Interesting tactic: If you’ve installed iTunes or Quicktime and opted to have Apple update your software automatically (which is the default), Apple has decided that you’ve also given it permission to install the Safari Web browser on your computer.

Imagine if Microsoft force-fed Internet Explorer to Mac users this way — can you imagine the screaming?

If you have Quicktime installed, you may already realize that this kind of shady tactic is par for the course. Without asking permission, Quicktime automatically installs a start-up service for itself (unnecessary and a memory drain, but the only way to remove it is by getting into Windows innards with a tool like EasyCleaner or by using msconfig). And unlike most programs, Apple doesn’t ask if you want an (unnecessary) Quicktime shortcut in your Quickstart bar — it puts is there anyway.

(Note: You can always get Quicktime Alternative instead.)

So now Apple is installing an entire Web browser without my permission. Nice. Luckily, I’ve already shut down Apple’s automatic updates for exactly this reason. But you can bet that, because most people haven’t done so, Apple will soon crow about having some significant market share with Safari even if no one voluntarily downloaded it.

Maybe it’s payback for all the people who have upgraded to Quicktime Pro for free by using the registration info:

Registered to: Dawn M Fredette
Registration Code: 4UJ2-5NLF-HFFA-9JW3-X2KV

Or maybe they’re just jerks.

1. There is a vast, worldwide conspiracy to destroy Apple. It includes journalists, Microsoft, and the business community in general.

2. Any attack on Apple is, in addition, a personal attack on you.  Retaliation for these attacks must be swift, personal, and based on the concept that ‘the best defense is a good offense.’ 

3. Anything not entirely favorable said about the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, or any Apple product is an attack on Apple and a personal attack on all Macintosh users. (See #2.)

4. Anything positive said about a competitor to the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, or any Apple product is an attack on Apple and a personal attack on all Macintosh users; it must be met with an immediate counterattack that stresses the quality of the Mac compared to the PC regardless of what the original products were. (See #2 and #11.)

5. Leaving Apple or an Apple product out of any discussion to which it can be related (e.g., the graphical user interface, MP3 players) is an attack on Apple and a personal attack on all Macintosh users, no matter what the topic of the discussion. (See #2.)

6. Aside from the staff at Mac-related publications, e.g., MacWorld, the only journalists who know anything about computers are Walt Mossberg and David Pogue. (Note: “Knowing something about computers” is synonymous with loving and praising the Mac.)

7. Whenever in a discussion with the other kind of journalist, it is important to remind him/her that he/she can’t hold a candle to them.

8. The superiority of the iPod is clearly demonstrated by its popularity. The inferiority of Windows is clearly demonstrated by its popularity.

9. No one could possibly use Windows by choice; they must do so because they don’t know any better. It’s important to educate them about the Mac as frequently and as loudly as possible.

10. It’s important to bring up viruses, Trojans, and spyware whenever discussing Windows or the Mac. Ignoring the existence of anti-virus and anti-spyware software for the PC (and the fact that it updates itself automatically), is permissible.

11. Anything good about Windows was done by Apple first. If someone likes a particular Windows program or feature, it’s a good idea remind them of Apple’s precedence — and to point out how foolish they are for liking the Windows version. This does not apply to the two-button mouse.

12. Every discussion of any Apple product must always be brought back to how much better the Mac is than a Windows PC, regardless of the original subject.