'Severe' VoIP Bug in iOS 4.2 Golden Master?

[Bosunsfate]

It's not beta software.

The GM is supposed to be the finished product with all of the problems worked out.

Many people (myself included) would not use an alpha or beta release on their device, but would use the GM version. That means more people could encounter this issue - particularly as the GM is intended for eventual public consumption and as such can generally be used without an Apple Developer Account/provisioning profile.

If people have reported a bug to Apple like this and they've chosen to ignore it, that's a big deal.

I'm sorry, but it is BETA. Until it is made public a gold master build is simply a BETA build that a software company wishes to test in consideration for a public release.

And as we saw here, that beta build failed some tests, requiring, yet another beta build for final testing.

What I would hope people get out of this is that unless you have a public build, you will always run the risk of the software being buggy. And to complain that a test build is buggy is simply ignorant...and to complain publicly is not only bad form, but a violation of the NDA that was signed.

 

[WG5516]

On a slightly differently note can anyone tell my why Skype and Toktumi do not have push notifications. Their products are essentially useless on an iPhone 3G running Ios 4.1. Epic fail, both companies especially since Whistle phone has this feature and is FREE TOO!!

I'm using Toktumi on my iPod Touch 3G and it has push... I receive an alert when I get a SMS and a phone call.

 

[WG5516]

I'm sorry, but it is BETA. Until it is made public a gold master build is simply a BETA build that a software company wishes to test in consideration for a public release.

And as we saw here, that beta build failed some tests, requiring, yet another beta build for final testing.

What I would hope people get out of this is that unless you have a public build, you will always run the risk of the software being buggy. And to complain that a test build is buggy is simply ignorant...and to complain publicly is not only bad form, but a violation of the NDA that was signed.

As a Line2 customer, I'm glad they warned me about this potential bug. I don't see any complaining on Toktumi's part. Apple has basically admitted their is a problem with 4.2 or they wouldn't be rushing 4.2.1 to the table. It's a serious problem that affects several apps, and Apple's & Toktumi's users deserved to be warned.

 

[travishill]

Dude you sound stupid. A GM build is the final build that goes public. Nothing 'BETA' about it.

I think there's some misunderstanding about Apple's terminology. What they call a "pre-release GM seed" on developer only portals is equivalent to a Microsoft "release candidate". One of those GM seeds (or "release candidates" in other nomenclature) is usually what becomes generally available (GA).

I personally wish Apple would adopt "release candidate" as the term instead of "pre-release GM seed" to eliminate confusion from people who are used to that terminology (is it a GM or is it a pre-release seed? aren't those conflicting?) but it makes more sense when you understand how Apple uses the term "pre-release GM seed"

 

[shartypants]

I expected as such, knew there had to be a reason why they were holding off on 4.2. Glad they did!

 

[Bosunsfate]

As a Line2 customer, I'm glad they warned me about this potential bug. I don't see any complaining on Toktumi's part. Apple has basically admitted their is a problem with 4.2 or they wouldn't be rushing 4.2.1 to the table. It's a serious problem that affects several apps, and Apple's & Toktumi's users deserved to be warned.

If the build actually went public, I would totally agree with you.

But it was not a public release.

And you prove my point as Toktumi has done exactly what I said, they confused their customer base and caused a lot of completely unnecessary worry.

 

[Bosunsfate]

Dude you sound stupid. A GM build is the final build that goes public. Nothing 'BETA' about it.

I think there's some misunderstanding about Apple's terminology. What they call a "pre-release GM seed" on developer only portals is equivalent to a Microsoft "release candidate". One of those GM seeds (or "release candidates" in other nomenclature) is usually what becomes generally available (GA).

I personally wish Apple would adopt "release candidate" as the term instead of "pre-release GM seed" to eliminate confusion from people who are used to that terminology (is it a GM or is it a pre-release seed? aren't those conflicting?) but it makes more sense when you understand how Apple uses the term "pre-release GM seed"

I don't think WG5516 would get it whether it was called "release candidate" or not as he is clearly not someone who knows anything about software development.

 

[Consultant]

Developer violates NDA to tell mosty software pirates not to use an unreleased software?

It's not beta software.

The GM is supposed to be the finished product with all of the problems worked out.

