There are scattered reports of problems with Apple's Snow Leopard update that was released yesterday. Ah, tradition.
Over on the Apple Discussions forum, early updaters are reporting a series of troubles after upgrading to Mac OS X version 10.6.4:
Complete installation failure.
iTunes running on an iMac caused the UI to become …
I got this not after apples update... i am sure it was the Office update... now Word hangs so often i am using either Tetedit, Page or NeoOffice. Itunes hangs now often and once then happens.. the system never shuts down but needs to be forced.
Seems also to happen when Vmware is running... this was updated a few weeks ago also. Not Word 2008 + Wmare dont work...
Trying to hold off a re-install as too busy to piss around so simply finding work arounds...
The very fact that they have such strict control over their hardware and software and that they still have problems with each and every update, makes Apple a pathetic excuse of a company.
To put it into perspective: if Microsoft (who has no control over hardware configurations) were to have such problems with every update they issue (they issue updates far more frequently than Apple) and considering their market share, then the entire world would stop a couple of times every month.
Safari 5 is still crashing two or three times a day for me and they keep blaming Flash. I cannot recall IE crashing on me in recent years and my browsing habits on PC and Mac are identical. And no, I have no pluggins on either browser. Aside from that, Applications on the Mac crash way more often and generally the whole platform is far more unreliable compared to Windows.
Sorry Apple, I have tried your crap twice and paid good premium for them. Never again in this life. Now do the world a favour and roll over and die like you did in the 90s and this time take the fanbois with you.
Yadda, yadda, yadda... Newsflash! They do!!! If, like the author of this missive, you troll the interwebs looking for issues with Microsoft updates, you'll find them AND there'll be as many, proportionally, as there are for OS X. So, why don't *you* do the world a favour and get back under your bridge and say there. I, by the way, am typing this from a Dell laptop running Ubuntu 10.04, which doesn't work particularly well with video drivers - but I don't think it 'sucks' or that anyone that disagrees with me are fanbois! Why? I'm a fucking adult. So you've got Apple hardware and you dislike their OS; install Windows on it, it's not that hard. Just by saying that you own Apple hardware doesn't make you any less of a troll, does it.
From the tone of your rant I'd say you are typing it on a Packard Bell. Apple "still has problems with each and every update"? Who are you really: Steve Ballmer? Let's pretend for a moment that you ever even saw a Mac, let alone owned or even used one: what problems did you have with updates? Oh, sure, a machine running crap fonts or some piece of naff warez falls over occasionally. Big deal, frankly.
Most of us folks who got sick and tired of Windows and moved to a platform with more stability, not to mention a UI that looked like it was designed by people with some interest in aesthetics, have never had a problem with a single update. There will always be clashes between third party stuff and a manufacturer's own product, of course, but these are few and far between.
If you really do have a Mac I think you should perhaps check it over, run the Disk Utility and buy a copy of Disk Warrior. Do a fresh install of the OS if you feel the urge. I have just updated three Macs and they are working perfectly as per usual. So there!
"The very fact that they have such strict control over their hardware and software and that they still have problems with each and every update, makes Apple a pathetic excuse of a company."
I suggest you open your eyes and ears before opening your mouth. Look at the actual reports on the page linked to by El Reg.
There are a TINY number of people reporting problems. TINY.
There are FAR more problems when MS releases an update ;)
"To put it into perspective: if Microsoft (who has no control over hardware configurations) were to have such problems with every update they issue (they issue updates far more frequently than Apple) and considering their market share, then the entire world would stop a couple of times every month."
Of course, MS updates are perfect. We all know that. They never cause any problems, oh no.
"Applications on the Mac crash way more often and generally the whole platform is far more unreliable compared to Windows."
You're either unlucky or lying.
In 7 years of having Macs, the OS has crashed three times.
WIndows crashed the first time I plugged in a USB device. When the video application I was given with my webcam was first run, it crashed the OS too. Machine had come straight from the manufacturers, nothing dodgy installed.
This was on the first day of having Windows... I put up with this nonsense for years before ditching Windows entirely. I've got unix based OSs now on all machines and never looked back.
In the past Apple have been on the receiving end of many requests to sell OSX to run on any generic PC. Fair enough, it's their software, they can do whatever the like with it. Perhaps that clamouring has died off a bit now Windows 7 is out.
But supposing Apple did sell it for generic PCs. Can you imagine the difficulties Apple would then have with updates? Oh dearie me.
It is odd how Apple's updates do seem to result in reports of significant problems. Maybe Windows and Linux are just too boring, or maybe their update problems genuinely occur less often. An update to Ubuntu 8 did once trash my machine, but otherwise I've had no other problems with both MS and Linux.
