software update "failed"

[TMA]

Hi all

When I try to check for new software in in the software update panel its goes very slowly then finally reports "Failed. Error occurred while checking." Apple could be a little less vague imho.

Is it broken? (possibly to do with Safari? Though it worked with the first safari beta so I dont see how it could be broken now with v51)

Or is this often an indication that they're updating some files on the server? (10.2.4 maybe?)

Any ideas?

[Bear]

When I had problems this morning, I called Apple. Others were just starting o report the same thing. They had no clue when it would be back up. "Try again this afternoon." So, I tried again, and it's still down.