iTunes 10.5 fixes security, drops QuickTime for Windows
updated 02:50 pm EDT, Tue October 11, 2011
Release proves unusually Windows-centric
While most of the changes in iTunes 10.5 are aimed at supporting iOS 5 and iCloud, Apple has also made some significant changes for Windows users. Central is the removal of QuickTime from the installation package, since iTunes is said to no longer require it. In the past some Windows users have complained about being forced to install QuickTime, which can potentially hijack some filetype associations.
In another rare twist, all of the security fixes in v10.5 apply exclusively to Windows. These target holes in CoreFoundation, ColorSync, CoreAudio and CoreMedia, as well TIFF-related vulnerabilities in ImageIO, and potential man-in-the-middle attacks through WebKit, which is used at the iTunes Store. When a new version of iTunes addresses security, Apple normally includes at least some Mac patches.
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Joined: Aug 2001
Bad news for Windows users
Having QuickTime on your PC made it easy to move iTunes libraries and certain other file types over to Mac when they upgraded. Having QuickTime also made it possible to use Apple Intermediate Codec, ProRes and some other high-end file types. Hopefully the codecs QuickTime brought to the party will be offered separately for those who need them.