There's more than meets the eye to this whole "QuickTime bug" issue that's come out of the "Redmond Justice" trial. If you're a little behind on the plot, here's the broad strokes: Apple's software veep Avie Tevanian was called as a witness in the Microsoft antitrust trial and alleged, among other things, that Microsoft had deliberately introduced bugs into Windows to prevent QuickTime from working properly. These bugs essentially produced an error message that prompted the user to ditch QuickTime and switch back to Microsoft's competing ActiveMovie product. Then, just after Avie left the stand, Microsoft issued a press release stating that the bugs in question were in fact in QuickTime, not in Windows, and the whole problem was due to Apple's programming errors. They even had a third-party testing company, Mindcraft, publicly state that Apple's bugs were to blame. The bug is basically that QuickTime doesn't properly register three of eleven filename extensions with Windows-- namely, ".qt," ".vfw," and ".aifc."

However, as a MacInTouch reader points out, Apple's own specs for QuickTime Digital Video File Formats show something a little fishy about that allegation. According to those specs, none of those three "improperly supported" filename extensions is actually a valid filename extension at all. For instance, a QuickTime movie under Windows should be "filename.mov" and not "filename.qt." Likewise, Video for Windows movies should be "filename.avi," not "filename.vfw." If we recall, Windows doesn't have type and creator codes like the Mac OS, so the only way for the system to identify file types is by the filename extension. Start using incorrect filename extensions and, well, it's no surprise that things break. (If you have to use Windows, try changing your "filename.doc" Word document into "filename.xls", double-click on the file, and watch Excel try to open it.) Which leads us to believe that maybe an older version of QuickTime for Windows did recognize ".qt" files as QuickTime movies, even if it "shouldn't have," and Microsoft then introduced the filename extension into Windows; then, once a newer version of QuickTime shipped that stuck to the specifications and eliminated support for those extensions, up popped the error messages.

Whatever... As far as we can tell, it's really all speculation at this point. Of course, Apple could probably clear this all up pretty quickly just by issuing a press release of its own addressing these issues. (Their silence sure seems like a tacit admission of wrongdoing.) What seems clear to us, though, is that the "bugs" in QuickTime for Windows aren't really bugs at all; the problem lies in Windows, as Apple alleged from the beginning, and stem from the system using filename extensions not documented in QuickTime's specifications. Whether or not Microsoft introduced those bugs on purpose is probably going to be a subject of debate that will echo through the ages.

Here's a toughie for any Mac user to answer: whom would you rather believe, an Intel executive, or Bill Gates? (It's almost a Zen koan, isn't it?) These are the tough decisions that Judge Jackson faces in the ongoing "Redmond Justice" trial. According to an IDG News Service article, Steve McGeady's testimony continues to contradict Gates' videotaped deposition. First the conflict was about whether or not Microsoft threatened to withdraw Windows support from Intel processors unless Intel ceased all Internet software development. The latest contradictions are all about Java, Sun's cross-platform programming language that threatened to break Windows' stranglehold on the operating system market.

Way back in August, when the government taped Gates' deposition, they asked him if Microsoft made "any effort to convince Intel not to help Sun and Java." Gates' answer was, "Not that I know of." Now, some might find it suspicious that it took him thirty seconds to come up with that answer, especially since he spent those thirty seconds "looking down at his desk and rocking gently back and forth." It's tough to judge based on a mere description whether Gates was bored, nervous, or just really in need of a visit to the bathroom, but we're mighty skeptical of the answer he finally gave. When government mouthpiece David Boies asked McGeady the same question, he unflinchingly answered, "Repeatedly and on multiple occasions."

While you're deciding for yourself which side to believe, here's a little comic relief from the trial... Apparently McGeady took some notes during a 1995 meeting between Intel and Microsoft, at which both McGeady and Gates were present. McGeady quotes Gates as having stated, "This antitrust thing will blow over." (Yes, and 640 KB of RAM is more than anyone will ever need.) Better still, Gates also added, "We may change our e-mail retention policy." Hey, at least the courtroom found it funny; reportedly the whole place burst into laughter when that last quote was read.

Hands up, who's heard of the band Youth of Today? How about Judge? Or Gorilla Biscuits? We're willing to bet that there's mighty few hands up out there in AtAT-Land, with the possible exception of the grubby paws of faithful viewers Todd Wheeler and Mike Bromberg, who both have a background in this stuff. By "this stuff," we're referring to hardcore punk music, and more specifically to New York-style straight-edge hardcore that made a big black X on the landscape in the late 80's and early 90's, though you almost certainly knew nothing about it. The independent record label that released a ton of that music was Revelation Records, and what a shocker it was to come across an Apple web page profiling that company as another example of what's possible when you use a Macintosh or three.

One underlying philosophy that runs through straight-edge hardcore is that people should make their own informed choices in life, without simply doing what everyone else is doing-- don't drink just because everyone around you drinks, don't smoke just because people tell you it's cool, etc. Now that we consider it, it's summed up pretty well by the phrase "Think Different," and a natural extension of that philosophy might be, don't use a Wintel just because everyone else uses one. It's a perfect match, actually; if you believe that Apple is trying to change the world for the better, Macs and positive hardcore go hand in hand.

We don't expect many people to be very excited about this, but bear with us, because it really made us happy. :) Apple has always amazed us with their willingness to include a variety of subcultures and activities in their marketing materials (the Henry Rollins "What's on Your PowerBook?" ad leaps to mind), but we never expected to see a photograph of Youth of Today on their website...