It shouldn't be that hard really. Apple have the luxury of a closed platform with limited hardware sets. Is there somehow less separation between applications and operating system with OSX which complicates the updates? Linux and Windows updates seem reasonably adept at changing OS components without accidently changing the APIs to those components.
Anyway, best wishes to those users having problems. Glad it's not me.
Try not to confuse "reports of significant problems" with "significant problems". This is El Reg, remember.
Apple puts out multiple betas and 3rd parties are quite capable of reporting bugs - but in the real world of very complex technology it is impossible for anyone - Apple, MS, Canonical, Google - to catch everything before release. Just can't be done.
Oh, and re "I've had no other problems with both MS and Linux.". Neither you or I are even close to representative samples and trivially easy searching reveals that these things happen to all vendors.
Oh, memories. I remember the unused row of Apple Macs at uni, and wondering why everyone was queuing to use the PCs for reading their email and getting stuff off FTP (this was in the days when WWW was very new, and NCSA Mosaic was standard). The first one crashed on me, at which point I found that it wouldn't power down from the on/off button, looked around for a reset button which didn't exist, looked at the power cable which was secured into the box and couldn't be removed, and eventually found that the only way of getting the damn thing rebooted was to crawl under the desk and physically remove and replace the power cable. After this happened for the third time, I understood why no-one was using the Macs!
So it's nice to see that nothing much changes in the Mac world. ;-)
You take an experience nearly twenty years ago with obviously very poorly set up machines and compare it to a situation where a vanishingly small number of people have some problems with a fairly big OS upgrade using a completely different software platform and hardware chips.
6 mac here - 4 mini's, a pro & a macbook. All fine. As per the last time. And the time before that. And probably the same story for the vast majority of OS X users.
2 windows7 PC's here too - one bluescreens when plugging in a blackberry after recent update (worked fine for 6 months before that), and the other's anti-virus updates, but won't load the new definitions, and sits there munching 60% CPU trying to do so. They are universally hated by all staff.
Yes, transparently 10.6.4 is obviously a complete failure (as was 10.6.3 before it), and we should all move to the much more stable and brilliant windows. Aren't statistics are great...
Slightly off topic: £929 for the new mac mini??? Are Apple taking the p1ss????
If you're going to pull hair, stick your tongue out and not play fair we're not going to let you play your favourite game (other than being offensive and arrogant) and that is jump rope with all the other little girls.
Oh, and we'll not let you have any more chewing gum, cause you keep getting it caught in your own hair.
"Slightly off topic: £929 for the new mac mini??? Are Apple taking the p1ss????"
That would be the server version with the server OS that normally retails for £400, so it compares reasonably well with a Windows equivalent which would probably cost about the same (the lower cost H/W being offset by the £600 Windows Server license).
£630 for the entry level machine *is* taking the Michael, though.
Yes, I'm well aware that someone here could build something with the equivalent functionality for free from bits they have lying around and a RedHat DVD.
I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this anymore
Apple consumer helpdesk used to BE my job, and this kind of problem cropped up with every other major OS revision. Probably no more than a few hundred individuals in the whole country for each update, given how many calls we took each time, but I began to love (read: hate) the phrase "archive and install", especially given the propensity of callers for making a mistake with its use and deleting something important.
I downloaded the update last night and all i saw before closing the lid was the default starfield effect and no icons. I will have a check when i get home this afternoon.
From reading some of the comments on the Apple site it seems that the drivers for the external speakers might have been corrupted and it might need them re-installing.
Not heard of anyone with problems, never had a problem with Apple updates. There's an update to iTunes as well maybe the handful of peeps that had an iTunes problem after the upgrade didn't upgrade that at the same time.
Occasionally there are driver / kernel module problems if you have 3rd party hardware if it has been specifically compiled to the kernel version running so when you update you need a new driver (this is the same on Linux). I had a problem with an internal M-Audio soundcard on my PowerMac whereby I had to wait for them to release a new driver before I could install the OS service pack or it would cause my machine to crash.
The risks to the average Mac user when installing updates is always very low.
Yes, but that's not the point - he runs around yelling, "you're all idiots, you're all stupid" all the while having a long poopie toilet tissue hanging out his backside.
I have just finished rebooting after updating the last of the Macs around here. No problems with any of them. It's amazing, all these people who always have problems with Apple updates while I have never had even one problem _ever_ in my history of updating Macs... and I've been using Macs since May of 1984. Whatever have I been doing wrong?
