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App Store Bug Corrupts Binaries; Angry Birds Crash

First time accepted submitter bargainsale writes "Many recent updates from Apple's App store are crashing immediately, including Instapaper. Instapaper's creator, Marco Arment, thinks this is due to corrupt binaries being distributed. As Angry Birds Space is among those affected, there is some hope that Apple may acknowledge the problem and fix it ..."

116 comments

  1. This. by kiriath · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is going to RUIN my workday =\ How can I work without my Angry Birds?

    1. Re:This. by synapse7 · · Score: 0

      Are you sure this isn't a feature working as intended?

    2. Re:This. by Thanshin · · Score: 0

      Time to move to a more interesting game you can also play in your phone.

      Have you ever played go?

      (disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the game nor the server creators).

    3. Re:This. by thrillseeker · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They'll get right on this engineering effort as soon as they finish their litigation efforts.

    4. Re:This. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GCC toolchain glitch? APPle keep schanging the VC and OBJC toolchain....CHOCO-MOCO...no CHOCO-MOCO...CARBON...NO CARBON....

  2. Another Apple first by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Funny

    iOS - the first operating system with package management that doesn't run hash-checks on installer packages to check for corruption. That's right, Apple did it first!

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think it's published, but the bug might be that it fails signature check on running.

    2. Re:Another Apple first by kthreadd · · Score: 3, Informative

      App Store is not a package manager, it's an application distribution system.

    3. Re:Another Apple first by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      I was just going to post that I've never had it flag a dependency :)

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    4. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who's talking about the App Store? GameboyRMH specifically referred to iOS.

      Good thing iOS users can get applications from a backup reposit-- oh, wait, no, scratch that.

    5. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a fine line in there somewhere, however this scenario was inevitable. Apples arrogance is starting to get the better of them.

      How many Millions of Apps do they have now? Is it up to a Billion? What's the count on installations? In the 10's of Billions? You'd think when spouting such high numbers, you'd make sure your system is bulletproof to a farly important aspect of your app development system.

      Yes, slip ups happen, but last I checked Apple wasn't hurting for money to pay people to make sure this thing doesn't happen. Not to worry though. They'll release a new shiny sparkly iDevice in several weeks and all of this will be forgotten.

      Wash, rinse, repeat. This has happened before, it will happen again. I'll just reference this post next time.

    6. Re:Another Apple first by marcello_dl · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It doesn't follow. The binary might be corrupted before being hashed.

      You don't need technical reasons to bash Apple, even if their product were technically impeccable, you have too little control over them.

      --
      ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
    7. Re:Another Apple first by samkass · · Score: 4, Interesting

      iOS - the first operating system with package management that doesn't run hash-checks on installer packages to check for corruption. That's right, Apple did it first!

      That's the weird thing, though... Apple not only DOES check it, they require the developer to cryptographically sign the entire package with keys they provide, and apps won't run unless it matches. There should be nothing in between that could modify code without tripping that up.

      --
      E pluribus unum
    8. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I heard that apple have a patent for this. They will sue anyone that doesn't do hash-checks ...

    9. Re:Another Apple first by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2

      Huh, then you have to wonder whether the signature process failed or the hash process failed...if the signature process failed and the App Store not only passed incorrectly signed apps onto devices but allowed them to be installed, that's a security vulnerability.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    10. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      iOS - the first operating system with package management that doesn't run hash-checks on installer packages to check for corruption. That's right, Apple did it first!

      That's the weird thing, though... Apple not only DOES check it, they require the developer to cryptographically sign the entire package with keys they provide, and apps won't run unless it matches. There should be nothing in between that could modify code without tripping that up.

      cryptography and binary hash checks are two different things

    11. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I heard that Apple have a patent on this. They will sue anyone else that does not do hash-checks ;)

    12. Re:Another Apple first by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Depends on how it's set up. They could have an installer package that includes a manifest of files inside with their hashes, and then that entire package could be encrypted. You don't need to know the hash of the whole package if you can check all the files inside.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    13. Re:Another Apple first by h4rr4r · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So then they did not test it after building it?

