March 27, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Apple's use of Apple Software Update to install Safari browser onto millions of Windows PCs is now said to be in violation of end user licensing agreements.
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As reported by The Register (theregister.co.uk), Italian IT news site setteB.IT (setteb.it/) recently revealed that Apple's Safari license says that users are allowed to install the browser on no more than "a single Apple-labeled computer at a time," meaning that by installing Safari for Windows on a Windows PC, you are violating the license.
Apple unveiled its Safari version 3.1 last week, offering the browser to Windows users via the Apple Software Update tool that is included with iTunes and Quicktime. Millions of non-Safari users will now be confronted with a pop-up window that includes Safari 3.1 as an important software "update."
However, the update also specifies that Safari is subject to an Apple licensing agreement: "Use of this software is subject to the original Software License Agreement(s) that accompanied the software being updated."
This licensing agreement prohibits users from installing Safari on their Windows machines. The agreement was last updated this past January, just six months after Safari for Windows was first introduced.
John Lilly, CEO of rival Web browser Mozilla (mozilla.org), criticized Apple CEO Steve Jobs for the move and argued that it undermines the security of the Web, although many suspect he is more concerned about Safari honing in on Mozilla Firefox's marketshare.
Legal experts say that users are not in any legal danger if they install Safari for Windows on a Windows PC, as Apple cannot enforce an agreement clause that simply does not make any sense.