O/S UPDATE CAUSES SOME BITS TO FAIL ON SOME MACHINES UNDER SOME CIRCUMSTANCES! SHOCK!
Really, is this news any more than the fact that my Ubuntu has niggles when updates occur,? My Windows work desktop has some niggles after patch updates and my Mac at home has niggles! Flips sake, even my PSP had some niggles at the last firmware update.
Register
There are scattered reports of problems with Apple's Snow Leopard update that was released yesterday. Ah, tradition. Over on the Apple Discussions forum, early updaters are reporting a series of troubles after upgrading to Mac OS X version 10.6.4: Complete installation failure. iTunes running on an iMac caused the UI to become …
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Problems mostly with Office Word.. and iTunes
I got this not after apples update... i am sure it was the Office update... now Word hangs so often i am using either Tetedit, Page or NeoOffice. Itunes hangs now often and once then happens.. the system never shuts down but needs to be forced.
Seems also to happen when Vmware is running... this was updated a few weeks ago also. Not Word 2008 + Wmare dont work...
Trying to hold off a re-install as too busy to piss around so simply finding work arounds...
this all reminds me of windows....
Macs don't crash
macs crashing? surly some mistake? just checked the date, it's not April
Well as per usual
No problems here
Apple
It just works
How about this?
OSX crashing? Theres an app for that....
oh wait :)
Works here too
Four Macs here. No problems.
This story is just a story, notice the people repeating it don't actually USE OS X, and the people who do are not having any problems?
Apple sucks
And i am typing this on a Macbook Pro.
The very fact that they have such strict control over their hardware and software and that they still have problems with each and every update, makes Apple a pathetic excuse of a company.
To put it into perspective: if Microsoft (who has no control over hardware configurations) were to have such problems with every update they issue (they issue updates far more frequently than Apple) and considering their market share, then the entire world would stop a couple of times every month.
Safari 5 is still crashing two or three times a day for me and they keep blaming Flash. I cannot recall IE crashing on me in recent years and my browsing habits on PC and Mac are identical. And no, I have no pluggins on either browser. Aside from that, Applications on the Mac crash way more often and generally the whole platform is far more unreliable compared to Windows.
Sorry Apple, I have tried your crap twice and paid good premium for them. Never again in this life. Now do the world a favour and roll over and die like you did in the 90s and this time take the fanbois with you.
Least belivable troll EVER.
@Frank 6
Try again.
If Microsoft...
Yadda, yadda, yadda... Newsflash! They do!!! If, like the author of this missive, you troll the interwebs looking for issues with Microsoft updates, you'll find them AND there'll be as many, proportionally, as there are for OS X. So, why don't *you* do the world a favour and get back under your bridge and say there. I, by the way, am typing this from a Dell laptop running Ubuntu 10.04, which doesn't work particularly well with video drivers - but I don't think it 'sucks' or that anyone that disagrees with me are fanbois! Why? I'm a fucking adult. So you've got Apple hardware and you dislike their OS; install Windows on it, it's not that hard. Just by saying that you own Apple hardware doesn't make you any less of a troll, does it.
@Frank 6
From the tone of your rant I'd say you are typing it on a Packard Bell. Apple "still has problems with each and every update"? Who are you really: Steve Ballmer? Let's pretend for a moment that you ever even saw a Mac, let alone owned or even used one: what problems did you have with updates? Oh, sure, a machine running crap fonts or some piece of naff warez falls over occasionally. Big deal, frankly.
Most of us folks who got sick and tired of Windows and moved to a platform with more stability, not to mention a UI that looked like it was designed by people with some interest in aesthetics, have never had a problem with a single update. There will always be clashes between third party stuff and a manufacturer's own product, of course, but these are few and far between.
If you really do have a Mac I think you should perhaps check it over, run the Disk Utility and buy a copy of Disk Warrior. Do a fresh install of the OS if you feel the urge. I have just updated three Macs and they are working perfectly as per usual. So there!
@Frank 6
"The very fact that they have such strict control over their hardware and software and that they still have problems with each and every update, makes Apple a pathetic excuse of a company."
I suggest you open your eyes and ears before opening your mouth. Look at the actual reports on the page linked to by El Reg.
There are a TINY number of people reporting problems. TINY.
There are FAR more problems when MS releases an update ;)
"To put it into perspective: if Microsoft (who has no control over hardware configurations) were to have such problems with every update they issue (they issue updates far more frequently than Apple) and considering their market share, then the entire world would stop a couple of times every month."
Of course, MS updates are perfect. We all know that. They never cause any problems, oh no.
