There are bound to be bugs in any first generation product, and unfortunately this has been especially true for new Apple devices. It's only been a day since the iPhone went on sale, but already we're hearing of some nagging issues. But fear not, for you the user have the power to change the iPhone world for the better. If you already have an ADC account, you're all ready to start submitting bugs to the iPhone team. Head on over to bugreport.apple.com and go crazy– just make sure you submit responsibly and stick to the official description format, because someone has to read through each bug you submit.

Jason O'Grady of ZDNet posts that thousands of Windows users are having problems with iTunes 7.1.1, which they believe will not allow them to properly search the iTunes store. Their search goes into an endless wait, and then they get a message that their iTunes request could not be completed.

It seems to me that Apple's response, namely that the "network connection timed-out" error is an Internet problem not a software problem, sounds reasonable. When iTunes connects to the store, it's sending out a request for what is essentially a webpage and this request can hang for any number of network reasons--including those on the Apple end.

O'Grady suggests that users may have to uninstall iTunes 7.1.1 and re-install iTunes 7.0, but I'm not sure that is necessary. The original Apple discussion list thread is here.

Among several Vista patches released yesterday, Microsoft included one meant to allow iPods to disconnect without getting corrupted, CNet reports. Apple has previously addressed several iTunes/Vista compatibility issues. So do these new patches do the trick? Is it safe to eject your iPod without iTunes? TUAW suggests you err on the side of caution. As there may continue to be problems with Vista's "Safely Remove Hardware" option, Apple suggests you only use the iTunes eject function to remove your iPod.

Has your magsafe adapter stopped working properly? One of the connector pins might be stuck. Apple has published[1] a support article on troubleshooting stuck pins. If you remove your adapter and see one or more of the pins stuck down (the two outer pins in this picture are affected), Apple suggests you try unplugging and replugging the adapter to allow the pins to reset themselves. If that doesn't work, you can use your finger or a pencil eraser to nudge the pin back into position. If all else fails? Visit your local Apple service provider.

[1] It's at the top of their current support RSS feed. Readers point out that it's been published before.

TUAW reader Rae tipped us off that the new iTunes 7.1 sorting features are causing problems with the iPod's scroll-by-letter functionality. Items that start with the word "The" (like "The Breakers" or "The Danse") are sorted by their main phrase ("Breakers", "Danse") and not by "The", but when you scroll through your music, the iPod gets mixed up and the letter 'T' keeps flashing almost randomly.

I sorted out my music, synced my iPod and saw exactly what Rae was talking about. When scrolling by All Artists -> Albums, the following items "In Your Eyes", "The Innocent and the E Street", "Innocent Man", "The Instigator", "Invincible Summer" caused my iPod to flash "I", "T", "I", "T", "I". Very annoying!

Rae pointed us to a couple of discussion threads over at Apple's boards about this subject.

An ongoing discussion over at the Apple.com support forums led me to this tip from Macintouch about reverting your iPod back to firmware version 1.2. Many of the posters there have reported complaints about firmware 1.2.1 causing lockups. Paul Constantine writes that smart playlists have been killing his iPod, so he figured out how to downgrade. The secret lies in making sure only the 1.2 files are in your ~/Library/iTunes/iPod Software Updates/ folder and disconnecting from the Internet so you cannot download newer versions. You'll find the complete how-to here.

Office 2008 for Mac (or Office 12, if you prefer) may still be months away, but the Microsoft Mac BU team is still working to improve Office 2004 and Office v.X while we wait.

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.3 Update and Microsoft Office v. X for Mac 10.1.9 Update include a variety of security and stability fixes, including a fix for the annoying DST bug in Entourage 2004 that caused calendar events scheduled on or after March 11, 2007 to be an hour off, thanks to the decision to change the start and end of Daylight Time (aka Standard Time) in the US.

The specific fixes in these updates are:

• Improvements for all Office 2004 & Office v. X applications - fixes vulnerabilities in that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code.
  

• Improvements for Word 2004 - improves compatibility with recent changes to the way Rich Text Format (RTF) documents are created by Microsoft Office Word 2003 for Windows.

• Improvements for Excel 2004 - fixes an issue that causes standard deviation calculations to produce inaccurate results when the calculations are used in PivotTable reports.

• Improvements for Entourage 2004 - fixes an issue for users of Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later that causes any calendar event scheduled on or after March 11, 2007 to display on a time slot that is one hour ahead of its original start time. This issue affects all meetings that occur on or after March 11, 2007, including recurring meetings. The Japanese postal code dictionary has also been updated with the latest information as of June 2006.

Grab them from Microsoft AutoUpdate or from the downloads page. I just installed the 2004 update and nothing is broken yet, so hopefully you'll be just as lucky.

TUAW reader Evan Hindra went to sleep one night with his MacBook Pro playing music. The next morning, it wouldn't sit properly on the kitchen counter top. When he flipped over the laptop, he found that his battery had begun to bulge. He called up AppleCare and they're sending him a battery. (He continues to wonder whether the battery problems date back before the bulge to a series of unexpected shut downs.) On the bright side, his MacBook Pro didn't explode, burst into flames or start playing random Barry Manilow tracks, all of which could cause permanent and irreversible harm. If your MacBook Pro starts displaying odd symptoms, you might want to take a good look at your battery and make sure it's not going all Alien on you, as in the original version with the icky chest bursting scene.

