Apple has released a 37 Mb patch for its recently launched OS X 10.4 operating system.

Apple applied its marketing filter to the update in way that raises the bar on avoiding calling things by their name.

On its website the company claims that it "again" has released the most advanced operating system. Given the number of wrinkles that required ironing out "at last" would have been be more accurate. It sounds Orwellian at least. All of Apple's operating systems are advanced, some are just more advanced than others?

In continuing with its euphemistic language, Apple explains on its website that the patch fixes problems in a slew of applications such as Safar and iDVD that could make them "unexpectedly quit" (in real world language: crash).

The patch by the way isn't a patch but an "update".

Apple's website mentions a total of 35 flaws... excuse me: issues, in its operating system that are fixed in this update.

And it even gets users additional Address Book, Flight Tracker, Phone Book and World Clock widgets.

Kudos for Apple for fixing the issues in OS X 10.4 Tiger issues so quickly. But if it took only so little time, why couldn't the company have shipped its product without the flaws to begin with? Any beta testing process should include testing for certified graphics cards, for example. Judging by the fact that the vendor felt obligated to distribute update drivers for cards, this part of hardware testing wasn't done properly.

But then no software is released without any flaws. Not even Apple's.

17 May 2005