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It's Not For Everyone (12/30/99)
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The MacDoS drama continues, as frantic Mac users the world over download and install Apple's just-released OTTuner patch, designed to prevent the exploitation of Macs by ruthless Middle Eastern cyber-terrorists bent on causing Internet chaos. The problem is, many of those vigilant Mac users who installed the extension found their Internet connections completely disabled, and were forced to remove the patch in order to get network services running again. What's going on here?
Well, for one thing, lots of people who are installing the patch aren't even supposed to. This gets a little tricky to explain. First of all, if your Mac isn't always on the Internet via some high-speed connection like a cable modem or DSL, it's not at risk of becoming a stooge for some cyber-terrorist hiding in a bunker somewhere in Saudi Arabia. So people with dial-up connections shouldn't bother with OTTuner at all-- at least not right now. If you do have an "always-on" high speed connection, you're still only vulnerable if you're running Mac OS 9, or if you have one of the newest Macs available: a Power Mac G4, an iBook, or one of those slick "Kihei" slot-loading iMacs. Everyone else should leave OTTuner alone, since using it can do funky things to your connection.
What seems to be causing lots of these connection problems is the way that OTTuner 1.0 removes the Mac's ability to make "live" changes to networking settings; according to a CNET article, if your Mac gets a new IP address every time you connect to the Internet, then the current version of OTTuner will hose you. Apple says that a later version of OTTuner will remove this restriction, but they needed to get a quick fix out the door in a hurry. For what it's worth, we've installed OTTuner on our one and only at-risk Mac (a Mac OS 9 system with a static IP address on a DSL line), and it works just fine. Furthermore, tonight while we're rockin' in the new year with Dick Clark, we can rest assured that our beloved Mac isn't being hijacked by nasty evil forces bent on doing naughty things.
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SceneLink (2005)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 12/30/99 episode: December 30, 1999: Apple's OTTuner patch is wreaking almost as much havoc as the DoS attack it's designed to prevent-- should you install it or not? Meanwhile, shadowy sources on Wall Street hint at a fantastic quarter for Apple and a resulting stock increase, while Intel bangs its collective head against the wall trying to get Itanium to live up to its initial promise...
Other scenes from that episode: 2006: Don't Wait Too Long (12/30/99) Hmmm, we're flashing back to two years ago, when AAPL was hovering at just under $13 a share and we were going to buy-- but then didn't, because it suddenly spiked to 16. Are we feeling stupid? Well, maybe a little, though we still say that if we had actually bought at 16, today AAPL would be wallowing at somewhere around 8... 2007: So Far, So Lame (12/30/99) The year 2000-- the year Intel and Hewlett Packard will finally unveil their long-awaited 64-bit Itanium processor (formerly known as "Merced"). Maybe. After all, Itanium's so late it's starting to make Windows NT 5 2000 look prompt by comparison...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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