      Dev sends app and hash to apple. Apple distributes and has end devices check hash at install time, if hash no match download again.

      Exactly where does this problem slip in without anyone noticing?

    14. Re:Another Apple first by rbrausse · · Score: 1

      I liked your version of this comment with the three trailing dots more

    15. Re:Another Apple first by icebraining · · Score: 1

      Why would they encrypt the package? Do you mean sign? Because then the whole packages does need to be hashed.

    16. Re:Another Apple first by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Huh, then you have to wonder whether the signature process failed or the hash process failed...if the signature process failed and the App Store not only passed incorrectly signed apps onto devices but allowed them to be installed, that's a security vulnerability.

      I'd suspect something a bit more innoculous.- like data center storage corruption.

      iOS apps are encrypted - or rather, parts of them are. The executable has portions of its code and data segments encrypted, and the list of encrypted parts and the decryption key are then encrypted with the user's Apple ID key. That key is transferred to the device so that iOS can decrypt the binary encryptoin key and the list of encrypted segments (there aren't any headers).

      The reason apps can crash would include either the encryption table is blank and iOS decrypts the binary incorrectly (probable cause - disk full) thus causing corrupt code and data to be executed, or perhaps everything IS encrypted properly, but the binary is corrupt.

      The former would be erratic - some people would find it works correctly, others not, and it wouldn't matter if updates happened because it would occur on any download. The latter would mean the storage system has failed and thus during the DRM process, it's DRM'ing corrupt binaries.

      Since it's specific binaries that do this, perhaps some of Apple's massive storage servers have failed catastrophically. (they use iSilon/EMC storage servers at their NC datacenter I believe). And also why re-uploaded versions of same work - they were put on more stable storage.

      FYI - the way pirated apps work is they run the app, then use GDB to halt execution. Then they use GDB to dump the running image back out to get the decrypted version which then replaces the encrypted chunks with the decrypted versions.

      I would also guess that Apple's "fixing it" because I kept running into issues downloading ("This application is not currently available").

    17. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who's talking about the App Store? GameboyRMH specifically referred to iOS.

      Good thing iOS users can get applications (that have been hacked and malware added) from a backup reposit-- oh, wait, no, scratch that.

      FTFY

    18. Re:Another Apple first by Lucky75 · · Score: 1

      Don't forget to patent that.

      --
      DNA -- National Dyslexic Association
    19. Re:Another Apple first by rabtech · · Score: 1

      Well if you RTFA, you will see that it is actually the decryption that fails. The package itself validates as being properly downloaded (the bits sent by the server are the bits received), but the binary is corrupt and not properly encrypted so the OS refuses to run it.

      The problem appears to be in the distribution system that signs the binary then distributes the package across the CDNs, after App Review approves it. The current theories are that the signing system is somehow incorrectly signing a mismatch of old and new code but once the caches expire it seems to fix itself. This may have something to do with the delta update system since it can do partial updates now... Presumably each distribution zone is signing the app when received and the zone may have received new metadata before it receives the updated bits, thus signing the old app executable with the new binary's signature. That's all speculation for now.

      --
      Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
    20. Re:Another Apple first by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Yeah I mean signed. It is redundant, although it would make sense in a system where signing is optional, and would be an example of where the signing is dependent on the hash result.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    21. Re:Another Apple first by mellon · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I'm _really_ confused by this story. In order to publish an app, you have to sign it with your developer key, and Apple has to sign it too. How is it even _possible_ for a corrupted app to run on an iOS device? Wouldn't it just fail the signature check?

    22. Re:Another Apple first by mellon · · Score: 1

      IOW, TFS is simply wrong: the application isn't crashing. Everything is working exactly as it should, except for some intermediary storage in the App store.

      Sigh.

    23. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It does run hash-checks. That's why the apps crash. The hashes are on the executables, not the packages - which means you can check authenticity at runtime, not installtime.

    24. Re:Another Apple first by sjames · · Score: 1

      It's more of a co-dependency really :-)

    25. Re:Another Apple first by ajo_arctus · · Score: 1

      Man, when you put it like that, it that sounds so dull and realistic. Can't you rephrase it to make it more exciting and inflammatory?

