Thursday, August 21, 2008
This is a gallery of thoughts and points that have popped up through the process.
I'm shying away from making a declaration about what causes the problem - the particular bug described in these pages. In fact, I would even go so far as to say it may be a number of things that can trigger it. Like pneumonia, there is not necessarily one thing that causes it. But, one it hits it's nasty. I am absolutely comfortable saying that 7.7.1 awakened it. And I am comfortable saying that a downgrade (likely with other steps) to iTunes 7.7 will squash it for the time being.
That doesn't mean other things might not fix it. I read one user who said he was able to fix from within the 7.7.1/2.0.1 framework. If that's true, great (however, he was a windows user, so that's another variable). Or, he may just be wrong ;)
And honestly, I don't care what causes it. That's Apple's job and responsibility. And a good user's responsibility is to be at least a little patient sometimes... especially with a rebooting machine!
When there is a brand new bug on the scene don’t get enraged at Apple Genii or other technicians who don’t know what you’re talking about. Many of them are awesome at what they do. But many of them, while good, don’t know anything except what is in the articles they get from up above. They can’t help you with what they don’t know, and it’s not their fault. That’s why it’s always good to submit reports and feedback to Apple. Then engineering can see patterns and build fix reports for the Genii on the ground. Before that happens, at best, a Genius is just going to replace your phone. In fact, normally I wouldn't recommend going after the higher levels of Apple reps like I did. But in this case I just feel like it was necessary. I say that not because I think the folks on the ground are bad representatives of Apple. 95% of the time the regular Genii, Applecare reps, the mid-level Red Phone folks, and people who take reports are great help. But this was a new bug in a new process and that the folks on the ground simply weren't going to know what to do.
So in a case like this I didn’t want to just get a new phone. That is ecologically wasteful (and I hold the savvy user responsible, not the Genius), and undermines the quest for a solution. It is software related. The problem is somewhere in the process. Getting a new phone for this problem doesn’t help the environment or the tech community. It may not hurt the latter, but it definitely hurts the former.
Two general points, then:
1) Be nice to the people you talk to. You’ll get much better responses, and even maybe be invited to help!
2) Don’t be a dork and break things. The people who made it did a good enough job of that in this case. Let them fix it. In the meanwhile, if you’re going to try processes, tricks, and other weird things, wait, breathe, and chill. Don’t make things worse.
I think there are good, hard questions to be asked about Apple’s QC. But I think those questions need to be asked way further back than this recent debacle. I think they should look bugs and issues over the past couple of years, and their response to it and reevaluate some things. I think they’re rolling out consistently too early. I think, in general, Apple needs to stop reaching too far and get back to the good. I also think they need to calm down with some of this revenue stream adventurism and get back to hardcore QC.
I do believe that a company saying it out loud helps. Just say “Many users have this bug. We’re working on it.” That’s sooo nice to hear, even when a fix is far off. Then again, if a company heeds what I said above, they would have to say it less.
i threw this site together at 3am. don’t have a smug fit if it’s ugly, hard to read, or even impenetrable. i already know. shh...
email me
email me
Users have to chill out. Impatience and anger just make bad things worse, and make for bad computing habits in general. Button mashers, be gone! I’ve gotten several all-caps emails that read like petulant children. And I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve gotten or posts I’ve seen that reveal to me that a user pulled the plug on a process out of haste and impatience. I said a couple times in threads and in this site that during some processes you simply have to wait and not react. Keep in mind, I started The Thread, and I reacted pretty strongly, but only after much trial and a deliberately arrived-at conclusion that there was an actual problem (read: that it wasn’t just me). And during trying a fix, if the phone is in-process and doesn't do exactly what a user expects it to, crying foul, pulling the plug, and having a fit is just going to put yourself in a bad spot. And, it may put all of us with the problem in a bad spot. When you post something or call Apple telling them your phone is freaking because you have been antagonizing it, it may undermine the entire effort to get an issue like this addressed. "Oh, it's just another one of those quick-draw non-techie folks who thinks they found a bug."
Why did I care? Why did I spend the hours finding a fix? So that I can lay back on my couch and play Aurora Feint? Or have syncing to-do lists with Zenbe? So I could watch my ripped vintage Twilight Zone collection on the train?
Well, now I can do those things. Was it worth it?... Look at my welcome page. Remember what I said first thing, on the welcome page? Yeah, I’m not so sure.
At least I can offer other people a rundown of a temporary fix until Apple works it out. Helping other users out is no small reward.
I now also have the joy of the regular needy or angry emails. Oh, not angry at me (though I get alpha-dog “i know more than you” emails, which I could care less about). It’s people angry at Apple, at their parents, at their station in life. Just... angry. And it’s in my inbox. And they’re loaded with willful misspellings. “U help” in the place of “Do you think you could assist me?” And it’s weird.
Fact is, when the bug hits the phone part works. So I could have cut my loses and gotten a replacement phone from a Genius at any point. Or just cut my loses period and waited.
Then again, the phone application is the least I use it for. So, I don’t know. Anyhow.... the work-around is here, Apple is working on a real fix, and I feel a bit adrift.
There is one point I felt it was important to make to Jobs and Executive Relations. We used to have a jailbroken 1.1.x phone (not unlocked, and with another iPhone, not the one in question). I must say, the development and deployment of apps was amazingly tight. Everything was much more stable, secure, and less hassle. Now that it's in the hands of Apple’s SDK app store program, nearly all of the things Apple warned us about that could happen with going jailbreak... they're happening on Apple’s watch. I think that's a valid point to consider as the backdrop for troubleshooting any of this, and for pressing for more lasting solutions when bugs appear. It may also be a valuable perspective when Apple is considering development efforts. What do those minds have to offer that Apple maybe doesn’t always consider, or consider well.
I didn’t discover a fix. Lots of people contributed to figuring out how to make our iPhones work again. I just applied compulsion and a deft sense of troubleshooting to the mix. View the treads to see the whole process, and relive all the joy. Many people had a hand. In fact, it was the first reply in the thread that made me think “hm... iTunes 7.7.1... timing...”. I stand by the idea technology communities are great places for ideas and solutions.(not to under value individual/corporate efforts)
I am honored (and slightly harrowed) that my raison d’etre was so apparent to Foresman.
He says “Hosticka ... also received a response to a lengthy and well-worded complaint sent to Apple.“
Lengthy and well-worded.
That’s how I’ll die.