AppleInsider reports that Apple will release a second update to version 10.4 of Mac OS X (popularly known as "Tiger"). Tiger was released a little over a month ago.
Already sources say the current build of Mac OS X 10.4.2 includes well over two-dozen new bug fixes to Tiger, in addition to those delivered in the mid-May release of Mac OS X 10.4.1. Some of these fixes pertain to new user accounts not showing up properly in the system, issues with smartcards not functioning in certain situations, and blank media failing to mount.Apple is also reportedly working on a fix for users who saw their modems crippled by the release of Tiger. Meanwhile, several additional fixes target .Mac notification, iDisk functionality, Weather widget crashes, and video conferencing frame rates.
Considering the general lack of actual new features (cosmetic changes do not count) in Tiger, it is surprising that there seem to be so many problems. Nobody seems to be saying this, but I would like to note that a certain company in Redmond had released a version of their operating system that required them to make two major updates in less than a month, certain elements on the Internet would be having a field day.
# At 21:29 on May 31, 2005, Scot Jandly wrote:
Right, I can agree with you on the part about Microsoft (there, I said it!) and what would happen if they released two major updates. But, take into account that Windows and OS X have very different upgrade patterns, with OS X going through 10.X.(1-10) and Windows doing more with each update, as in the service packs. Granted, even two point updates in a little over a month is a bit much, but, Windows or OS X, I'd rather the patches came and fixed problems instead of ignoring them. If they ignored the problems and didn't patch them, people would be up in arms anyway. Personally, I use OS X most of the time, but as a 10 year veteran of Windows, I know my way around both very well, and realize the merits and downsides of each. So I'm not overzealous one way or the other, just making some general observations.
Would I prefer Tiger to have worked 100% out of the box? Of course, but this is reality, and that would never happen. So until then, I'm happy downloading updates to keep things in tip-top shape.
Just my two cents.
By the way, nice blog, I read it often, but this is my first time commenting. Keep up the nice work.
# At 22:57 on May 31, 2005, Martey wrote:
I think "Update early, update often" is a motto that all developers (except nuclear power plant developers) should take to heart. On the other hand, it is likely that had Apple delayed Tiger's release for a few more weeks and done more testing, some of the more critical issues could have been solved before Tiger's release.
My negative mindset toward Apple on this issue is probably the result of the inherent superiority that many Mac users have (I constantly hope one of these "Mac-Uber-Alles" people will comment here, but so far, all I have gotten are the reasonable people) toward everything else. This colors my perception of Apple and raises my expectations; if they are really so much better than Microsoft with security and usability (as the rabid Mac hordes claim, ignoring the facts that Windows' security problems are multi-faceted, and Apple's control of the hardware OS X runs on is important to its stability), why the problems?