Apple's in the wrong, but Safari really is the better browser

22 March 2008 - 11:55am — Laura Scott

As a citizen and computer user, I agree that Apple is wrong to push Safari on Windows users:

Debate is raging today over the news that Steve Jobs has made good on his summertime promise and is now sending Apple's browser Safari along for the ride when Windows users are prompted to update iTunes or Quicktime.

Users can deselect the additional software download, but let's be realistic - there's got to be millions of people unwittingly downloading Safari onto their computers right now. Downloading software has to be opt-in, not opt-out.

As a web developer, however, I am quietly thrilled that there's a real possibility that a significant number of people will stop using the crapware Internet Explorer -- especially IE6, which cannot die a soon enough death, in my book. Microsoft's browser has been a huge sap on productivity in web development, thanks to its continued refusal to adopt CSS standards.

So "boo" to Apple, but a bigger and pre-existing "BOO" to Microsoft. Here I prefer the lesser of two boos.

About the author

Laura Scott is a web designer and developer.

Comments

22 March 2008 - 1:20pm — Virginia (not verified)

"the lesser of two boos"

Laura, you made me laugh.

22 March 2008 - 2:19pm — Tom B (not verified)

Apple's to blame because

Apple's to blame because some people are too dumb or lazy to select a button? Not in my opinion. But, I'm used to Apple's software update system. I deselect stuff all the time.

Though I slightly prefer Firefox, Safari is a close second for me; it rocks. It will be huge in market share in a pretty short time if Apple succeeds in selling over 10 Million iPhones this year-- that's a key point-- it's not just Macs and PC's; it's also iPhones. And it's a good thing. IE is a mess. IE was good for about 2 years, when MSFT first "bought" it from Spyglass.

23 March 2008 - 9:13am — James Katt (not verified)