There's no question that the iPod is one of the most popular music players in the market today. Owners of the device know that they have to install iTunes as well as the automatic software update tool on their PCs to sync it and add music.

It seems that Apple has decided to use the automatic software update tool as a method of marketing its Safari 3.1 web browser to Windows users. Microsoft Watch's Joe Wilcox spoke about Apple's recent push to get users to try Safari 3.1:

Earlier today, Apple released the Safari 3.1 Web browser for Mac OS and Windows XP/Vista. A couple hours later, Apple Software Update popped up on my daughter's Sony VAIO, offering Safari 3.1 for download.

I didn't recall seeing an earlier version installed on the laptop. And I made no mistake: The Apple updater offered installation of new software, not something that had been there before.

While this seems like a good move on the part of Apple, some users may not enjoy seeing pop-ups such as this. This holds doubly true for users who are already happy with their current browsers. We'll just have to wait and see how the rest of the community react to this move by the creators of the iPod and iTunes.