    26. Re:Another Apple first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    27. Re:Another Apple first by sootman · · Score: 1

      And it's patented. :-)

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  3. Need a good way to revert to previous version by Terry+Pearson · · Score: 2

    This is why Apple and Android need a good way for you to easily revert to a previous version.

    1. Re:Need a good way to revert to previous version by synapse7 · · Score: 1

      Restore from a backup? However maybe not easy or convenient.

    2. Re:Need a good way to revert to previous version by Terry+Pearson · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I Titanium backup my items(For rooted Android), but I think that the app store should allow users to step back on version in case the app developer introduces bugs. It would be a kind of limited backup solution for "the masses."

  4. Oh Noez.. by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 1

    Angry birds is a touchscreen phone's biggest selling point. What will the world do now?

    --
    I got here through a series of tubes
    1. Re:Oh Noez.. by tepples · · Score: 1

      The world will do what the plurality has already been doing lately: play Angry Birds on an Android-powered touchscreen phone instead of an iPhone.

      Yet another reason why Android doesn't poop poop.

    2. Re:Oh Noez.. by Higgs+Bosun · · Score: 5, Funny

      Angry Birds crashing users' iPhones? Must be from the Russian app store, it's normally the user that crashes Angry Birds into things.

  5. Sent from my mortuary temple: by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Funny

    You're coding it wrong.

    -Steve

    1. Re:Sent from my mortuary temple: by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Funny

      Liar! He'd say something like "Just try not installing it in that way."

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:Sent from my mortuary temple: by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 1

      That's just another feature.

      --
      I got here through a series of tubes
    3. Re:Sent from my mortuary temple: by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Are you seriously suggesting that Steve would approve of there being ways other than the One True Way to install things on an iPhone?

      That sounds dangerously close to jailbreaker talk...

    4. Re:Sent from my mortuary temple: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too good! Your posterior is simply too good! I'm going to come any time now!

    5. Re:Sent from my mortuary temple: by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Well obviously since it didn't work it wasn't done the One True Way the first time, and since Steve loves and forgives Apple users, he only wants to steer his flock back onto the path of righteousness.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    6. Re:Sent from my mortuary temple: by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Funny

      Are you seriously suggesting that Steve would approve of there being ways other than the One True Way to install things on an iPhone?

      I think you misunderstand... he would say you're touching the screen wrong. You have to caress it, not just jab at it. I swear, some people.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    7. Re:Sent from my mortuary temple: by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      You have to caress it, not just jab at it. I swear, some people.

      Is that a stylus in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    8. Re:Sent from my mortuary temple: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You just made me spit coffee all over my iPhone. Thanks a lot...

  6. Less likely than dropping the patent issues by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    As Angry Birds Space is among those affected, there is some hope that Apple may acknowledge the problem and fix it ...

    Pfft. Right. Apple? Admit to a problem? When the purity and divinity of their precious walled garden model is, in fact, one of the major points they and their acolytes^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfanboys push when claiming edges over Android? Yeah, that'll happen. And then they'll drop all the patent issues they spent so long "innovating", right?

    1. Re:Less likely than dropping the patent issues by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, yes, Apple admits to its problems regularly. They just don't do it before they fully understand the cause of the problem, and usually not before they have a tested fix in place.

    2. Re:Less likely than dropping the patent issues by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, yes, Apple admits to its problems regularly. They just don't do it before they've been dragged kicking and screaming by the truth.

      FTFY.

      "You're holding it wrong!"

  7. Dead Steve Jobs Says by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they're wrong, this is part of their "enhanced experience" and furthermore, Apple will soon receive their patent for apps that crash on first use from the app store and litigate to protect their intellectual property.

  8. no problem... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just use a different app store.

    Oh, wait...

  9. App-arently fixed by k(wi)r(kipedia) · · Score: 5, Informative
    From the linked blog by app author Marco Arment:

    I emailed App Review less than an hour after the update went live and yelled about it on Twitter. About two hours after the update went live, a correct, functional version of it started being distributed on reinstalls. As far as I know, the problem hasn't recurred since then.

