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> Safari harasses you about being the default browser But does it advertise to you by default? This seems not comparable at all. Pretty much every browser will

> Safari harasses you about being the default browser But does it advertise to you by default? This seems not comparable at all. Pretty much every browser will want you to set it as default (and at least the option to stop the nagging is usually front and center). Maybe this is just me, but advertising by default in something as basic as a start screen seems very user hostile....

plorkyeran 7y ago
I get semi-regular notifications in macOS telling me I should give Safari another try and I haven't found any way to turn them off.
- ymolodtsov 7y ago
  That’s interesting, I switched to Chrome months ago and haven’t seen any — even though I might open Safari from time to time.
- latexr 7y ago
  I’ve been on macOS (OS X) for over a decade, never used Safari as the default browser, and have no idea what you’re referring to.
  - tom_ 7y ago
    Ditto, and I get them occasionally.
    - latexr 7y ago
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20815831 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20815831
- latexr 7y ago
  I may have found what you’re referring to and how to disable it[1][2]. [1]: Original blog post: https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/how-to-osx-try-safari-promotion.html https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/how-to-osx-try-safari-promotion.... [2]: Archival link, for future-proofing: https://web.archive.org/web/20190814011835/https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/how-to-osx-try-safari-promotion.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190814011835/https://www.ctrl....
- halfarmbandit 7y ago
  I have been on MacOS for a few years now and I have never received a notification about safari.
wayneftw 7y ago
Every time you go to check updates for macOS you have to see ads in their app store. Not only that, but Apple installs a ton of apps I don’t need, which are essentially advertised by simply existing on my launchpad. Things just show up after an update and I don’t see a difference between that and some third-party apps that Microsoft puts on the start menu for you.
- eslaught 7y ago
  This is no longer true on the latest macOS; OS updates are no longer delivered via the app store. (You get to it via settings, or you can get to it via the apple menu in the top bar.) But anyway, I figure the app store is a place I go to get apps, and if the app store chooses to offered paid placement in that list, at least that's sort of relevant. My start area... is a place I go to use basic functionality of the machine. There is no implication that I want to install anything, or buy anything. Has Apple ever installed a third-party app on your system? macOS is a batteries-included OS, I think most people consider the wide variety of first-party apps to be a feature not a bug. And if you want a specific app, type its name into Spotlight and you don't even have to hunt and peck through all the icons.
- blub 7y ago
  1. Updates are done through settings. 2. Advertising is communication about a product or service. A product is not advertising in itself, logic doesn't work like that. It's also worth differentiating what one gets: free, quality apps with a decent privacy policy vs. pay to win games in Windows. You're trying a too hard to excuse customer-hostile behavior and it's embarrassing.
  - wayneftw 7y ago
    > You're trying a too hard to excuse customer-hostile behavior and it's embarrassing. That was rude. I’m telling it like I see it. Did I offend your favorite OS or corporation or something like that? Why get personal with me?? 1. OS updates had not been done through settings for a long, long time. However updates to Apples preinstalled applications are done through the App Store... Anyway, if it was OK for Apple to do through their store for 10-15 years, then it should be fine for Microsoft to do something comparable now. Right? 2. There are no ads in the Windows start menu according to your definition either then because Candy Crush simply exists as an icon there. As a matter fact I just setup a new Windows laptop last night and I didn’t see one ad. Just some preinstalled apps. Are you sure that you know what you’re talking about?
jevgeni 7y ago
macOS is way more expensive as well. Compare it with Windows 10 Pro for a fairer price point and ads are not a problem all of a sudden.
- rad_gruchalski 7y ago
  How is it more expensive. The last macOS I had to pay for was mountain lion. That was 10.8. I get that I have to buy a mac to get the os but once I have it, I get the most recent version of macOS for free from the AppStore. https://www.apple.com/shop/help/downloadable_software https://www.apple.com/shop/help/downloadable_software
  - jevgeni 7y ago
    The price is included in the price of the whole product. I mean, it’s not the price of materials that dominate Apple’s pricing. And you actually have to pay money to people developing the OS. So no, it’s not free.
    - beatgammit 7y ago
      You're paying for the brand, design, etc. Yes, Apple funds OS development though other sales, but it's not sold separately and new OS releases are free. As far as I understand the law, I can legally install macOS on a machine that did not originally come with it installed (hackintosh), with the caveat that I violate Apple's EULA by doing so. Microsoft bundles all sorts of software with their OS that can be installed separately for free, does that mean they're actually not free because development is funded through other product sales? A lot of their services have a free tier, are those services not free because there's a paid tier? Apple's inflated hardware price certainly includes room for funding their OS development, but that doesn't mean the OS isn't free. Windows sales also likely go toward funding things other than OS development, but that doesn't mean that all of their products aren't free if you're running them on Windows.
      - jevgeni 7y ago

plorkyeran 7y ago

I get semi-regular notifications in macOS telling me I should give Safari another try and I haven't found any way to turn them off.