Over at MacOSXHints, Rob G. has posted a must-read article about possible data loss from TextEdit's Save dialog. The problem stems from TextEdit's (and Cocoa's) willingness to overwrite entire folders with text files.

This data security hole seems to occur because "bundle" style files (which are actually folders and not single files) are considered on-par with flat files in OS X. TextEdit does not seem to check to ensure that the folder being replaced is actually a bundle and not, say, your entire home directory. It's an important article to read and a bug that you need to be aware of.

January 2007 is the month picked by a pair of security researchers to feature a day-by-day bug-by-bug listing of Apple security holes. Due to start on New Years day, the two plan to post the bugs without giving advanced warning to Apple. A Washington Post article states "[W]hile [the]upcoming project had the potential to at least temporarily make security more tenuous for the average Mac user, [the researcher] believes that in the long run the project will improve OS X security." This explanation sounds like the project is more about getting page hits and less about making OS X secure.

Does a 3GB RAM configuration break the Core 2 Duo's dual channel requirements? Does it lower performance below what you'd get with 2GB RAM? Blogger Dino over at ip0d.com has been on the case but hasn't gotten any clear answers one way or the other.

So TUAW is tossing this one out to you myth-busting readers. What's the deal here? Is this fact or fiction? Will a 3GB system run slower or not?

TUAW reader Frix reports that some 8-Gigabyte 2nd gen iPod nanos are manifesting a bug with their "On-the-Go" playlists. Users cannot include artists, albums or genres in these lists. The latest firmware (1.1.1) and iTunes release don't seem to fix the problem. Some 2-Gigabyte 2nd gen owners are reporting the same problem.

Got a fix or an insight? Let us know.

The Apple Firmware Restoration CD 1.2 will restore your Intel-based Intel-based Mac to original factory condition. It can only be used to restore the Firmware after an interrupted or failed update.

If your computer is already bricked, you'll need to download the update and create the CD on another Mac computer (PowerPC or Intel), or take your Mac to your local Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider and they'll do it for you.

If any of you had a problem with yesterday's firmware update, you might want to try this restore CD before you panic. Let us know how it goes!

Apple has agreed to a settlement in the Class Action Suit regarding allegedly defective inverter boards that caused problems with 17-inch Studio Displays. Although Apple won't admit any wrongdoing (as is usually the case in these kinds of settlements), it has agreed to settle the claim in order to avoid the exorbitant expense of a trial. The lawsuit claimed that "the inverter board of the Apple 17-inch LCD Studio Display was faulty, causing the gradient dimming of the top or bottom half of the screen of the Display and a power light to constantly blink on and off in a short-short-long pattern to signal a problem."

Under the terms of the agreement, Apple will provide cash refunds ranging from $75 - $400 to claimants who had their affected displays repaired. The amount refunded will depend on when the repair was performed and whether it was an Apple repair or a repair by a a third party. Only US residents are eligible for the settlement. Additional details, claim forms and a FAQ are available on the suit info site.

How many of you are covered by this settlement and plan to submit a claim?

Earlier today Apple announced their The Power Mac G5 Repair Extension Program which applies to Power Mac G5 systems that have "power-related issues as a result of a specific component failure within the computer's power supply." In other words, if your G5 isn't starting up and your serial number falls conveniently within ranges indicated, Apple will fix you up on the house. Apple says there are no known safety issues caused by this component failure. Having a G5 for a paperweight is overkill, however, so you might as well let them fix it.

From the info page:

The affected Power Mac G5 models were sold between approximately October 2005 and August 2006 and feature Dual 2GHz, Dual 2.3GHz or Quad 2.5GHz PowerPC G5 processors.
If Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) determines that your Power Mac G5 computer is eligible as part of the program, the power supply repair will be covered by Apple for up to two years from the original date of purchase even if your Power Mac G5 is out of warranty. This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the Power Mac G5.

Affected systems will exhibit one of the following power-related symptoms:

• System will not start up after the power button is pressed
• No LED activity
• Note: If your Power Mac G5 is not experiencing any of these symptoms, you do not have to contact Apple or any Apple Authorized Service Provider.

The affected Power Mac G5 computers have serial numbers where the first 5 digits fall into the ranges noted below. The Power Mac G5 computer's serial number is located inside the case directly below the air deflector, along with other configuration information.

Serial Number Ranges

CK539xxxxxx - CK608xxxxxx
G8539xxxxxx - G8608xxxxxx
YM539xxxxxx - YM608xxxxxx
RM539xxxxxx - RM608xxxxxx

By the way, if you've been bitten by this bug and already paid for out of warranty repairs that would now qualify under this program, Apple or the AASP that did the repair should be contacting you about starting the reimbursement process - but you might want to contact them first to get the ball rolling.

If you're a G5 owner, leave us a comment and let us know if your system is one of the ones affected!