As the Apple Turns: Scene 372: Big Update, Little Pipe (1/19/98)

Big Update, Little Pipe (1/19/98)

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.

SceneLink (372)

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The above scene was taken from the 1/19/98 episode:

January 19, 1998: (Sorry—this was before we started writing intro text for each episode!)

Other scenes from that episode:

373: More Appeal Than Sense (1/19/98) 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."...
374: Grosse Verkäufe! (1/19/98) 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...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...


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