Microsoft blames Apple's "quality checks" for iPod virus

Ah, how we love mindless bickering between two mega corporations. In Apple's case, its beloved iPod seems to be a globe-sized target for attacks (and lawsuits), and just a day after the company laid blame to Windows for "not being hardy enough against viruses" found on recently shipped 5.5G 'Pods, Microsoft is firing back with its own harsh criticisms. James Abrams, Microsoft's former head of quality control, pronounced that "Apple didn't know what they were shipping," and suggested that fault should be redirected to Apple's lackluster "quality and content checks." Abrams even stated that McDonald's handling of its own virus-infected DAP problem was far superior to "a lesser company's blame game." Johnathan Poon, Microsoft's current quality assurance guru, finished off the tongue-lashings by prompting Steve Jobs to "contact Poon if he needed someone to advise on how to improve quality checks." Regardless of which party is truly culpable, it looks like we've got ourselves another full-fledged Mac vs PC battle royale on our hands here, and we're certainly not stepping in to break this one up.

[cubbiechris @ Oct 19th 2006 9:58AM]

I agree with MS! How could Apple send out IPODS with Virus' on them?!?!?

[John Doe @ Oct 19th 2006 10:02AM]

Yah Apple and quality these days are a joke and this is coming from someone who has had his iPod replaced 3 times and my MBP repaired 4 times since Feb. Apple really needs to STFU. Arrogant assholes.

[Mephistophelian @ Oct 19th 2006 10:07AM]

This'll be good.

[iLLW!L @ Oct 19th 2006 10:02AM]

And when the Zune ships with a virus...

[John Doe @ Oct 19th 2006 10:40AM]

And it won't.

[Whynot @ Oct 19th 2006 10:05AM]

And when the Zune ships...


:P :P :P lol!

[Rick @ Oct 19th 2006 11:58AM]

It's Apple's fault for quality control (via their manufacturer in China). But it is funny that it happened using Windows. People don't seem to get the rivalry between the companies. These companies started with just a handful of people. Just because the companies are huge now, doesn't mean this isn't still personal. Apple took a dig at Microsoft because they could. Microsoft does it, too. We get to sit back and watch the fun as these titans act like teenagers. It's fun.

[Christian Martin @ Oct 19th 2006 10:07AM]

Come on, guys. The "he started it" game is old and should be reserved for the playground.

Of course, with schools banning kids from playing frickin' tag these days, the "he started it" game will be next I'm sure...

On a slightly less mature note, "Johnathan Poon" is the best name ever. I'm sure Stevie will be "contacting poon for quality checks" ASAP.

[Kibi @ Oct 19th 2006 10:11AM]

Anyone else notice this?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/10/19/ferrari.crash.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[tekdroid @ Oct 19th 2006 10:15AM]

...all the while McDonald's continues to get away with selling viruses and labelling it food.

[Ian Jardine @ Oct 19th 2006 10:16AM]

Pretty sad that a company like Apple isn't "man enough" to say "mia culpa".

[cubbiechris @ Oct 19th 2006 10:12AM]

I could not agree more. IPODS are a complete joke! I've been through 3 of them and just about all my friends have had at least 1 break on them. Also, ITUNES never works right. Do me a favor walk into a Apple store and look at the long lines of people getting their Pod's fixed.

[josh @ Oct 19th 2006 2:17PM]

I don't know about that "cubbiechris", I have had my 4G iPod for about 2 years and I have had no problems whatsoever. I suppose it is sometimes just the luck of the draw. All manufacturing runs for the iPods must not be created equal. I think it is a bit rich of you to say that IPODS are a complete joke. Far from it.

[wiseupdude @ Oct 23rd 2006 10:42PM]

do me a favor walk into a,...wait never mind,...this is no other company you can go into to get help with a non-ipod mp3 player! Besides, 90% of the people in the store are there because they either think that there iPod deletes there songs when they connect it to another computer (learn MANUALLY MANAGE MODE) or that iTunes/iPods should work seemlessly with shit limewire songs

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Oct 19th 2006 10:13AM]

MS has every right to blame Apple. They're the ones who let those iPods get infected and go on sale. It is all their fault. Just because MS doesn't have the security to protect themselves from it, doesn't mean that Apple is off the hook. It should've never been on the iPods in the first place.

[cubbiechris @ Oct 19th 2006 10:14AM]

Plus doesn't APPLE always state they are virus free? Guess not.

[Timothy @ Oct 19th 2006 10:46AM]

Actually Apple is virus free, it doesn't effect Apples at all, only PCs. They're both right though, Apple should never have shipped something with a virus, and Microsoft should actually try to make a decent product, instead of just piling shit on their already crappy product.

