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Issues, Schmissues (1/25/00)
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Here's a question for you: what do you suppose was so wrong with Apple's latest Audio Update that it got pulled mere days after it was posted? Audio Update 1.2 was for USB-equipped Macs running Mac OS 9, and according to Insanely Great Mac, it was posted last Thursday to "improve USB audio support" and "provide support for the Harman Kardon iSub speaker." However, now the download page lists the update as being 0 KB in size, and indicates that it "has been removed; any attempt to download this file will result in an error message."
Now, call us crazy, but we're always a little suspicious when a software update gets pulled and the only reason given is this: "Apple has discovered an issue with this software that necessitated removing it from our servers. We expect to have a new version available for our customers soon." They discovered "an issue"? Exactly what is this "issue" and how bad might it be? We notice, for example, that Apple doesn't recommend that eager beavers who installed the update while it was available take any measures to uninstall the software. There may also be people who downloaded the update without yet installing it, yet Apple doesn't even recommend to them not to run the installer. Nor do they recommend that all affected users immediately delete the installer, reformat their hard drives and zero all data, and then disinfect their Mac's speakers with undiluted bleach. So we can't help but wonder just what, indeed, is up with that.
The most likely scenario is that this "issue" has something to do with "potential startup crashes" mentioned recently on MacFixit, and also hooks into the veritable plethora of "issues" people have discovered with the newly-released QuickTime 4.1. The least likely scenario involves a highly contagious übervirus capable not just of trashing one's data, but also of infecting users with a strain of flu bioengineered from alien tissue. Personally, we think startup crashes are dullsville, so we're leaning towards the latter. So remember, wash your hands every time you use a Mac with Audio Update 1.2, and keep your fingers away from your face.
Update: Faithful viewer Alan Benson was the first to note that Apple has now posted a revised page, stating that the "issue" with Audio Update 1.2 is that the Audio Extension 1.0.1 that it installs "can cause a crash when the computer is put to sleep or shut down if there is an active PPP connection." Yeah, that's just what they want you to think. In any case, they recommend deleting the Audio Extension 1.0.1 if you've got it installed.
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SceneLink (2055)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 1/25/00 episode: January 25, 2000: The results are in, and the iBook was the top-selling laptop over the holiday quarter. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues its long-held tradition of fudging test results, and what exactly is up with Apple's sudden decision to pull Audio Update 1.2?...
Other scenes from that episode: 2053: The Janet Jackson Story (1/25/00) C'mon, you knew it'd be a star from the first moment you saw it: the Expo crowd held its breath in anticipation as Steve yanked the covers off Apple's new consumer portable known as the iBook. Sure, it was "Rubenesque," its color sense was "daring," and the handbag-style handle was, er, unique.... 2054: Old Dog, Old Tricks (1/25/00) Tsk, tsk-- you'd think Microsoft would have learned something from all those "creatively enhanced" test results they wheeled in for the "Redmond Justice" trial. Remember the faked videotapes showing how Windows 98 supposedly runs slower when Internet Explorer is removed, and the hilarity that ensued when government mouthpiece David Boies spotted the proof that the before and after results involved two different computers?...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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