Apple TV Take 2 Delayed
Software updates and delays have walked hand-in-hand in the industry since day one, and Apple certainly isn't any exception to this rule. The latest Apple product to be plagued by software delays is the updated software that will enable Apple TV customers to rent videos.
Rumors of Apple testing rental software and encountering numerous bugs go back to before the product's initial launch. Video rentals were rumored to be a launch feature, but a few too many bugs supposedly caused the rental feature to be pushed back to a post-release feature. Once the Apple TV was launched, it ran into a handful of other bugs that weren't anticipated by Apple, and ultimately fixing the bugs in their existing software became more important for Apple than adding the ability to rent movies. As a result the rental feature kept being pushed back and/or delayed until Apple eventually made the decision to include movie rentals as part of a major product revision that was finally announced at this year's MacWorld Expo. Of course, it's still not quite working as planned:
"The new Apple TV software update, which allows users to rent high definition movies directly from their widescreen TVs, is not quite finished," the company said in a statement. "Apple now plans to make the free software download available to existing Apple TV customers in another week or two."
They say that good things come to those that wait, and $4.99 for a newly released HD movie without leaving the comfort of our own homes sure sounds good to us.
Rumors of Apple testing rental software and encountering numerous bugs go back to before the product's initial launch. Video rentals were rumored to be a launch feature, but a few too many bugs supposedly caused the rental feature to be pushed back to a post-release feature. Once the Apple TV was launched, it ran into a handful of other bugs that weren't anticipated by Apple, and ultimately fixing the bugs in their existing software became more important for Apple than adding the ability to rent movies. As a result the rental feature kept being pushed back and/or delayed until Apple eventually made the decision to include movie rentals as part of a major product revision that was finally announced at this year's MacWorld Expo. Of course, it's still not quite working as planned:
"The new Apple TV software update, which allows users to rent high definition movies directly from their widescreen TVs, is not quite finished," the company said in a statement. "Apple now plans to make the free software download available to existing Apple TV customers in another week or two."
They say that good things come to those that wait, and $4.99 for a newly released HD movie without leaving the comfort of our own homes sure sounds good to us.
