Apple admits New Year's alarm bug - Page 2

Originally Posted by Wonder

It's hardly the end of the world, get over it.

Originally Posted by Parkettpolitur

All of your complaints basically apply to the the video game industry as such, not to Windows specifically. Or do you think it's fair to hold Windows/Microsoft responsible for the fact that gaming is migrating - and has been for years - to consoles? Because THAT'S the reason for most of the problems you listed, not Windows. Treyarch really screwed up with Black Ops, yeah, but that's because I'd guess 90% of Black Ops-copies are sold for consoles, so they probably didn't even bother with QC for the PC version.

Originally Posted by KiltedGreen

Unless it's software controlling a nuclear power plant, or something of similar significance, no software bug is "the end of the world" but I don't believe that that is an appropriate response to any software bug you may experience. - Can't print your spreadsheet? Your WP is corrupting images in your documents? Your music program won't play anything on the left channel? Your adventure game crashes every time you reach 100 points?

None of these are the end of the world, so "get over it". I don't think so...

At work I was assigned to checking all our code for Y2K issues and I also worked on the software for scheduling the BBC's London's radio broadcasts for the World service which happened across many, many different countries and time zones. We HAD to get it right or else the 6 O'Clock news for Shanghai could have been going out at 7 O'Clock

The coding is complicated, but it IS totally knowable in advance. There is software in place to determine leap years, time zone change times in all countries around the world and it is absolutely predictable. Many bugs require a bunch of events to coincide to make them happen some of which are not easily predictable. Alarm clock apps are however completely testable in advance - for example, you could, right now, set the date/time on your iPhone to 23:59:55 on 31st December 2011 and your alarm for 00:01 on the 1st of January 2012 and see whether it works as it should. Easy. Always testing at boundary conditions is the of the first thing any competent programmer learns to check; alarms on the last day of a month, the first day of a year, the first day of a leap year, the 29th of February in a non leap year and so on.

We know it can be done right because we coded it correctly for the BBC! This is clearly a breakdown in Apple's quality control, is clearly their fault - twice now - and they should fix it pronto when it's so high profile because so many people, including me, use iOS as their alarm and expect an alarm to work. And as the great Oscar Wilde wrote "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune... to lose both seems like carelessness." Get to it Apple.

Originally Posted by marokero

So it was a bug... I woke 30 min late today, thought I was late to this wedding I'm working today. C'mon, fix these alarm clock bugs already!

Originally Posted by Wonder

It's hardly the end of the world, get over it.

Originally Posted by Cpsro

Apple: not ready for the enterprise.

Originally Posted by Parkettpolitur

All of your complaints basically apply to the the video game industry as such, not to Windows specifically. Or do you think it's fair to hold Windows/Microsoft responsible for the fact that gaming is migrating - and has been for years - to consoles? Because THAT'S the reason for most of the problems you listed, not Windows. Treyarch really screwed up with Black Ops, yeah, but that's because I'd guess 90% of Black Ops-copies are sold for consoles, so they probably didn't even bother with QC for the PC version.

Originally Posted by Lukeskymac

Microsft is to blame that they encourage their platform to be the fragmented mess it is that makes it so hard for developers to optimize their games. And that they hardly pay attention to PC gaming to bother doing something about it.

Should developers get serious about Mac games and Apple continue to climb the mountain of GPUs and update OS X to freaking OpenGL 4, you would see much better optimized games. Not to mention Apple's APIs such as the Core Stuff and Grand Central. Oh, and OpenCL would be awesome as well.

Originally Posted by pmz

Downplaying this issue at all is absurd.

An alarm clock that you believe works and does not could have fatal consequences if the situation were dire enough.

This is no where near such an extreme example but regardless...I set my alarm yesterday to wake myself and my child and his mother so they could feed. Not a serious situation at all, but he's still learning to breastfeed, so the schedule is, in my opinion, VERY IMPORTANT.