ymolodtsov 7y ago
That’s interesting, I switched to Chrome months ago and haven’t seen any — even though I might open Safari from time to time.
latexr 7y ago
I’ve been on macOS (OS X) for over a decade, never used Safari as the default browser, and have no idea what you’re referring to.
- tom_ 7y ago
  Ditto, and I get them occasionally.
  - latexr 7y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20815831 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20815831
latexr 7y ago
I may have found what you’re referring to and how to disable it[1][2]. [1]: Original blog post: https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/how-to-osx-try-safari-promotion.html https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/how-to-osx-try-safari-promotion.... [2]: Archival link, for future-proofing: https://web.archive.org/web/20190814011835/https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/how-to-osx-try-safari-promotion.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190814011835/https://www.ctrl....
halfarmbandit 7y ago
I have been on MacOS for a few years now and I have never received a notification about safari.

wayneftw 7y ago

Every time you go to check updates for macOS you have to see ads in their app store. Not only that, but Apple installs a ton of apps I don’t need, which are essentially advertised by simply existing on my launchpad. Things just show up after an update and I don’t see a difference between that and some third-party apps that Microsoft puts on the start menu for you.

eslaught 7y ago
This is no longer true on the latest macOS; OS updates are no longer delivered via the app store. (You get to it via settings, or you can get to it via the apple menu in the top bar.) But anyway, I figure the app store is a place I go to get apps, and if the app store chooses to offered paid placement in that list, at least that's sort of relevant. My start area... is a place I go to use basic functionality of the machine. There is no implication that I want to install anything, or buy anything. Has Apple ever installed a third-party app on your system? macOS is a batteries-included OS, I think most people consider the wide variety of first-party apps to be a feature not a bug. And if you want a specific app, type its name into Spotlight and you don't even have to hunt and peck through all the icons.
blub 7y ago
1. Updates are done through settings. 2. Advertising is communication about a product or service. A product is not advertising in itself, logic doesn't work like that. It's also worth differentiating what one gets: free, quality apps with a decent privacy policy vs. pay to win games in Windows. You're trying a too hard to excuse customer-hostile behavior and it's embarrassing.
- wayneftw 7y ago
  > You're trying a too hard to excuse customer-hostile behavior and it's embarrassing. That was rude. I’m telling it like I see it. Did I offend your favorite OS or corporation or something like that? Why get personal with me?? 1. OS updates had not been done through settings for a long, long time. However updates to Apples preinstalled applications are done through the App Store... Anyway, if it was OK for Apple to do through their store for 10-15 years, then it should be fine for Microsoft to do something comparable now. Right? 2. There are no ads in the Windows start menu according to your definition either then because Candy Crush simply exists as an icon there. As a matter fact I just setup a new Windows laptop last night and I didn’t see one ad. Just some preinstalled apps. Are you sure that you know what you’re talking about?

jevgeni 7y ago

macOS is way more expensive as well. Compare it with Windows 10 Pro for a fairer price point and ads are not a problem all of a sudden.

rad_gruchalski 7y ago
How is it more expensive. The last macOS I had to pay for was mountain lion. That was 10.8. I get that I have to buy a mac to get the os but once I have it, I get the most recent version of macOS for free from the AppStore. https://www.apple.com/shop/help/downloadable_software https://www.apple.com/shop/help/downloadable_software
- jevgeni 7y ago
  The price is included in the price of the whole product. I mean, it’s not the price of materials that dominate Apple’s pricing. And you actually have to pay money to people developing the OS. So no, it’s not free.
  - beatgammit 7y ago
    You're paying for the brand, design, etc. Yes, Apple funds OS development though other sales, but it's not sold separately and new OS releases are free. As far as I understand the law, I can legally install macOS on a machine that did not originally come with it installed (hackintosh), with the caveat that I violate Apple's EULA by doing so. Microsoft bundles all sorts of software with their OS that can be installed separately for free, does that mean they're actually not free because development is funded through other product sales? A lot of their services have a free tier, are those services not free because there's a paid tier? Apple's inflated hardware price certainly includes room for funding their OS development, but that doesn't mean the OS isn't free. Windows sales also likely go toward funding things other than OS development, but that doesn't mean that all of their products aren't free if you're running them on Windows.
    - jevgeni 7y ago