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March 27, 2008 6:11 AM PDT

Safari for Windows: Only for 'Apple-labeled' computers?

Posted by Martin LaMonica

Apple, it seems, hasn't totally gotten used to making browsers for this Windows thing.

The license terms for the company's Safari Web browser on Windows include a curious restriction: "The software allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time."

(Credit: The Register)

The Register, which was tipped off by legal eagles at the Italian site settleB.IT, calls the terms a "mockery of end user agreements."

Apple last week caught a lot of flak from users and from Mozilla, which makes the rival Firefox browser, for its practice of offering Safari for Windows as part of its auto-update service for iTunes.

Let's see how many millions of Safari for Windows downloads there are before Apple's legal corps tweak their language to cover exotic things like, you know, Windows PCs.

Update 7:11 AM Pacific: After seeing this blog, an editor at settleB.IT informs me that the Apple license has been updated so that Windows PC users can install Safari without fear of violating any licenses. He says the change occurred overnight Wednesday to Thursday European time.

If you have good eyes, you can see the different versions: before and after.

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 54 comments (Page 1 of 3)
Not news.
by hunter_jc March 27, 2008 6:36 AM PDT
Apple slacking off since last year. Especially apparent when those promotion videos for Macbook air wasn't even online when you view the website.
Reply to this comment
Oversight.
by gomer43 March 27, 2008 6:49 AM PDT
It's boilerplate legalese, and they forgot to tweak it for the PC version. Big whoop. I wish Cnet would get back to reporting news.
Reply to this comment View all 3 replies
great strategy
by tgrenier March 27, 2008 7:01 AM PDT
Trick millions of itunes users into installing Safari against the terms of a license agreement nobody reads, then come back and sue them in a few months and tell them it would not be a problem if they would move away from the all-evil pc to the all-good mac. Steve is after all brilliant and would never make a mistake. tom
Reply to this comment
Safari
by PaulG.1 March 27, 2008 7:04 AM PDT
Who reads license agreements? :) I got the Apple update offering Safari just yesterday. I downloaded it and it works fine on my Vista PC. I'm starting to acquire browsers the way some women acquire shoes.
Reply to this comment
Buy an Apple sticker, get a free iPod
by wigmo March 27, 2008 7:11 AM PDT
slap your sticker on your PC, problem solved. Re-gift the iPod for your nephew, because you know you already have 3 of them.
Reply to this comment View reply
Apple Fixed Their Mistake
by open-mind March 27, 2008 7:49 AM PDT
They've corrected the license agreement text, so you can probably take down this story now.
Reply to this comment View all 2 replies
It's not called "Auto-Update for iTunes"
by Daniel L Smith March 27, 2008 7:52 AM PDT
The program that pushes downloads of iTunes, Safari, etc. updates is called "Apple Software Update." Because that's what it does -- facilitates downloads of Apple's published updates to its software. The users who think it's "Auto-Update for iTunes" are the same ones who got peeved when they saw the non-iTunes-related Safari show up on the list: because they don't understand the app's purpose, they get offended when it does what it is supposed to do.
Reply to this comment View all 2 replies
You know...
by ivorycruncher March 27, 2008 8:01 AM PDT
If the license agreement for Safari says it can only be installed on Apple-labeled computers, yet Apple is forcibly pushing it onto Windows PCs, doesn't that mean that any PC can be an Apple-labeled computer? That should mean that I can legally install Mac OS X on my PCs, because the license agreement for that also states it can only go on Apple-labeled computers. What a stunning revelation! =P
Reply to this comment View reply
Instead of a snide article...
by ewelch March 27, 2008 8:09 AM PDT
...Arstechnica.com called Apple's PR people and they said it was an oversight. They took care of it. So instead of a lame story that obviously reports a typo as making software illegal (when in no way it would be enforceable considering it's clearly not Apple's intent) why not at least report it accurately. Not "Safari is illegal..." which it clearly is not, but "Apple has a typo in their user agreement." Yeah, as if that's never happened before. Non-news schadenfreude if anything.
Reply to this comment View reply
Man that is funny
by ittesi259 March 27, 2008 8:13 AM PDT
One should be able to appreciate the humor in that whether they be a Mac or PC user...
Reply to this comment
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