August 31st, 2007
Fake ad: iMacs are "Vista-capable"
A fake ad posted on the My Mac: Once Upon A Time A Mac blog is funny. If you don’t get the joke right away, notice the Windows XP Blue Screen of Death running on the left-hand machine. The text says that the new iMacs are “Windows vista capable.”
Now, anyone who’s run both Mac OS X and Windows XP knows that there’s a big stability gap between the two platforms. This isn’t counting security or application performance —it’s just about uptime.
Still, Mac OS X has its own gray version of this problem: the kernel panic. It can happen. Thankfully, not so often.
If you want to see what a kernel panic will look like on your Mac (or fool your friends and family), you can download Mark Johns’ Kernel Panic Screensaver, posted at his Doomlaser blog.
Every now and then we can see evidence of Apple fixing bugs that lead to such problems. It’s a good reason to have Software Update turned on and checking frequently.
For example, an Apple support note in May noted a problem connecting older iMac USB keyboards to some Intel Macs. This isn’t such a strange thing. I have a stack of these keyboards sitting on a shelf in my office.
Intel-based Macintosh may kernel panic if used with “flavored” iMac keyboards
If you have a “flavored” (strawberry, tangerine, blueberry, lime or grape) iMac keyboard connected to your Intel-based Mac and you press the F12 key to eject a disc immediately after pressing the power button, you may experience a kernel panic. Intel-based Macs include iMac (Early 2006) and Mac mini (Early 2006).
The problem was fixed in the Mac OS X 10.4.9 update.
David Morgenstern has covered the Mac market and other technology segments for 20 years. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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