Many people (myself included) would not use an alpha or beta release on their device, but would use the GM version. That means more people could encounter this issue - particularly as the GM is intended for eventual public consumption and as such can generally be used without an Apple Developer Account/provisioning profile.

If people have reported a bug to Apple like this and they've chosen to ignore it, that's a big deal.

Pretty sure it's GM Candidate

 

[Amdahl]

The issue is that this software developer is publishing in a very public way a software issue in a "BETA" product.

Yeah, except it wasn't a BETA product. It was a golden master. I.E., imminent release. Given that Apple doesn't permit downgrades, if you are going to warn your customer base, you had better do it before Apple pushes The Button.

The real question is, how did TWO major problems get into Golden Master releases?

 

[Bosunsfate]

Yeah, except it wasn't a BETA product. It was a golden master. I.E., imminent release. Given that Apple doesn't permit downgrades, if you are going to warn your customer base, you had better do it before Apple pushes The Button.

The real question is, how did TWO major problems get into Golden Master releases?

Sigh, read the whole thread before you post. That way you can educate yourself about software development.

 

[lilo777]

I think there's some misunderstanding about Apple's terminology. What they call a "pre-release GM seed" on developer only portals is equivalent to a Microsoft "release candidate". One of those GM seeds (or "release candidates" in other nomenclature) is usually what becomes generally available (GA).

I personally wish Apple would adopt "release candidate" as the term instead of "pre-release GM seed" to eliminate confusion from people who are used to that terminology (is it a GM or is it a pre-release seed? aren't those conflicting?) but it makes more sense when you understand how Apple uses the term "pre-release GM seed"

So, if GM is just a release candidate and as such is very likely to have some bugs, what's all the fuss about companies discovering an reporting those bugs? Don't they do service to both customers and Apple? Apple should be thankful to them as should be you. Do I get it right? In general I find it bizarre that anybody would complaint about companies reporting bugs in software. How about this suggestion. Not just software developers but all people buying Apple products should sign NDA! Then we would never see any complaints or bug reports! Idiocy is running strong in this thread.

 

[gnasher729]

Yes, everybody should shut up about Apple's bugs. How about people who are installing 4.2 GM right now? Is it not an obligation for the company to let their customers know about potential problems?

If you are installing 4.2 GM right now, you are not an Apple customer. You are either a software developer who has read the terms under which 4.2 GM has been given to you (like a big legal statement that you are under NDA, and posting any of your experiences on MacRumors is illegal, plus a big warning sign that you should not install it on any device that you actually want to use, only on devices for testing and development), or you are a dimwit idiot who illegally installed beta software on their phone and gets exactly what they deserve.

It's not beta software.

The GM is supposed to be the finished product with all of the problems worked out.

1. It is not publicly available, so whether it is alpha, beta, release candidate, or GM, doesn't matter.
2. It is not GM. It is a GM candidate. In other words "this is what we are going to ship unless developers find problems that stop us". GM is "this is what we are going to ship". If it doesn't ship then by definition it is not a GM (Golden Master; the name comes from the fact that in olden days they had to deliver a physical Golden Master CD to the plant pressing the CDs).

So, if GM is just a release candidate and as such is very likely to have some bugs, what's all the fuss about companies discovering an reporting those bugs? Don't they do service to both customers and Apple? Apple should be thankful to them as should be you. Do I get it right? I

Do you get it right? Of course not. Companies and individual developers finding bugs in a non-public release candidate are supposed to report them. To Apple. Not to MacRumors. Now I haven't checked what this company actually said; if they said "dear customer, don't upgrade to an illegal copy of the 4.2 Golden Master that you may have illegally copied from a developer in breach of his or her NDA, because it doesn't work and we don't want to be bothered by ********** idiots trying to run our software on an unreleased and unsupported OS", that is fine with me.

 

[escap0]

If the build actually went public, I would totally agree with you.

But it was not a public release.

And you prove my point as Toktumi has done exactly what I said, they confused their customer base and caused a lot of completely unnecessary worry.

+1

Telling customers with a mass email not to install 4.2 (before it is officially released) was stupid. Since then, Apple HAS updated 4.2 and fixed the problem... so all these people arguing that this was GM or that was GM believe whatever you want. In the end, Apple did change and fix the problem and seeded a newer version for developers.