It's here-- the "Bride of Buster" has been carried over the threshold. Mac OS 8.1 is now available for download from several sites, including Apple's own FTP servers and Download.com. The 16 MB update includes the latest Java virtual machine (MasOS Runtime for Java 2.0), support for DVD drives, a slew of bug fixes, and a new file system, HFS+, that actually doesn't require 33 KB of a 2 GB disk to store a file consisting of nothing but the words "minimum block size travesty." Download and be happy.

Unsurprisingly, much of the media focus on the update (as in, for instance, this Newsbytes piece) has been Apple's inclusion of Internet Explorer as the default web browser, as per the Faustian Apple-Microsoft deal announced by Steve Jobs last August. Of course, what those folks fail to mention is that Internet Explorer is apparently not part of the 16 MB downloadable version of the update; only the full installer on CD-ROM will include the browser, though, of course, one could always download IE separately from Microsoft's site.

Unfortunately, it's software releases like this that always illustrate just how poor a distribution medium the Internet can be. The update was posted at noon, and due to server overload, AtAT's attempts to download the file over the course of the next six hours were, shall we say, heroically disastrous. We'd liken the experience to trying to suck a small Volkswagen through a soda straw. But we'll try again tomorrow, and perhaps we'll actually be able to get the update before it arrives on CD-ROM in the next few weeks.

Today, on "Redmond Justice:" Software giants Microsoft aren't accepting Judge Jackson's refusal to remove special master Lawrence Lessig from the case. Jackson blasted the company's request, calling their accusations that he is biased against Microsoft both "trivial" and "defamatory." Undaunted, Microsoft is determined not to let their fate rest in the judgment of a known (shudder) Mac user, and is now asked a federal appeals court to remove Lessig from the case. Details are available from Wired News. Microsoft argues both that Lessig is biased, and that even if he weren't, placing the important decision in the hands of a private citizen is "incompatible with basic principles of American jurisprudence." They contend that both the Constitution of the United States and federal precedent entitle them to have the decision made by a court and not by a Harvard law professor.

Meanwhile, according to a C/Net article, Lessig himself has filed a sworn declaration in U.S. District Court that he does not have "any personal bias or prejudice" either against Microsoft or for the Department of Justice, and that anyone who thinks so after considering the facts "in context" is being unreasonable. His infamous email message to a friend at Netscape (in which he equated the act of installing Internet Explorer on his Mac to "selling his soul") was, in fact, as informal as a "telephone call;" since his friend worked at Netscape, he expected to be teased about his installation of the competitor's product. He contends that the statement does not indicate a bias, because it's nothing more than a "facetious response to an anticipated tease."

The Justice Department has said it will respond to the appeal next week. Most likely they will argue that Lessig's sworn statement is sufficient indication of impartiality, and that since his appointment as special master was made by the appointed judge to gather data and report his findings and not necessarily to render the legal decision in the conflict, there's no reason to bar Lessig from being the judge's fact-finder. We don't want to give Microsoft any ideas, but guys-- given all the cash in the bank and how poorly this case has been going so far, has anyone considered the wonderful expedient known as "bribery?"

While Apple's first quarter profit of $47 million is an encouraging sign, other indications of a healthier Apple keep creeping up on us. The latest news is that Apple Germany reports that European sales jumped a whopping 47% last quarter, due primarily to sales of the zippy new G3 Powermacs. (Of course, we at AtAT aren't aware of how previous sales in Europe were, but we're hoping that 47% increase is significant, and doesn't represent, say, 147 Macs sold, up from a hundred.)

Unfortunately, while Apple's been playing the heartfelt strains of "Don't Count on the Second Quarter" after its miraculous profit, Apple Germany's manager Peter Dewald is singing the same tune. ("Bauen Sie nicht auf das zweite Viertel?") It's a shame that the profit comes just before Apple's weakest quarter of the year. Will Wall Street and the press overreact if a small loss is posted? Or is Apple just driving our hopes down in preparation for a dramatic Q2 profit?

By the way, occasionally accurate (and usually highly entertaining) German translations are available from the experimental Alta Vista "Babel fish" translation site. (For the less geeky crowd out there, the site is named after the Babel fish, a universal translator from the the fictional works of Apple Master Douglas Adams.) For potentially less entertaining (but much more accurate and thorough) translation services, may we humbly suggest our sponsor, N.O.W. Translations? ;-)