"Applications on the Mac crash way more often and generally the whole platform is far more unreliable compared to Windows."
You're either unlucky or lying.
In 7 years of having Macs, the OS has crashed three times.
WIndows crashed the first time I plugged in a USB device. When the video application I was given with my webcam was first run, it crashed the OS too. Machine had come straight from the manufacturers, nothing dodgy installed.
This was on the first day of having Windows... I put up with this nonsense for years before ditching Windows entirely. I've got unix based OSs now on all machines and never looked back.
well...
No problems here. Two MBPs and a mini.
And the Magic Bullet with a name on it is....
yup st. Steve jobsworth himself...
nuff said, hornet nest firmly stired....
ill get my coat.....
Switch to Ubuntu
Not that big of a deal
Generic PCs
In the past Apple have been on the receiving end of many requests to sell OSX to run on any generic PC. Fair enough, it's their software, they can do whatever the like with it. Perhaps that clamouring has died off a bit now Windows 7 is out.
But supposing Apple did sell it for generic PCs. Can you imagine the difficulties Apple would then have with updates? Oh dearie me.
It is odd how Apple's updates do seem to result in reports of significant problems. Maybe Windows and Linux are just too boring, or maybe their update problems genuinely occur less often. An update to Ubuntu 8 did once trash my machine, but otherwise I've had no other problems with both MS and Linux.
It shouldn't be that hard really. Apple have the luxury of a closed platform with limited hardware sets. Is there somehow less separation between applications and operating system with OSX which complicates the updates? Linux and Windows updates seem reasonably adept at changing OS components without accidently changing the APIs to those components.
Anyway, best wishes to those users having problems. Glad it's not me.
@bazza
Try not to confuse "reports of significant problems" with "significant problems". This is El Reg, remember.
Apple puts out multiple betas and 3rd parties are quite capable of reporting bugs - but in the real world of very complex technology it is impossible for anyone - Apple, MS, Canonical, Google - to catch everything before release. Just can't be done.
Oh, and re "I've had no other problems with both MS and Linux.". Neither you or I are even close to representative samples and trivially easy searching reveals that these things happen to all vendors.
iTunes?
"....iTunes running on an iMac caused the UI to become unresponsive...."
Ah, they've ported the Win version of iTunes across then?
It's fucking Mac OS
Get Steve Jobs in here!
You said OS X would be faster, with better access to the internet.
"It is faster, over five million..." *bang*
Fffffonts!
Yes, I've had a problem with fonts BUT it was easily solved as my software (InDesign) has a global replace system so it was easy for me to correct.
A nuisance, nonetheless.
"user can't shut down"
Oh, memories. I remember the unused row of Apple Macs at uni, and wondering why everyone was queuing to use the PCs for reading their email and getting stuff off FTP (this was in the days when WWW was very new, and NCSA Mosaic was standard). The first one crashed on me, at which point I found that it wouldn't power down from the on/off button, looked around for a reset button which didn't exist, looked at the power cable which was secured into the box and couldn't be removed, and eventually found that the only way of getting the damn thing rebooted was to crawl under the desk and physically remove and replace the power cable. After this happened for the third time, I understood why no-one was using the Macs!
So it's nice to see that nothing much changes in the Mac world. ;-)
@Graham Cracker
No, nothing has changed, Mr. Rip Van Winkle.
Re Graham Barlett
Are you for real?
You take an experience nearly twenty years ago with obviously very poorly set up machines and compare it to a situation where a vanishingly small number of people have some problems with a fairly big OS upgrade using a completely different software platform and hardware chips.
You probably think Windows XP is good!
So apple coders are as reliable as Microsoft
Bang goes the "apple" bubble.
Lost desktop background
I updated my Macbook Pro and the desktop picture is gone. I'm not certain it happened on this update, maybe it happened on the last update.
I like my desktop picture. Would switching to a different OS fix this problem?
And yet more...
6 mac here - 4 mini's, a pro & a macbook. All fine. As per the last time. And the time before that. And probably the same story for the vast majority of OS X users.
2 windows7 PC's here too - one bluescreens when plugging in a blackberry after recent update (worked fine for 6 months before that), and the other's anti-virus updates, but won't load the new definitions, and sits there munching 60% CPU trying to do so. They are universally hated by all staff.
Yes, transparently 10.6.4 is obviously a complete failure (as was 10.6.3 before it), and we should all move to the much more stable and brilliant windows. Aren't statistics are great...
Slightly off topic: £929 for the new mac mini??? Are Apple taking the p1ss????
This post has been deleted by its author
RE: Re: And yet more...
