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On the other hand, a driver is supposed to be a low-level interface to hardware. iTunes is not adding a new CD/DVD burner, so why would it presume to know more about the operation of your CD/DVD burner than the manufacturer, who presumably wrote the driver already installed on the system?


I give you the alternative: Linux package dependency nightmare.


Probably for the same reason Daemon Tools doesn't add any hardware but still installs drivers? They're required for the software to function properly.


Daemon Tools needs to install drivers because it is adding fake hardware -- a fake CD drive that needs to be indistinguishable from a real one so that it can circumvent physical copy protection. I'd be surprised if iTunes needs to do the same thing.


Perhaps not the same thing, but it would seem that we have opposite assertions both based on assumptions. I don't think this is going anywhere ;)




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