    I haven't yet received a response from App Review, so I don't know whether the fix was because I made noise, or simply because time passed, which may, for instance, expire a cache with the bad data.

    He now just wants Apple to acknowledge that there was a problem.

    1. Re:App-arently fixed by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 1

      From the linked blog by app author Marco Arment:

      I emailed App Review less than an hour after the update went live and yelled about it on Twitter. About two hours after the update went live, a correct, functional version of it started being distributed on reinstalls. As far as I know, the problem hasn't recurred since then.

      I haven't yet received a response from App Review, so I don't know whether the fix was because I made noise, or simply because time passed, which may, for instance, expire a cache with the bad data.

      He now just wants Apple to acknowledge that there was a problem.

      Well, it seems to me that they did the correct thing, which is to put their resources into fixing the problem first, and discuss the problem with angry users later.

      --
      http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    2. Re:App-arently fixed by Paul+Slocum · · Score: 1

      On the forums people are still reporting apps coming out today that are corrupt: "5 of my app updates went live today. and getting bunch of emails from users that my apps are crashing after updates."

    3. Re:App-arently fixed by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Well, it seems to me that they did the correct thing, which is to put their resources into fixing the problem first, and discuss the problem with angry users later.

      If Apple is so short on resources they can't afford to work on the problem and simultaniously dedicate 1 person to sending a message out to an email list saying "hey, we messed something up, give us a few to get it fixed," They've got some serious issues.

      What's that? More cash on hand than the federal government? In that case, no excuse (other than ego, of course).

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  10. Flamebait submission much? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously, updated/fixed Instagram downloads were available within a few hours. Having read various issue reports - this only affects certain apps and apparently only for certain users in certain regions - just how fast is the submitter expecting an official response? How fast would the submitter offer up an official statement if his software exhibited a bug under similar circumstances?

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Flamebait submission much? by drinkypoo · · Score: 0, Troll

      How fast would the submitter offer up an official statement if his software exhibited a bug under similar circumstances?

      Very quickly, if he wanted to maintain his credibility. Of course, Apple doesn't have any to lose (except among the cult that experiences Apple the way others experience religion), who can safely be called a cult and be assumed to be brainwashed. Presumably, these people are easy to brainwash; it only took the most trite methods of propaganda to accomplish it.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Flamebait submission much? by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      Having read various issue reports - this only affects certain apps and apparently only for certain users in certain regions - just how fast is the submitter expecting an official response?

      Instapaper's author was begging happy users to write review to balance out the "-3 stars: crashes! this app is teh suck!" reviews that came flooding in as people installed the new update. If my livelihood were being harmed by a publisher breaking my app, I'd want that official response pretty damn quickly.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  11. What's the difference? by tepples · · Score: 2

    App Store is not a package manager, it's an application distribution system.

    I'm not seeing the difference. Applications come in packages, and a distribution system manages them. A claim of the form "X is not A; it's B" is easier to understand if you explain what essential difference you see between A and B. Otherwise, I call fallacy.

    1. Re:What's the difference? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Simple: package managers are for filthy Linux users. No cool, hip Apple connoisseur would want to be associated with these social outcasts.

      If you think I am joking you're only half right. Remember the outrage when Instagram came out on that disgusting Android thingy. Good times :D

    2. Re:What's the difference? by Gr8Apes · · Score: 2

      App Store is not a package manager, it's an application distribution system.

      I'm not seeing the difference. Applications come in packages, and a distribution system manages them. A claim of the form "X is not A; it's B" is easier to understand if you explain what essential difference you see between A and B. Otherwise, I call fallacy.

      I guess it would be easier to state that while application are packages, packages are not necessarily applications. So a package manager might be an application distribution system, but an application distribution system is not a package manager. In simpler terms - an application distribution system incorporates a very specific set of functionality, removing several aspects of a general package management system, including things like dependency hierarchies which can cause problems cross-applications, especially regarding versioning, thus avoiding several potential problem areas by only deploying a self-contained application. (Just IMHO)

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
  12. iFail it?... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...no Apple fails it once more!