[Intrepid @ Oct 19th 2006 10:17AM]

Steve Balmer could beat Steve Jobs to a pulp. That's a fight I'd pay to see.

[bill @ Oct 19th 2006 12:33PM]

...and Chuck Norris could kick both their asses!

[disciple83 @ Oct 19th 2006 10:19AM]

The Eriksson thing is old news. They did a cover on it in the Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine like 2 months ago. It is funny though.

On a more related matter to the actual article, I, for one, find it hilarious that the machines Apple is using to program the iPods are PCs. Otherwise, how could a virus get onto the iPod in the first place if the Mac is "invulnerable to attack"?

"Made by Mac, for Mac, F--- PC's (disclaimer: our shit ain't smart enough to actually do that, so we need Windows to help us out...On a related note, who forgot to update the virus client, again?)"

[Earl @ Oct 19th 2006 10:26AM]

Um... the virus came from a manufacturing plant in Taiwan/China or something like that. Apple only developed the iPod, they hire someone else to make it.
M$ also pays some 3rd world manufacturer to produce their Zune. They don't actually make it themselves... It's how the world works, there are developers, and then there are those that produce/manufacture what is developed.

[Earl @ Oct 19th 2006 10:21AM]

Maybe M$ should have better "quality checks" of their crappy OS before releasing it...
Oh, too late. Now crappy Vista is coming soon.

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Oct 19th 2006 10:23AM]

Hey, at least you know you're getting a shitty OS when you buy it. Last I checked, I didn't expect my iPod to carry the plague.

[disciple83 @ Oct 19th 2006 10:35AM]

seriously, seems like false advertising to me. Microsoft claims Vista will be more secure, not invulnerable. Apple says their products are invulnerable. We have laws that protect against that sort of thing.

[Joe V @ Oct 19th 2006 10:23AM]

Poon? Tongue lashings?

Engadget just got a whole lot more interesting!

[Earl @ Oct 19th 2006 10:28AM]

Well it is a Windows machine that put the virus/worm on the iPod...

[daniel rivers @ Oct 19th 2006 10:27AM]

http://secunia.com/advisories/22477/

need i say more??

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Oct 19th 2006 11:00AM]

That still doesn't mean that Apple should be off the hook. It is still their product, regardless of what system it was being made on.

They're also responsible for all of their products even if they don't create them themselves.

[Earl @ Oct 19th 2006 5:16PM]

Don't get me wrong Apple is responsible for THEIR products, but it is M$ responsibility that they developed an OS that is so easily infected. Basically if M$ developed a better quality OS, by performing better "quality checks," then a virus would have not been available at the manufacturing plant.
Face it, the iPod was only the medium through which the virus was delivered. That's like blaming your ISP for delivering a virus through the internet (another medium). They sell someone internet, does that mean they are responsible for someone running a junk OS full of holes and bugs?

[Ryan L. @ Oct 19th 2006 10:45AM]

OMG Apple STFU and go play with your defective Mac Book Pros...

The only reason Windows has viruses is because so many people use it. If I was making a virus I would rather screw with the millions of PC users instead of the 5 Mac users sipping latte in the corner of Starbucks...

Actually I hate Mac users and their smug attitudes so if I was making a virus I would go for them...the thought that OSx is magically invulnerable is ridiculous

[Kurt @ Oct 19th 2006 12:36PM]

"The only reason Windows has viruses is because so many people use it. If I was making a virus I would rather screw with the millions of PC users instead of the 5 Mac users sipping latte in the corner of Starbucks.."

that is a retarded theory. Would you rather be person number 1,293,448 to create a PC virus or #1 to create a mac virus. Based on your theory 4% of the virus and spyware that is out there should be Mac.

[Steve @ Oct 23rd 2006 10:56PM]

hey ryan sorry you have gotten that impression from apple people. :( I would consider myself an "apple person" got my first mac after college about two years ago.- I hate arrogance too.

[brian @ Oct 19th 2006 10:30AM]

so does this mean apple uses windows machines at their manufacturing plants? i thought macs didnt have viruses.

[Earl @ Oct 19th 2006 10:32AM]

Neither Apple, nor M$ own manufacturing plants:

Um... the virus came from a manufacturing plant in Taiwan/China or something like that. Apple only developed the iPod, they hire someone else to make it.
M$ also pays some 3rd world manufacturer to produce their Zune. They don't actually make it themselves... It's how the world works, there are developers, and then there are those that produce/manufacture what is developed.