Have you got nothing better to do?
Why not sit in the corner and play with your genitals? You'll still be amused, we won't have to read your drivel.
Re: And yet more...
20 broken Macs eh?
Not clever enough to mend them then?
Rewording
I think you mean...
"And mine are all broken because *I* suck."
Seriously...what sort of drivel is this?
re: dickless
If you're going to pull hair, stick your tongue out and not play fair we're not going to let you play your favourite game (other than being offensive and arrogant) and that is jump rope with all the other little girls.
Oh, and we'll not let you have any more chewing gum, cause you keep getting it caught in your own hair.
No...
"Slightly off topic: £929 for the new mac mini??? Are Apple taking the p1ss????"
That would be the server version with the server OS that normally retails for £400, so it compares reasonably well with a Windows equivalent which would probably cost about the same (the lower cost H/W being offset by the £600 Windows Server license).
£630 for the entry level machine *is* taking the Michael, though.
Yes, I'm well aware that someone here could build something with the equivalent functionality for free from bits they have lying around and a RedHat DVD.
I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this anymore
Apple consumer helpdesk used to BE my job, and this kind of problem cropped up with every other major OS revision. Probably no more than a few hundred individuals in the whole country for each update, given how many calls we took each time, but I began to love (read: hate) the phrase "archive and install", especially given the propensity of callers for making a mistake with its use and deleting something important.
10.6.4 issue
I downloaded the update last night and all i saw before closing the lid was the default starfield effect and no icons. I will have a check when i get home this afternoon.
From reading some of the comments on the Apple site it seems that the drivers for the external speakers might have been corrupted and it might need them re-installing.
Sucessful troll is successful
Not heard of anyone with problems, never had a problem with Apple updates. There's an update to iTunes as well maybe the handful of peeps that had an iTunes problem after the upgrade didn't upgrade that at the same time.
Occasionally there are driver / kernel module problems if you have 3rd party hardware if it has been specifically compiled to the kernel version running so when you update you need a new driver (this is the same on Linux). I had a problem with an internal M-Audio soundcard on my PowerMac whereby I had to wait for them to release a new driver before I could install the OS service pack or it would cause my machine to crash.
The risks to the average Mac user when installing updates is always very low.
Sorry but
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
RE: Sorry but
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha"
You do realise that the 9 people affected by problems don't read El Reg anyway?
@AC re: 9 people not listening
Yes, but that's not the point - he runs around yelling, "you're all idiots, you're all stupid" all the while having a long poopie toilet tissue hanging out his backside.
Er...
It just works?
Gamma Rays
Reminds me of the time I convinced a user that her machine could be affected by high energy cosmic rays; my PFY was in awe of me after that.
The user in question was a support nightmare though; anyone listening in support would assume her surname was Marie and her first name was "Fucking"!
Boss: Who was that?
PFY: Only fucking Marie.
Seriously!!!??
It only affects Mac users - so no one gives a fuck!
I installed 10.6.4....
Rebooted & my machine now just says....
"All your base are belong to us"
God dam Jobs & them dam dirty apes too!
@AC, Van-Ripping Winkles
Hey, if Apple fans can slate MS based on their memories of Win3.11/95/98, then turnabout is fair play... ;-)
@Mr. Van Winkle
Well played indeed!
(the post was mine btw)
oh dearie me
I have just finished rebooting after updating the last of the Macs around here. No problems with any of them. It's amazing, all these people who always have problems with Apple updates while I have never had even one problem _ever_ in my history of updating Macs... and I've been using Macs since May of 1984. Whatever have I been doing wrong?
Why?
@Frank 6
Did you just buy a MacBook Pro so you could hate it?
Your experience bears no comparison to my experience and that of millions of other Mac users.
The Quenstion is....
Did these people have flash installed .... because you know more oftern than not flash is the cuase of mac crashing......
ok sarcasm end....
it is dispicable that in such a closed eco system that a update can have such a dramatic effect this puts apple in par is Mcafee in my books.
OH GOD NO! STOP THE PRESSES!
O/S UPDATE CAUSES SOME BITS TO FAIL ON SOME MACHINES UNDER SOME CIRCUMSTANCES! SHOCK!
Really, is this news any more than the fact that my Ubuntu has niggles when updates occur,? My Windows work desktop has some niggles after patch updates and my Mac at home has niggles! Flips sake, even my PSP had some niggles at the last firmware update.
Fave Jon Ive
@DavidSimpson1
That'd be the fake Jon Ive on Twitter with 26 posts, would it?
You've just been Twitrolled. Twit.
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