New Software Is Available? Not from Apple.

I've run Apple software on Windows--mostly QuickTime and iTunes--for a long time, and I've never been impressed with the attention Apple gives these apps. They're usually poorly designed and buggy and it's easy to believe that Apple just doesn't want them to look all that good. It would rather you use a Mac.

One part of its software that used to be awful--but now is merely bad--is updates. Several years ago Apple created an Apple Software Update for Windows that updates all the Apple apps. Initially it was notorious for pushing Apple software--such as Safari for Windows--that few users wanted. Later Apple added an easy-to-miss or misuse feature called Ignore Selected Updates, which lets you remove new apps from the update list.

Below is the current version of Apple Software Update running on Windows 7.

The fact that it says "New software is available from Apple" and then lists none is not a major bug, but I count it in the list of reasons to believe that Apple just doesn't give a damn about its users on Windows. Microsoft's software for the Mac is usually inferior to its Windows software, but it's clear Microsoft puts a lot of work into it because it makes a lot of money from it. Apple doesn't make money from Windows software, just from Windows users who buy their devices.