    Once the sheeple discover the ladder out of the walled garden and into the neighbours Android garden, life just gets better!

    1. Re:iFail it?... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah except for the whole Java thing. Try an iOS device side by side with an Android device. Even with a much weaker CPU the iOS is so much smoother and snappy.

      Don't get me wrong, iOS still sucks. I hate the UI, the walled garden, the limits, basically everything else is worse than Android but the performance is lightyears ahead of that piece of shit Java crap.

  13. Wow by wzinc · · Score: 1

    "there is some hope that Apple may acknowledge the problem and fix it"

    Who writes this? If there is an issue, obviously, they will fix it.

    1. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "there is some hope that Apple may acknowledge the problem and fix it"
      Who writes this? If there is an issue, obviously, they will fix it.

      Apple historically denies issues and deletes forum support threads when problems come up that lay blame on them. Consider the yellow macbook screens, video card defects, and more (I stopped keeping track when I lost my Apple love, seemed to coincide with dropping "Computer" from their company name). Hell, I just did a quick search the very latest issue is retina displays on the new Macbook Pros are experiencing ghosting.

      Clearly, issues get fixed only if Apple gets badgered enough.

    2. Re:Wow by synapse7 · · Score: 1

      Connecting lion to exchange works pretty smoothly.

    3. Re:Wow by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      "there is some hope that Apple may acknowledge the problem and fix it"

      Who writes this? If there is an issue, obviously, they will fix it.

      Exactly. This is sooo bullshit.

  14. If the publisher makes the last good apk available by tepples · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is why Apple and Android need a good way for you to easily revert to a previous version.

    Android already has this. Mainstream Android devices support distribution of application packages (.apk) on the application publisher's web site.

    (And no, you don't need a hosts file to get this APK.)

  15. ftp problem by Viol8 · · Score: 2

    Someone at Apple forgot to type "bin" at the prompt before they uploaded the binaries :o)

  16. Apple? by MAXOMENOS · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As Angry Birds Space is among those affected, there is some hope that Apple may acknowledge the problem and fix it

    Fix it, maybe. Acknowledge it? Not bloody likely.

    1. Re:Apple? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Their PR will say something like:

      Unfortunately, those binaries passed through the only Windows system we have in the office.

      Kidding, kidding!

  17. Apple is finally finally DOOMED by alen · · Score: 4, Funny

    this did it i upgraded all of my wife's 50 some apps because she never does it and i'm waiting for her to call that she can't play angry birds. she's finally going to go android.

    oh wait, she can't call because the phone app won't work. I'M SAVED

    1. Re:Apple is finally finally DOOMED by game+kid · · Score: 3, Funny

      Just never ever see her again (lest she complain to your face about the non-working phone) and Mission Accomplished!

      --
      You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
  18. Re:If the publisher makes the last good apk availa by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    (And no, you don't need a hosts file to get this APK.)

    The day is young, and yet, I will bet good money that this will be the best comment posted in this daycycle. Well played sir, well played. Now, cue the whining in mixed caps with lots of ellipses in 3..2..1...

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  19. Oh Noes by Flipstylee · · Score: 0

    SKYNET Can has your kitty kat pics????!!?!

  20. Will Apple patent corrupted apps? by Terry+Pearson · · Score: 1

    How much you want to bet Apple has already have patented this?

    1. Re:Will Apple patent corrupted apps? by Terry+Pearson · · Score: 1

      How much you want to bet Apple has already have patented this?

      Sorry for my butchering of the language there... English is my first language.

    2. Re:Will Apple patent corrupted apps? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Applause, well said sir

  21. Old news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I had my Angry Birds problem over 2 weeks ago whilst in Mexico. A simple delete/reupload of the app fixed it.

  22. Sheep can't climb ladders by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    And even if they could they wouldn't go near it unless it had an apple logo or was at least called NextStepLadder.

  23. They are supposed to crash. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What is the issue here? Aren't angry birds supposed to crash? You are supposed to pull the catapult and release it and the angry birds crash into structures built by pigs and destroy them. Don't get upset, there is a never ending supply of angry birds. So what is the problem here?

