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Editorial: Apple, if you remove a software update, explain
Yesterday (Wednesday) we covered Apple's removal of the recent iPhoto Update 4.0.2, which had just been released two days earlier (Monday). As of Wednesday afternoon, all mentions of the update had been removed from the Apple website, and links (1, 2) to the update resulted in a "Page Not Found" error. Apple has thus far provided no explanation as to why the update was removed.
This isn't the first time Apple has released a software update only to "recall" it days or weeks later with no explanation. Such actions leave Mac users who have already installed the update wondering what was so wrong with the software that it needed to be pulled from distribution -- and whether or not their newly-installed software is safe to use.
If it's necessary to pull an update from distribution due to problems, Apple should by all means do so as soon as possible. However, instead of removing all traces of the update and acting as if it never existed, Apple should retain the update's Web page and/or Knowledge Base article and use them to provide information on the status of the update. It doesn't matter if the update was pulled for a minor issue (e.g., a cosmetic error in the About box) or a major one (a bug that can result in data loss); users who have already installed the update have a right to know why the software is no longer available, whether or not it's safe to use, and when to expect a "fixed" version.
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am left concerned when Apple goes through the procedures that they did.
And now I am wandering if the update has some major problems and how it
will affect my system.
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http://www.turkmac.com
"The Most Popular Mac Source in Turkish"
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re-install 4.0 from iLife, repair permissions, repair my HD and extract all the
photos and re-import them, as per your kind instructions. Three hours
wasted. I think we should be told...
And where has 4.0.1 gone?
release.....be that good OR bad. Surely they owe us that.
In fact responsibility is the keyword, and why there are no explanations. It's
the same reason there's no mention of known problems in the Apple support
area: to put it in writing could be considered an "admission of guilt", possibly
supporting a consumer outcry or even legal action.
If there's a problem, it can't be mentioned publicly until it's fully understood
and a solution is in place.
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psr
there are many posts on Apple discussions that confirm it causes iPhoto to
stall - taking 10+ seconds to close. Some users report 5 minute close times!
I agree this is a problem. I did repair permissions before and after installing.
First launch and quit took a little while, but second launch and quit was faster
than before the update.
It's not just the delay in closing that's the problem. I sync several folders
between my home and work computers via a Firelite smartdisk. It turns out
that you only have to open and close iPhoto 4.0.2 ie without actually making
any changes for the sync software to see all the photos as having changed. I
then have to wait while it needlessly syncs my collection of nearly 2000
photos...
Dik Gregory
download before the mysterious disappearance, decided against installing the
iPhoto ugrade. Makes me happy I subscribe to MacFixit. Makes me happy I
don't have to subscribe to Apple! Besides, between iView Media Pro and
Extensis Portfolio I'm overloaded as is.
Utility and this may help improve the situation. There were a number of
symbolic links and frameworks that showed repair necessary. No problem
updating photos and close of app is less than 5 seconds.
this no comment policy (no prompt comment policy) anytime soon. Being an
Apple alumni from the early 90's, here is a little past perspective from the
inside.
Apple, being the large corporation that it is, has many of its communications
policies shaped by its well staffed in house legal councel. Although it would
seem like common sense that the removal of a minor update to iPhoto would
garner a quick and easy notice to users on why, when, and what to expect
next, it isnt going to happen (at least not right away).
The legal counsel at Apple places a wide net around all communications that
would have ANY liability issues, in fact I expect that Apple has a blanket
policy that prevents this kind of info notice UNLESS the reverse were true in
their eyes (non-disclosure of info later causing liability issues).
So... while we all want Apple to be more forthcoming with prompt information
that is of use and benefit to us (especially regarding updates that later get
promtly pulled), it is not going to happen until they (the legal reviewers)
approve any message that is prepaired by the software development/product
staff.
Unfortunalely this can take time, and in some cases is not 'worth' the hassle,
as an update/fix could get done, QA tested, and posted faster than the time
needed to get notices thru the review/approval process. A product/
engineering manager only wants to run that gauntlet when absolutely
necessary (ie. when not providing users with info will cause more harm, or
the fix/replacement software is a long way off).
So, we the users are 'stuck' wondering what happened, and how does this
affect me (I installed the upadte that was later pulled). Based upon Apple's
past performance history in this area (Apple has been promptly forthcoming
with information when serious issues have occured), I am inclined to give
Apple the benefit of the doubt. We will most likely see a new update shortly,
accompanied by a brief notice of what was changed (and maybe why).
problem after a week or so, I consider taking the plunge. Apple could
make this less of a necessity by being a little more forthcoming.
