Thursday, August 18, 2005

Apple begins iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues

Apple today released a FAQ about their new iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues:
The iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues applies to first generation iMac G5 computers that have video or power-related issues as a result of a specific component failure. If your iMac G5 is exhibiting any of the symptoms listed below and your computer's serial number is within the noted ranges, your computer may be eligible for repair, free of charge. If Apple or an Authorized Apple Service Provider (AASP) determines that your iMac G5 computer is eligible as part of the program, the repair will be covered by Apple even if your iMac G5 is out of warranty. This is a worldwide Apple program.

Affected systems will exhibit one of the following video- or power-related symptoms :

Scrambled or distorted video
No video
No power

Note: If your iMac G5 is not experiencing any of these symptoms, you do not have to contact Apple or any Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Which iMac G5 computers are affected by the iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues?
The program is available for certain iMac G5 models that were sold between approximately September 2004 and June 2005 featuring 17- and 20-inch displays with 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz G5 processors.

The affected iMac G5 computers have serial numbers where the first 5 digits fall into the ranges noted below.

Serial Number ranges:

W8435 - W8522
QP435 - QP522
CK435 - CK522
YD435 - YD522

Somehow this all seems vaguely familiar.

[Update 2005-08-20]

The repair program includes the first G5 iMac models released in August 2004. It is not clear if the more recent G5 iMac models released in May 2005 are included. Newer 2.0 GHz iMacs do indeed fall into the serial number ranges, but Apple specifically leaves out 2.0 GHz model iMacs in the program description.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Apple's Security Update 2005-007 kills 64-bit support

Reports online state that apps that are compiled specifically for 64-bit G5 systems will no longer run after the latest Security Update 2005-007 in installed. Affected programs include many command line applications as well as the 64-bit version of Mathematica 5.2.

That something as obvious as this could be missed suggests that Apple really needs to revamp their software quality assurance program.

[Update 2005-08-18]

Apple has released Security Update 2005-007 Version 1.1 to correct the problem:

Security Update 2005-007 delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users.

Security Update 2005-007 v1.1 replaces Security Update 2005-007 v1.0 for Tiger systems Mac OS X v10.4.2. Users who have already installed v1.0 on Tiger systems should install v1.1.

Security Update 2005-007 v1.1 provides a combined 32- and 64-bit version of LibSystem to replace the 32-bit version that was delivered in v1.0. No other changes have been made in version 1.1.