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:They are supposed to crash. by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Once my father was about to nudge over my tower PC, to which I said "hey, don't crash it..." and he replied "isn't it normal that computers crash". This was Windows 98 era so he wasn't too far from the truth.

  24. Re:If the publisher makes the last good apk availa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    any management dildo that can use marketingSpeak like "daycycle" needs to shove his blackberry up his ass.

  25. fail by yabos · · Score: 1

    Phone app isn't distributed by the App Store

    1. Re:fail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But your HUMOR app is. *CRASH*

  26. Re:If the publisher makes the last good apk availa by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    any management dildo that can use marketingSpeak like "daycycle" needs to shove his blackberry up his ass.

    Not a big reader of Science Fiction, are you? I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you're not a big reader in general, though.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  27. Not the first time by Fixer40000 · · Score: 1

    A while back I was stuck with a corrupted copy of Event Horizon downloaded from iTunes I wanted running in the background while getting some 40K stuff done.

    On my main PC hooked up the to the big screen.
    Downloaded, stopped at a certain mark.
    Deleted, restarted download. Stopped at same mark.
    Deleted movie and cache. Restarted download, stopped at the same mark.
    Contacted Apple tech support. Told them about the corrupt file on their servers. Suggested my cache was corrupted. I told them I had already cleared it. They asked me to clear it in a slightly different way.
    Deleted cache. Downloaded. Stopped at the same mark. Was told my PC was the problem.
    Went to an old Mac mini I had in the study. Downloaded. Stopped at the same mark.

    Thank god for fibre broadband or this would have taken forever.

    The final result was no movie but a refund due to 'my problems downloading the file'. Admitting that the file was corrupt at their side? Not a chance.

    1. Re:Not the first time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A while back I was stuck with a corrupted copy of Event Horizon downloaded from iTunes I wanted running in the background while getting some 40K stuff done.

      Intensely off-topic, but I see what you did there.

      I completely agree with the connection: Event Horizon really is backstory to the WH40K milieu, and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to make the connection.

      Too bad Dr. Weir didn't invent the Gellar Field generator.

      Anon, because this is so off-topic. But kudos. Too bad about the download, though. Stupid iTunes.

    2. Re:Not the first time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I asked Steve Jobs about this and he just said "YOU DON'T NEED EYES TO SEE!".. which to be fair, isn't very helpful.

  28. Go away, we're busy [Re:App-arently fixed] by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 1

    Well, it seems to me that they did the correct thing, which is to put their resources into fixing the problem first, and discuss the problem with angry users later.

    If Apple is so short on resources they can't afford to work on the problem and simultaniously dedicate 1 person to sending a message out to an email list saying "hey, we messed something up, give us a few to get it fixed," They've got some serious issues.

    Dealing with the end users properly should include a statement of the form such as "this is what went wrong, this is how we're fixing it." If it doesn't include information similar to that, the users are going to be just as dissatisfied as they were before, and maybe more so. That means asking the people fixing the problem "what went wrong? How soon can we fix it?"

    To which the correct answer is "shut up and stop bothering us, we're too busy to deal with you right now."

    In general, you can do work or you can answer questions from management, but you can't do both.

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    1. Re:Go away, we're busy [Re:App-arently fixed] by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      In general, you can do work or you can answer questions from management, but you can't do both.

      Not buying it; we're not talking about some open-source, crowd-funded underdog, here - If you're really trying to convince me that communicating with customers when things go wrong is too much work for a company that has more money than the government, you've got a tough road ahead.

      It becomes even harder to convince me of such when taking into account Apple's history of deny, deny, deny.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    2. Re:Go away, we're busy [Re:App-arently fixed] by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 1

      Money has nothing to do with it.

      You can do work, or you can answer questions from management, but you can't do both. If you think that it's possible to do both just because you have a lot of money-- well, sorry. It would be nice if money solved all problems.

      --
      http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    3. Re:Go away, we're busy [Re:App-arently fixed] by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Money has nothing to do with it.

