Sleazy Practices Cont.
Fired up by Google's move into the crapware domain by foisting an "updater" on customers who want to install (otherwise great) programs like Google Earth, I took another look at what was happening in the updater sphere.
Apple drew some heat for its own bit of underhandedness recently, when its own Apple Software Updater automatically included downloading the company's Safari browser. After a backlash, it dropped the Safari from the "Updates" section to a "New Software" section, but still prechecked it:
In other words, run the updater and not concentrate, and you'll find yourself downloading 22 MB of browser you didn't ask for, and didn't have before.
So no, I don't think Apple did the right thing here. Apple fans can protest as much as they like, but there's a clear move here to get new software to users to install software they didn't ask for and, if they don't actively intervene, will have it installed by default. Browsers, like media players, are particularly significant because they will try to make themselves the default browser, and users once again need to act against the default process to avoid this.
Needless to say, Apple's bid has been modestly successful, apparently at least doubling its modest market share for Safari. Still miniscule, but a start.
Of course, software is one thing, but it has to be used. For that it has to be visible to the user. No point in hiding the program launch icons somewhere they can't be found. On Windows, there are three places you want to be: the desktop, the system tray, or the start menu. Apple is particularly smart about this, ensuring that all its products sit, not in some side-alley subfolder, but in the 'root' menu:
and
as well as on the desktop:
(though not, interestingly, the Updater.)
Of course, Apple isn't alone. Microsoft has long been doing this, as has Adobe.
Folk argue this is all besides the point, that users retain control over their computer and can remove all this stuff if they want. But to me it's worrying that Apple, Microsoft, Google, Sun, Adobe et al think that this is OK, and, like their defenders, fail to understand that for the vast majority of users, installing software is not an everyday experience, and that these sleights of hand merely cause extra stress, confusion and uncertainty. That can't be good.
Dell took so much heat for loading its shovelware/crapware on new machines that they stopped this practice, but Apple remains unbowed and unscathed.
There is a relatively painless fix. The Windows Apple Software Updater is unnecessary software and can be uninstalled. I recommend that all my clients do so. iTunes/QuickTime will still check for updates without this extra crapware running all the time.
Posted by: Richard | May 06, 2008 at 06:51 PM