Apple pushing irrelevant software to Windows users
Even for a Windows user, iTunes offers some useful tools: it lets you synch your iPod, play podcasts, and organize your music collection. And now it will even let your business create XML configuration files from iPhones. What do you mean you don’t want to do that?
Some people using iTunes on Windows 7 have been surprised to notice that Apple’s automatic update service, which is designed to distribute updates for iTunes and QuickTime, is now offering to distribute the “iPhone Configuration Utility.”
(That is, of course, the people who have noticed. With the option to install the software checked by default, anyone who simply trusts Apple and clicks without reading may have already installed it without realizing.)
Obviously this software is of no value whatsoever to people who don’t have an iPhone. But for those who do, it’s not likely to be much use either. The software is mainly designed for businesses who want to set up specific security profiles on the iPhones used by their staff, as well as to configure how those handsets hook up to the security on their office networks.
The incident follows Apple attempting to distribute its Safari browser through iTunes updates last year, again checked by default so that users had to actively refuse to download it. In that case, some critics even threw around the phrase “malware”, which seems a little strong. But it’s certainly true that for people who don’t currently use Safari, there is absolutely no way you can accurately describe its installation as a “software update”. As Alice in Wonderland said, “How can I have more, when I haven’t had any yet!”
Given the complete irrelevance of the software to most users (compared with an internet browser), there may be a good chance this latest incident is down to incompetence rather than scheming. It’s probably also fair to note that anyone who has moved to Windows 7 to get away from Vista is probably much more susceptible to clicking confirmation buttons without reading them.
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September 28th, 2009
Apple has pushed lots of its software with its updater, including QuickTime, Safari, MobileMe, as well as useless programs like iTuneshelper.exe, etc. They can be hard quit or to delete if you don’t want them, too. Apple users also get these things pushed onto their systems, but Apple’s OS philosophy is to have all these “little” things set up in advance so that when a user is ready to, say, sign up for MobileMe or to use an iPhone in a certain way, the computer does it without any glitches or need to install software. This is how the illusion of the “Apple experience” is sustained.
Now, on Windows machines, this kind of thing is instead perceived as very intrusive and not good etiquette and Apple should stop it immediately or be more transparent about what it’s doing.
It’s kind of like being American in Tokyo: your intentions may be wholesome and good as you order your udon noodles in a restaurant, but you might still accidentally offend the locals if you behave too American. Apple needs to adapt somewhat better to Windows culture.
September 29th, 2009
It isn’t just Windows 7, I noticed this the other day when I got the update notice on my Vista machine!!!
You really have to watch Apple, they keep trying to sneek these things in!
September 29th, 2009
Apple should have an ‘update’ box for updates to existing software. They should then have a smaller section of the ‘update’ window saying ‘recommended downloads’ where you can check boxes and download. This way nobody could claim apple was forcing software to be downloaded, as many software designers advertise other software within a main package, and in this case, Apple’s main package is iTunes and they should advertise it, if they advertise it at all, as ‘recommended downloads’ rather than ticking the box to download.
September 30th, 2009
just run msconfig.exe after each install and disable all these little additions. Pretty simple really.
October 2nd, 2009
@Rimmer
Yeah, its easy to get rid of them in the first place if you know what you’re doing. The point is that the average person using a computer updating iTunes and getting other software installed which they don’t want is not going to have any idea how to get into msconfig and is not going to have any idea what processes and services are, and which ones to cancel – as much as it is a no brainer for those of us who know what we’re doing, its not something that everybody knows how to do. Its simple if you know what you’re doing but it is an unnecessary thing to have to do and is difficult for the average computer user to understand. Most won’t even realise this useless software is installed.