The iPhone Update Woes Are Not Unique

As any long-time Apple user knows, Jobs and Co. offer frequent updates to the base Apple operating system, iPod software, iTunes software and other patches, plugs, and fixes. Not all of them have gone smoothly. So why all the bad press just for the iPhone?All you have to do is pay attention to any user forum or Mac site such as MacRumors.com to know that nearly every software upgrade has caused a problem for someone. The OS updates, such as updating from 10.4.9 to 10.4.10, seem to cause more problems than others. Users report various problems from the benign to the severe.

I have experienced a couple of hiccups myself over the last few years. After one firmware update, my G5's fan began to whir at high speed constantly. It wasn't long before Apple issued another patch and the whirring went away. Each of the problems was fixable, though. Before the iPhone, these user issues caused little fuss in the press.

"Bricking" a $600 device, whether by design or by accident, seems to be an altogether different issue. (Nevermind that my G5 system cost way more than $600.)

Apparently Apple is supposed to be perfect. Everything is supposed to work flawlessly for everyone all the time. C'mon. Get real. Microsoft isn't held to those standards. How many people attempted to update their Microsoft-based systems and were met with the blue screen of death? You can't tell me it hasn't happened.

But the iPhone is a lightning rod of sorts. Whether you love it or hate it, are an Apple fanboy or an Apple hater, people can't seem to stop talking about it (including us).

Are legitimate users of the iPhone--who never hacked it--having issues with their 1.1.1 software upgrades? Sure. And it sucks. But it's nothing new.