Secondly, I am mystified about Apple's behavior over this issue, particularly this week. A few days ago, Steve Jobs was extremely candid about his medical condition. He could have just taken a vacation during August and we'd have been none the wiser. Chief Executives of much larger enterprises have been known to disappear on protracted vacations even when their enterprise is at war in Iraq.
The iPhoto episode is what you'd expect from, let's see, an Enron (who, coincidentally was a huge supporter of the executive who is so fond of wartime holidays.) I hope they are isolating the conditions which determine which users will have trouble while others don't, and will be informing us soon about the current status of iPhoto.
downloaded or installed it as yet.... comments are the same as for the 4.0.2
update!
Stuart
I wondered if 4.0.2 was pulled because some folks with the random
screensaver setting got surprised by having their "photo" collection playing
for the entire household.
-HI-
to a program and the next day release another update. Sometimes they will
release several updates within a two week period as they iron out the bugs
that programming always leads to.
Most of the shareware developers document the problems that they
introduced but not all of them. I will give Apple the benefit of the doubt on
the updates. They do try to make right any bugs that are in the program.
Waiting for a Microsoft update seems to take decades compared to update
from Apple. Both 4.0.2 and 4.0.3 worked for me without a hitch. iPhoto could
almost do it's stuff without me being around and there is nothing that come
close on the Windows side of the world. I am quite happy with iPhoto and will
give Apple a little leeway on this point.
about the Problem that some ppl had from what I read @ macfixit web page.
I did the same via software update of iPhoto 4.0.2 and have had no
problems before i read what the problem was so Apple Said IT WAS A MISSING
LINK TO THE DOWNLOAD and after I told them about these occurances they
must've fixit it,heh i'm not taking Credit but that seems to be the Problem
"MISSING LINK"
this evening i did a Via Software update from the 4.0.2 to 4.0.3 and
everything is just Fine So I guess there isn't a huge Problem after all>
Everyone can just go right ahead and download iPhoto 4.0.3 update from
4.0.2 and ALL should be fine:)
GL everyone
- by John Sawyer August 5, 2004 11:23 PM PDT
- No, I won't give Apple much leeway on this because they keep doing it, even though it's a problem that's so easy to address.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(20 Comments)Media1's posting above pretty much confirms what I suspected--Apple allowed itself to be taken over a long time ago by lawyers, beancounters, and stockholders, and dumb ones at that. That's what excess commercialism and branding get you. I can see why Wozniak left years ago--he's a helpful straight-shooter, which I suppose doesn't go along with the polished chromedness that Apple tries to portray. I remember when they had a lot less trouble telling people when they'd messed up. Now, you have to find out a lot of information from someone "on the inside". I wonder how they think this will all add up to something good in the long run, or even the short run.
I don't think any kind of reasonable error review process would have to usually amount to not telling Mac users what the problem was. The process should be structured so that there's always someone already in charge of making sure that, at the very least, the courtesy of a quick note referring to why Apple has done something, always accompanies the action involved. It's not rocket science--it just shows that Apple is either disorganized in some crucial ways, or they just don't get it.
I disagree with media1's assertion that "Apple has been promptly forthcoming with information when serious issues have occurred"--anybody who's followed the problems (both old and recent) that people have been having in getting Apple to properly fix their Powerbooks can refute that.
Nobody's going to sue Apple because iPhoto 4.0.2 had some kind of problem, and a user is even less likely, not more, to bug Apple if a nice little note was available telling them what the deal is. If that's what Apple is afraid of, then that's just delusional. And a short, informative note describing the problem wouldn't have to be passed through a dozen lawyers before it could be posted. That approach might apply to some of Apple's other problems, but not to some simple errors in a software release. But this has become Apple's "normal" approach to nearly everything. Anybody here know anyone on the inside at Apple, to whom they can gently break the news, or get them into phobia reduction therapy?
When OS X was released, many people wondered if that meant Apple would adopt any of the Open Source community's openness, or whether they'd turn out to be one of Open Source's bigger co-opters. While I don't think the worst fears have been confirmed, Apple still has a long way to go before they get it. They should just step out the door, breathe in the air, and not be afraid to care.