What a bunch of ...

App-holes! (use with MacTards to add some variety)

@Scott

"Err, so that'd be the fault of the web developer not checking the site in ALL available browsers then.... not exactly the browsers fault."

I disagree with that. It is true that Safari is "mainstream" enough to be tested, but God, it's not possible to test ALL available browsers... Think Lynx, Netscape 2.0, IE 1.0...

Also, I still believe that showing web sites correctly is more the job of the guy coding the browser than the job of the guy making the website. Maybe that's like believing in Santa Claus, though...

The thing is

It is not the offer that is annoying (at least not to me). What is annoying is THE WAY IT IS DONE.

1. Any company should be able to offer information about updates of its software if the customer chooses this service (e.g. updater software). I do not agree that software should automatically update itself in the background as and when it is triggered by some data change on a website. This auto-update should only be possible if the user chooses to 'subscribe on automatic updates' - not otherwise.

2. Any software update information could also have information about other software from the same company. This is reasonable I think and could be justified - after all if you like one product from a company you may be interested in other offering. However it is not reasonable to have other software 'offers' somewhat pre-chosen for download.

Urgh

Hate Safari, hate Mac. I found out earlier that Safari had installed itself on my pc earlier this month, after all that happened with it in the hacking challenge and the bugs realeased by Mozilla I was amazingly annoyed!

Once again, hate Safari, hates Mac

cry babies

Ticked by default is what software installs, either from disk, disc or download, have generally always done.

Is it really that hard for people to figure out how to uncheck a box? Or to read for that matter.

The OS X Software Update periodically informs me that a new update is available (and by update, sometimes it really means new software) but it gives me the opportunity to read what it's all about, provides links to documents on the Apple website which tell me all the nitty gritty I generally don't want to know and to dismiss it all together if I can't be bothered/don't have time/in the middle of something and don't want to chew up CPU cycles or occasionally restart (and even that you can defer).

You're not being forced to install any update right this second, there is no gun to your head. It is one dialogue box this is actually telling you something potentially useful if you already have Apple software installed.

It's certainly not like the regularly irritating and pointless pop-up bubbles Windows interrupts you with "There are hidden icons in your task bar", "Take a tour of Windows XP", "Help Microsoft improve Microsoft Office", "You are no longer connected to the network" - that last one I find particularly perplexing considering I'm still connected to the internet, the intranet, our web based applications, shared directories, printers, etc, etc. Or that other task bar gem "new software is available" when in fact there is nothing new whatsoever. These are the pop-ups I can remember. Some of these appear whenever the computer is turned on, some appear periodically throughout the day and some take the focus away from the current application I'm using. ALL of them are annoying.

Whilst I'm on the subject of annoying UI issues with Windows, it would be remiss of me not to mention the fact that certain important things like my preferred screen resolution; quick launch bar location, size and toolbars; desktop icon arrangement; or IE shortcuts, aren't saved in my user profile to follow me around, but have to be set up on each individual PC I use. Urgh!

These things, along with malware, flakiness, system amnesia and periodic 30 second long system freezing I experience on a daily basis are the reasons at home, where I can actually exercise a choice, I switched from Windows to Mac and OS X in 2001. And I've never, ever looked back. Ever... Not once.

So to all you Windows champions, continue to fiddle, fix and tinker with your system and battle the fierce malware onslaught to your heart's content. But don't come crying to me when you can't figure out how to read a dialogue box or uncheck a check box. I've found a better way, as have a growing number of people around me who continue, even years after making the switch to Mac, to say with excitement "I LOVE my Mac".

@ratfox

"I still believe that showing web sites correctly is more the job of the guy coding the browser than the job of the guy making the website. Maybe that's like believing in Santa Claus, though..."

That's the point of standards compliance. In a perfect world you can code a website for the standard and expect any browser to render it correctly.

At present this is a pipe-dream, but lately I've been able to get 99% consistency between Safari, Firefox and Opera. IE is the real pain in my ass at the moment.

<rant>

What the hell is wrong with MS? They win the browser war and then go to sleep for a decade. Those complacent jackasses need replacement, which is why I'm not really bothered by Apple's tricking people into downloading Safari. Any displacement of IE is a good thing. It's not like Apple won't be fixing security holes, especially if people keep making a fuss about them.

</rant>