[Jerome Fitzsimmons @ Oct 19th 2006 10:39AM]

What kind of name is Poon, anyway?

[Joe V @ Oct 19th 2006 10:47AM]

Comanche Indian.

[chris @ Oct 19th 2006 6:34PM]

Dutch-Romainian

[Randy @ Oct 19th 2006 10:32AM]

Please... Take care of your iPod. I have had my one and only 3G 15 gig with out problems. Then again, I don't abuse it. I use it.

[Rohit Kapur @ Oct 19th 2006 10:34AM]

Right on Randy. I've been using my 3G 15GB for 2 and a half years now without a problem. Sure, there's the occasional reboot once in a looooooooooooooong time, but it's still running just fine. :-)

Apple shouldn't have taken a shot at MS, I agree. But this was an opportunity for MS to be the 'bigger person'. It would've been a better strategy than hacking back. Ah well... At least this is more interesting for the third party watcher. :-)

[John Doe @ Oct 19th 2006 10:46AM]

It never leaves my car. I don't think you can get a more
expensive iPod case.

[Waldek1 @ Oct 19th 2006 10:43AM]

I can't help but get a kick out of the fact that manufacture of an Apple product requires the use of MS Windows... Talk about irony!

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Oct 19th 2006 11:00AM]

But the worm shouldn't have been there in the first part, agreed?

[tnriverfish @ Oct 19th 2006 10:45AM]

My first thought was that Apple will probably benifit long term from this. This is all free advertising pointing a finger at windows as a weak os for fighting the virus. They also get to remind everyone that the ipod will work with those who haven't switched to a mac. I can hear it now... "oh yea, if you were victom to the virus then you should switch to a mac so it won't happen again."

[uNext @ Oct 19th 2006 1:30PM]

You sir unlocked the code of advertisement.

is all a setup for whats coming next against vista and leopard.

anyways microsoft owns apple-look beyind the hologram they give you and you will see bill gates laughing his ass off.

[nate w @ Oct 19th 2006 10:46AM]

"fault should be redirected to Apple's lackluster 'quality and content checks.'"

LOL

i bet apple did check it...
apple tech: "ok, plug ipod into mac. virus? no? ok. good to go!"

[Sunny Man @ Oct 19th 2006 11:01AM]

I can't believe that Apple tried to pin this on Microsoft. Whether Apple did this on purpose to bring attention to the fact that Windows is suceptable to viruses, who knows, but either way Apple has lost some serious credit points on this one.

[Jeremy @ Oct 19th 2006 11:09AM]

Ryan L said:
"The only reason Windows has viruses is because so many people use it. If I was making a virus I would rather screw with the millions of PC users instead of the 5 Mac users sipping latte in the corner of Starbucks...

Actually I hate Mac users and their smug attitudes so if I was making a virus I would go for them...the thought that OSx is magically invulnerable is ridiculous"

Sooooo, in the US, Apple has over 6% market share, which, believe it or not, is actually millions of Mac users...but unbelievably, 0 viruses. You would think they would have at least some share of viruses...but no.

And I think you just provided more evidence for why the 'no viruses because no one uses Macs' myth isn't correct. To be the first to make a successful Mac virus is quite the incentive, especially when it can affect millions of Mac users.

[Rick Lyon @ Oct 19th 2006 11:35AM]

Let's see, it's a PC virus, ah, how can Apple use it's macs to detect a PC virus on the iPods and it;s not like Apple used it's macs to put a PC virus on the iPods ;)

[teodoro @ Oct 19th 2006 11:25AM]

I think that everyone is missing the ludicrous blame game going on here. MS certainly didn't SHIP that copy of Windows to the Chinese plant WITH a virus. MS's responsability in the matter ends with the end user purchase.
Apple's responsabiliity starts with their selection of a developer and full report on the developer's machines, etc. Why doesn't Apple pick on their developer publically? Because there are only a few thousand places to get slave/child labor to make the iPod a 75% profit margin item.

[zoara @ Oct 20th 2006 6:01AM]

"I think that everyone is missing the ludicrous blame game going on here. MS certainly didn't SHIP that copy of Windows to the Chinese plant WITH a virus. MS's responsability in the matter ends with the end user purchase."

So they have no responsibility to ship a product that is resilient to attack?


"Apple's responsabiliity starts with their selection of a developer and full report on the developer's machines, etc."

Agreed.


"Why doesn't Apple pick on their developer publically? Because there are only a few thousand places to get slave/child labor to make the iPod a 75% profit margin item."

Where on earth did you get the idea that the iPod gives 75% profit?