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Mozilla CEO Objects To Safari Auto Install
hairyfeet writes "Do you use iTunes on Windows? If so you may be getting the gift of Safari from Apple whether you want it or not, and Mozilla CEO John Lilly is not happy about it. After his daughter was offered Safari as a 'bonus update' with a recent update to her iTunes software, Mr. Lilly says on his blog, 'What Apple is doing now with their Apple Software Update on Windows is wrong. It undermines the trust relationship great companies have with their customers, and that's bad — not just for Apple, but for the security of the whole Web.' He also pointed out the check box is already clicked when you go to update meaning you have to opt out, not in and that it lists Safari as getting an update even if you don't have it installed." Update: 03/21 21:44 GMT by KD : Corrected the name of the Mozilla CEO; also linked directly to his blog.
Years ago when the apple fanboys were all updating their blogs with the glorious news of iTunes coming to windows, I thought I'd give it a try. At this point I was not a Linux desktop user (I had been using Linux for years on my server to share my media over my LAN) so I had been using winamp 2 for quite some time.
I decided to give this iTunes thing a try, and promptly removed it after a few hours of use on my work machine, where it was used to play music in the background while I worked.
I fount it to be bloated and sluggish, especially on my less-than-great hardware. I'm also not fond of do-it-all products, like iTunes, that wants to manage all your music, be your ripping/burning solution, among all the various other things it does. I think that a product that focuses on one task will generally do that one task much better than the product that tries to do everything. That's just my opinion, mind you. Adding all the extra unwanted software is yet another straw on the proverbial camel's back, I think.
I did try Safari for windows, and while I like the fast startup time and browsing speed, the total lack of configuration options that Firefox had bestowed on me was a deal breaker. I was so used to extensions like noscript and adblock that I was actually surprised at all the extra bloat that a lot of (bad) websites had. I removed that within the hour as well.
Today there are many other solutions for what iTunes does. Amarok and Rhythmbox interact with my iPod perfectly, as do many other windows solutions.
Maybe this continuing stream of events will help others to start looking at iTunes alternatives as I, and everyone I know, has as well.
Date Of Apple Backlash Set For March 21, 2008.
Now look at Apple software on Windows. It doesn't give a damn about the Windows interface guidelines and pushes a nasty Aqua-like theme through Safari, Quicktime and iTunes. As far as I can tell, it ignores the system settings. A native Windows app should look like a native Windows app, not some refugee from OS X. Worse, the faux Aqua widgets cause sluggish performance and visual glitches. Scrolling a long list of tracks in iTunes is painful and often the app doesn't start properly in Vista and renders everything in black. The apps aren't even consistent with each other - the positioning and rendering menus is completely different in iTunes from Safari.
It's too bad they aren't taken to task for this. It's as arrogant as when MS did it. Except MS learned and Apple seemed to be getting away with it.