      Money has everything to do with it.

      Apple has the financial security to hire nations of customer support people if they wanted to, tasked with answering questions from customers. No need to bother the coders trying to fix the problem, with the exception of maybe pulling one or two aside for 15 minutes to write down exactly what the issue is, so the reps can explain it to irate customers. Of course, this is assuming they don't toe the iLine and pretend like there's nothing wrong, outright lying to customers and accusing them of being, for lack of a better word, idiots ('you're holding it wrong').

      You seem to be under the impression Apple is some tiny start-up, one who can't afford to take the time to reassure customers while they fix the problem. They aren't. Stop thinking that way.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    4. Re:Go away, we're busy [Re:App-arently fixed] by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 1

      No need to bother the coders trying to fix the problem, with the exception of maybe pulling one or two aside for 15 minutes to write down exactly what the issue is, so the reps can explain it to irate customers.

      Oh, that's just so easy! No problem, just "pull one or two of the programmers who are trying to solve the problem aside for fifteen minutes", yeah, that's all! Easy, just fifteen minutes! Twenty, tops! Well, maybe thirty, if they have to explain it in terms management can understand. No more than an hour, certainly, or, anyway, no more than two. Well, unless management has questions, then maybe a little more. Half a day, tops, dead certain.

      Idiot. I just hope you're not in management.

      --
      http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    5. Re:Go away, we're busy [Re:App-arently fixed] by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      No need to bother the coders trying to fix the problem, with the exception of maybe pulling one or two aside for 15 minutes to write down exactly what the issue is, so the reps can explain it to irate customers.

      Oh, that's just so easy! No problem, just "pull one or two of the programmers who are trying to solve the problem aside for fifteen minutes", yeah, that's all! Easy, just fifteen minutes! Twenty, tops! Well, maybe thirty, if they have to explain it in terms management can understand. No more than an hour, certainly, or, anyway, no more than two. Well, unless management has questions, then maybe a little more. Half a day, tops, dead certain.

      Yea, and? Like I keep trying to tell you, it's not like Apple is some tiny little startup with only 1-2 guys doing code; they have a veritable fucking ARMY of coders, so having one or two take a day to explain to customer service what sort of calls they should be expecting is not unreasonable. Hell, it would be unreasonable to not give CS a heads up, considering that this little fuck-up (which is likely the coders' fault) probably quadrupled the call volume.

      Idiot. I just hope you're not in management.

      Fuck. You. Assbasket.

      I don't need to hope, I can tell by your complete lack of knowledge that you've never worked at a real corporation before, at least beyond cleaning the shitters.


      If I could be called an 'idiot' for anything, it would be responding to your dumb ass in the hope you might actually posses the cognitive faculties required to understand such a simple, simple concept of giving decent customer service.

      Except that, ignorance was my mistake, not idiocy. Now that I know what kind of granite-headed imbecile you are, I can assure you I won't make that mistake again.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    6. Re:Go away, we're busy [Re:App-arently fixed] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Money has nothing to do with it.

      Money has everything to do with it.

      Apple has the financial security to hire nations of customer support people if they wanted to

      yes, because the lead time on hiring and training a new employee is sufficiently low that it is a feasible solution to unexpected short duration problems... oh right, it's not.

    7. Re:Go away, we're busy [Re:App-arently fixed] by Grudge2012 · · Score: 0

      In general, you can do work or you can answer questions from management, but you can't do both.

      Not buying it; we're not talking about some open-source, crowd-funded underdog, here - If you're really trying to convince me that communicating with customers when things go wrong is too much work for a company that has more money than the government, you've got a tough road ahead. It becomes even harder to convince me of such when taking into account Apple's history of deny, deny, deny.

      Yawn. Apple commented that it was looking into the problem last night, and has now confirmed that it has been fixed.

      Meanwhile: Google denies Android botnet claim, Google denies preventing anti-competition probe, Google denies 'cooking' search results,Samsung denies, and Samsung remains adamant in denying its full responsibility and unwilling to pay due compensation to all the deceased workers..

