Shut Down or Restart?

I like my Mac OSX machine, almost as much as I liked my previous Linux machine. One thing I cannot stand is when I get some random update for QuickTime and iTunes. I don't really use either package but instead of seeing these in my 'need to patch' list I decided to upgrade them today. Then I see this:
I don't want to Shut Down or Restart. In fact what is so special about iTunes and/or QuickTime that this new version requires the entire machine to be rebooted?!
I'm running a VMWare session now doing some Watir tests, I have Emacs open, an IRB session, a busy Firefox, and other stuff. I don't want to reboot! I actually like X11 better than the Mac interface for one huge reason. If some program like "Software Update" wanted me to make a dumb choice like Fire or Frying Pan I could kill it and my window manager would tell X11 not to talk to that application any more. As a user I should have the ability to do that. I moved the dialog window to the lower left corner but it's parent window is still glaring at me. Grrrr Apple, fix this!