Maven Mapper's

Keeping Quicktime functioning for that 1 in 500 time when I need the stupid program has long been a bane in my PC existence.  I'm sure if I had a Mac, I'd probably welcome the updates that come about as often as a Windows security update.  But I drive a PC and not a Mac and Quicktime installations are just annoying.

The auto install never automatically installs and usually redirects me to an Apple site where the actual program download is about as easy to find as a Mac in a fortune 500 high rise.

So the other day when I started getting annoying warning pop ups to install Safari (Apple's internet browser) on one of my less used spare home computers, things got even more irritating.

I primarily use FireFox as my browser and keep IE7 around for those oddball websites in the world that only work on IE (like that is a smart way to design a website.)  When I do web design work, I keep a copy of Safari on my design computer for testing purposes so that I can keep the 5% of the browsing from a Mac internet happy.

I'm not a Mac hater nor a Mac User hater, but I don't want another crappy browser forced down my throat.  If I want to run Safari, I will go find it and download it.  I do not need an auto install from Steve Jobs forcing me to install and maintain yet another Apple program that I will rarely if ever use.

This auto install thing from Apple has turned into something of a mini scandal as bloggers jeer and the Mozilla CEO Cries Foul. It is reminiscent of Microsoft's attempts to force first Windows Media Player (like Quicktime or iTunes) on people and then Microsoft's attempts to force IE (like Safari) on people.

You would think that as much as Steve Jobs and Apple do not want to be like Gates and Balmer and Microsoft that they would quit copying the biggest failures from their business plans of the past like a person listening to just a single iTunes track over and over again as they spend too much time looping on treadmills.