So anyone who says it's just an iPhone bug get over it....don't say that to my face.

Originally Posted by sheff

This is like Y2K, but for real. Does anyone know where the issue is stemming from?

Originally Posted by KiltedGreen

Unless it's software controlling a nuclear power plant, or something of similar significance, no software bug is "the end of the world" but I don't believe that that is an appropriate response to any software bug you may experience. - Can't print your spreadsheet? Your WP is corrupting images in your documents? Your music program won't play anything on the left channel? Your adventure game crashes every time you reach 100 points?

None of these are the end of the world, so "get over it". I don't think so...

At work I was assigned to checking all our code for Y2K issues and I also worked on the software for scheduling the BBC's London's radio broadcasts for the World service which happened across many, many different countries and time zones. We HAD to get it right or else the 6 O'Clock news for Shanghai could have been going out at 7 O'Clock

The coding is complicated, but it IS totally knowable in advance. There is software in place to determine leap years, time zone change times in all countries around the world and it is absolutely predictable. Many bugs require a bunch of events to coincide to make them happen some of which are not easily predictable. Alarm clock apps are however completely testable in advance - for example, you could, right now, set the date/time on your iPhone to 23:59:55 on 31st December 2011 and your alarm for 00:01 on the 1st of January 2012 and see whether it works as it should. Easy. Always testing at boundary conditions is the of the first thing any competent programmer learns to check; alarms on the last day of a month, the first day of a year, the first day of a leap year, the 29th of February in a non leap year and so on.

We know it can be done right because we coded it correctly for the BBC! This is clearly a breakdown in Apple's quality control, is clearly their fault - twice now - and they should fix it pronto when it's so high profile because so many people, including me, use iOS as their alarm and expect an alarm to work. And as the great Oscar Wilde wrote "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune... to lose both seems like carelessness." Get to it Apple.

Originally Posted by Cisco Kid

Many associate 11:11 with a wake-up code/alarm as they see it on digit clocks and watches. It can also be seen as a key to unlock the subconscious mind, our genetic encoded memories, that we are spirits having a physical experience, not physical beings embarking on a spiritual experience.

11:11 or derivatives of these numbers, 111 and 11, are digits that repeat in time thus a metaphor for reality as patterns that repeat in time for us to experience. This can refer to the rise and fall of civilizations, our personal experiences and lessons, loops in time. They are cycles of time that create and recreate following the blueprint.

http://www.crystalinks.com/11.11.html

Originally Posted by pmz

Downplaying this issue at all is absurd.

An alarm clock that you believe works and does not could have fatal consequences if the situation were dire enough.

This is no where near such an extreme example but regardless...I set my alarm yesterday to wake myself and my child and his mother so they could feed. Not a serious situation at all, but he's still learning to breastfeed, so the schedule is, in my opinion, VERY IMPORTANT.

So anyone who says it's just an iPhone bug get over it....don't say that to my face.

Originally Posted by nvidia2008

Cool... Check out my Twitter recording some thoughts that I had on 1.1.2011:
http://twitter.com/nvidia2011
(See the ones about we being "spiritual atoms")

Your link above mentioned:
"You will experience a sudden awakening after which reality is never the same. You are going to create clarity, healing and balance for yourself. Do not expect others in your life to be on this journey with you. It is yours alone as it is for most souls. You will have to seek new friends of like mind who are also being triggered by the digits. Once you open the Digital Door, there is no going back. Your soul will automatically and quickly move you from level to level of experience until you 'get it'. Your consciousness is expanding and therefore you will, manifest faster and with greater comprehension, becoming more aware of the meaning of synchronicities that will become more and more frequent. They are created by your soul creates to help you remember that you are a soul spark in a physical program that is about to end, evolve back to higher consciousness."

I definitely felt this on the morning (both early morning at the New Year's party and when I woke up later in the morning) of 1.1.2011! Scary and weird but kinda cool.

