no - I'm suggesting both situations are equally unpleasant for users and HN crowd tends to absolve Apple for any 'crimes' they commit - it's just funny
(I'm using both Ubuntu and Mac on a regular basis)
I'm not clear why it's unpleasant and the pejorative use of 'crime' is one that puts my back up over this. Spotlight's function is clearly stated and easily disabled. It is simply alarmism and sensationalism. The same can be reasonably said of the Amazon/Ubuntu debacle. TFA doesn't indicate who the 3rd parties are (other than a frankly 'trollish' reference to Microsoft) or what they are transmitting; other than search queries. One rationally presumes that if Spotlight - a search feature that has been present in OS X in one way or another for some time - can search the internet for results, then it follows that these queries need to be sent to. TFA fails to highlight whether or not these searches can be used to identify the individual user. A case of looking for a scandal where there is none.
being honest - I don't care that much. Really interesting (and somehow funny) are all those Apple apologists trying to rationalize/justify everything Apple does.
That's not a 3rd party for goodness sake! It's iTunes. It says it clearly! My comment asked you if "suggesting that Apple is sending this data to advertisers". iTunes is categorically not a 3rd party. Enough of these fallacies. No-one is apologising for Apple's actions as there nothing to apologise for. You are looking for something that isn't there and it was clear from the onset that this was the case.
(I'm using both Ubuntu and Mac on a regular basis)