  29. Apple as MITM? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

    Apple not only DOES check it, they require the developer to cryptographically sign the entire package with keys they provide, and apps won't run unless it matches. There should be nothing in between that could modify code without tripping that up.

    If "they" in the first sentence is Apple rather than the developer (and its not clear what the referent fro that pronoun is), then Apple has the keys and could modify the package after it is provided by the developer. Why they would do so is unclear, but it would explain how there could be changes between delivery from developer to Apple and delivery from Apple to end-user.

  30. have they patented it yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can see it now, binaries with rounded corners, slide to run. Shame it means the binaries won't run.

  31. Happened to us by BadPirate · · Score: 3, Informative

    This happened to our product last week. The issue seemed to be that most users who tried to download the application were instead getting the old version (despite app store thinking the product was updated)... You could see this if you pulled the binary off the device and looked into the binary size / info.plist (all the information matched).

    There were 2 work arounds we discovered:

    1. Users could fix their individual application (If they're app is crashing immediately), by deleting the app, and redownloading it from iCloud (go into purchase history to find the application and download it from there, NOT the app front page).

    2. Apple worked for a while on our issue but didn't come up with a resolution, instead we were able to get it back into operation by "Hitting the reset button" -- First, remove the app from sale in the store (set the available regions to none), wait until that propagates (could take a few hours) then, put it back. This fixed our issue. Hopefully now that more people are reporting this issue Apple will actually take the time to fix it.

    --
    - Holy crap, I've got MOD points! Who thought that was a good idea.
  32. rotten apples by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    proof that apple is corrupt, corrupting your binaries

  33. network issue? by clickclickdrone · · Score: 1

    It might just have been a flaky router corrupting some of the data going through it?

    --
    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
  34. At least you have other sources by geekoid · · Score: 1

    for your apps~

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  35. Apple acknowledge it's mistakes.... by PortHaven · · Score: 1

    LAUGH

    LAUGH

    LAUGH

    LAUGH

    Seriously, I've wasted about 5 days (day = 24 hours) dealing with Apple's iTunes. Damn near ready to dig up Steve Jobs from his grave just to shoot him.

    Yes, I am officially DONE with all things Apple. (Well, I will be once my AT&T wireless lock in ends this month.)

    1. Re:Apple acknowledge it's mistakes.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will you acknowledge you'r mistake's?

    2. Re:Apple acknowledge it's mistakes.... by Swampash · · Score: 1

      I'd hate to see how long it takes you to tie your shoelaces.

  36. Another effected App by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I play Please Stay Calm, (the location based MMO) The latest update is corrupt as well. Hopefully apple fixes it today.

  37. Re:Not appple's fault by knorthern+knight · · Score: 1

    > Its pretty cler to me that this isn't an issue on apple's end. They're really good out posting
    > guidelines for submitting binaries. Maybe app creators should be better about following instructions?

    Huh??? Things were working just fine, thank you, before July 3rd. If you had RTFA, you would've seen the bit about...

    > Update, July 5: After adding 114 apps to the list with more reports coming in
    > every few minutes, it's no longer practical for me to maintain the list. Obviously,
    > this is a very widespread problem for many apps updated from July 3-5.

    Do you seriously expect people to believe that writers of well over a 100 apps all suddenly stopped doing things the right way on July 2nd, and started doing things the wrong way on July 3rd?

    --

    I'm not repeating myself
    I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
  38. Absolutely pathetic by jones_supa · · Score: 1

    In the article, the guy has listed over 100 apps that suffer from the problem. What's the point? One could assume that once you come across the 3rd, you would start to think that it's not really an app-specific problem.

    The another thing that sucks here is how desperately he is collecting evidence to point out the problem and sorely hoping Apple to fix it. If correcting problems and actually hearing back from some knowledgeable people is that hard, something is just wrong with the company.

  39. Before there was Twitter, there was Twitter by tepples · · Score: 1

    I will bet good money that this will be the best comment posted in this daycycle. Well played sir, well played.

    Yeah, I just wish I could still make jokes about Twitter the microblogging service and Twitter the anti-M$ sockpuppeteer.