Originally Posted by Cisco Kid

Many associate 11:11 with a wake-up code/alarm as they see it on digit clocks and watches. It can also be seen as a key to unlock the subconscious mind, our genetic encoded memories, that we are spirits having a physical experience, not physical beings embarking on a spiritual experience.

11:11 or derivatives of these numbers, 111 and 11, are digits that repeat in time thus a metaphor for reality as patterns that repeat in time for us to experience. This can refer to the rise and fall of civilizations, our personal experiences and lessons, loops in time. They are cycles of time that create and recreate following the blueprint.

http://www.crystalinks.com/11.11.html

Originally Posted by mimsyswallows

Is this the third time, or am I mis-remembering? What is so hard about doing the alarm app right?

Originally Posted by Dave Marsh

Not everyone is experiencing this one-off alarm bug. I've tried this multiple times today on both my iPhone and iPad, and my one-off alarms have worked perfectly. So, there's something a bit more complicated occurring here that will take a bit more testing to narrow down and fix.

Originally Posted by Sacto Joe

My system is 4.2.1 and the alarms don't set. My wife's system is 3.1.3 and her alarms set just fine.

I might add that I just had major suegery and I'm on pain meds that are strictly monitored in delivery times. Needless to say, this screwed up my delivery times since it first happened at night. I'm OK, but it's taken some doing to get back "on the groove".

And no, I'm not going to sue Apple over this. Software has bugs. that's its nature. But I must say that the 4.x update has had more than its share of flaws and bugs. That's very unlike Apple in my experience, and I've owned Apple products since 1984.

Originally Posted by mimsyswallows

Is this the third time, or am I mis-remembering? What is so hard about doing the alarm app right?

Originally Posted by Sacto Joe

I might add that I just had major suegery and I'm on pain meds that are strictly monitored in delivery times. Needless to say, this screwed up my delivery times since it first happened at night. I'm OK, but it's taken some doing to get back "on the groove".

Originally Posted by newbee

"Back in the day" before everyone had a computer, I never relied on just an electric clock .... even 'tho we hardly ever experienced a power failure .... If an event is important enough not to be missed .... you simply have to have a backup alarm .... to not do so is irresponsible on your part and to blame Apple, or anyone else, for your neglect is a sad reflection on the accountability of today's society .... but sadly .... that's where we're at. \

Originally Posted by newbee

"Back in the day" before everyone had a computer, I never relied on just an electric clock .... even 'tho we hardly ever experienced a power failure .... If an event is important enough not to be missed .... you simply have to have a backup alarm .... to not do so is irresponsible on your part and to blame Apple, or anyone else, for your neglect is a sad reflection on the accountability of today's society .... but sadly .... that's where we're at. \

Originally Posted by elliots11

I do the same thing. Learned the hard way. This is still BS though because you can't always do dual alarm, like when traveling, nor should you be expected to do so at all. I hope they fix it properly, seems like such a basic app.
\

Originally Posted by KiltedGreen

The coding is complicated, but it IS totally knowable in advance.

Originally Posted by pmz

Downplaying this issue at all is absurd.

An alarm clock that you believe works and does not could have fatal consequences if the situation were dire enough. .

Originally Posted by Wonder

It's hardly the end of the world, get over it.

Originally Posted by pmz

Downplaying this issue at all is absurd.

An alarm clock that you believe works and does not could have fatal consequences if the situation were dire enough.

This is no where near such an extreme example but regardless...I set my alarm yesterday to wake myself and my child and his mother so they could feed. Not a serious situation at all, but he's still learning to breastfeed, so the schedule is, in my opinion, VERY IMPORTANT.

So anyone who says it's just an iPhone bug get over it....don't say that to my face.

Originally Posted by nitewing98

I've written perpetual calendars, they aren't that hard. Calendar math is hardly calculus. I can't believe Apple got bitten AGAIN on the same issue.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me 3 times, shame on Apple."