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journal: mac · toy
Some iPods shipped with Windows virus
Ew! Cooties!
From the “Ew! Cooties!!” desk…
It appears that some new video iPods shipped with an unwanted feature. Earlier today Apple posted a page on their support site that a Windows virus shipped on a small number of iPods sold after September 12. No joke. The virus, dubbed RavMonE.exe, made it onto “less than 1%” of video iPods shipped since September 12, and fewer than 25 cases of such have been reported so far.
RavMonE.exe is a name that is used by a number of pieces of Malware, Sophos notes. Apple does not specifically mention which piece of malware it actually is. The virus in question only affects Microsoft Windows.
This is the second time this week that malware has been found on shipping digital music players. A number of media outlets reported yesterday that a worm was found on 10,000 music players McDonald’s gave out to winners of a promotion in Japan. Would you like fries with that?
Apple has more information on the problem and instructions on removing it on their support site.
As always, be careful and stay vigilant!
More Info
Apple - Support - Small Number of Video iPods Shipped With Windows Virus
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| Nick | comments | views |
thinkback
Wow, Apple continues to pull low blows, such maturity.
[a]http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/19/mi crosoft-blames-apples-quality-checks-for-ipod-vi rus/[/a]
Oh, wonderful! *rolleyes*
| Oct. 19, 2006 | |
| Liam | 7:13 am |
My favorite is when Microsoft ran that bogus “I switched to PC” ad and had to pull it.
| Oct. 19, 2006 | ||
| 2:48 pm |
I can’t say I’m surprised at Apple and their immaturity after watching the WWDC. I’ve stated for years that Apple’s quality control is crap and this is just another example of that.
Other than Mac Fan, the mac faithful are generally put off by Apple’s jab at MS.
--Mac Fan
So what do you think of all those Apple TV ads making fun of a “PC”, who in real life is a mac fanatic, and having a guy who had rarely even used a Mac playing the “cool0” Mac?
Is there some reason one of those commercials isn’t your “favorite”?
Yeah, I criticized Apple’s new ads many times. I was the one here saying they were too smug.
I criticize Apple all the time.
But considering Apple had more profit than Dell and they grew units by 30%, maybe those ads aren’t so bad.
| Oct. 21, 2006 | ||
| 3:16 pm |
I don’t think those ads are responsible for any major part of Apple’s Mac growth. 60% of Apple’s sales were laptops and the first worthwhile speed increase or feature addition they’ve had since 2002 or so was the introduction of the Yonah and the ability to run Windows.
My belief is that Apple is just focusing on getting their user base , who have traditionally upgraded hardware much slower than PC users, to upgrade faster. This is in contrast to the belief that Apple is really focused on getting switchers and Joe Sixpack to buy Macs.
The Mac Mini allowed Mac users to add another Mac to the house very cheaply (comparably). It also allowed people hanging on to very old Macs to upgrade cheaper than before.
The iMac G5 was a large power boost over previous G4’s and (in addition to offering better prices) it made many people who bought iMacs in 99/2000 a worthwhile upgrade.
The intel switch gives (some) Mac users a worthwhile upgrade even without the speed increase because of the ability to run Windows.
and on and on…
given that the “Mac” commercials aren’t really selling anything… just reinforcing the elitest position that Apple likes many of it’s users to have, then it’s would seem like this is their strategy as opposed to trying to conquer new markets (i.e. windows/PC users).
that would also explain why each model apple produces tends to have it’s peak sales around the time of introduction (because of all the built up demand of Mac users wanted to upgrade) as opposed to growing steadily every year.
IMO all the talk of the iPod Halo Effect, Switchers, trashing vista at the WWDC, new Mac Ads, Vista 2.0, and the iPod-virus stuff is all helping to just going to reinforce Mac users belief and zealotry in their own platform.
So in that sense, the commercials are working… but so did the first “switch” campaign.
I believe this is the correct strategy for apple to have because it’s far easier to get current Mac users to buy new machines than it is to get joe sixpack’s attention, re-educated him on the Mac, and convert him to (often) more expensive hardware than he is used to buying.
Eh, I think it’s hard to quantify that. That said, as someone working in the trenches of computer sales, I do get a good number of inquiries from people looking to switch to the Mac. I get questions from a lot of Windows users asking about Boot Camp and such. I agree that some of Apple’s improved vitals is from upgrades, but I do also think that people moving to the Mac are part of what’s going on.
| Nick | Oct. 22, 2006 | |
| 12:58 am |
What’s more, based on internet trends, there is evidence that the Mac’s overall user base is increasing:
http://switchtoamac.com/site/apples-mac-os- market-share-rises-24-percent-year-over-year.htm l
http://www.tuaw.com/2006/10/10/safaris-brow ser-market-share-rises-to-3-53-percent/ --consider the fact that both Firefox and Safari are seeing an upswing, which suggests that Safari’s growth isn’t just at Firefox’s expense.
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_ stats.asp (scroll to OS stats)
Of course, stats can be misleading, bu there does seem to be some movement toward the Mac. Make of it what you will. Maybe we should wait until after the next couple quarters and see how things shake out (like, after the early adopters pass).
| Nick | Oct. 22, 2006 | |
| 1:10 am |
I don’t think those ads are responsible for any major part of Apple’s Mac growth.
Yeah, this is exactly what I thought you would do. You are arguing that Apple doesn’t have any “real” growth, that they are just selling Macs faster to the same Mac users. LOL!
And if Apple were to have 100% growth, to you that means that every Mac user bought two Macs that quarter. LOL!
Give it a rest, Kuaidang. You have no clothes.
| Oct. 23, 2006 | ||
| 6:11 am |
1.
Apple never misses a chance: “As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses” (from the linked article.)