does it?

If it does, that's troubling. But if it doesn't, and all we're talking about is an option at the time of download/installation I don't see that as such a big deal. I think most people are aware enough when doing downloads and installations to look out for add-ons (they come with almost everything these days), and they just uncheck what they don't want. That's almost a habit at this point, I think.

Updates are completely different, though. When an update message pops up, most people just check OK without looking very carefully. People expect an update is a necessary thing, for security, performance, etc. The occasional bugged update notwithstanding, people generally trust that keeping their software updated is always for the best.

And that's why Apple really crossed the line with this one. For an updater to offer new installations of new software is a betrayal of that essential trust. If (and I stress IF) Adobe has crossed the same line, that would make two, and that would be a really dangerous precedent to have set.

If updates become annoyances, users will stop updating as often. And that's obviously very bad for everyone. Among other things, it means more holes in security will be left open for longer periods, allowing viruses and other exploits to spread more widely and more quickly. That's not good.

It's really important that we all make sure Apple, and any other company who acts similarly, know that this is not what we expect of them, and absolutely not what we want from them. Update alerts and new software offerings MUST be kept separate.

Just a quick add-on to my original post...

Apparently, the license agreement that Apple wants you to agree to when installing Safari includes this line :

"This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time".

Note the restriction "Apple-labeled" computer.

So... unless you are running Windows on a Mac (kind of pointless, I would think), or running in some sort of VMware or other emulation environment, you really can't legally run the software that they are pushing down our throat.

*spits*

- Ace