Apple Still Pestering Us About Safari

I got my hopes up that Apple would finally leave me alone. The computer maker has been pestering me with an offer to install its Safari Web browser every time I update iTunes or QuickTime.

It seems I have to update one or the other every week. And every time for the past month or so, Apple has been ready to install Safari for me. A Safari download, in fact, is the default. I have to remember each time to tell it not to.

Lots of people are irked by Apple's tactic. Mozilla CEO John Lily, who obviously has an ax to grind, nonetheless seemed right when he said the approach "borders on malware distribution practices."

This morning, on my Windows computer, the Apple software updater didn't include Safari. Yippee!

Oh, wait, it did include an update to the updater. I installed it and, that's right, the Safari pestering is back.

Apple did bow to pressure and put the Safari in a separate category called "New software." But the 23 megabytes of Safari download remains the default choice. I still have to click the little box to say, "No thanks."

Business is business. But are a few points of browser market share worth the bad image?