Apple Quietly Releases....Nothing.

I´m not sure we understand each other. It was only a .0.1 update, so they didn´t put out a press release, and that´s why they call it a quiet release. I don´t see what´s wrong with that.

I think Botoplh is absolutely right. It was a quiet release because Apple didn't make a big deal about it. In fact, I wouldn't have known about it had I not seen that they released it on Newsvine. But saying it is a quiet release doesn't imply that it was sneaky or deceptive, simply that Apple was quiet about it.

Is the word "quietly" upsetting Bwana? Does "quietly" come from Apple or from the media?

I guess you're not seeing any negativity with the word "quietly".

No, I don't. In the software industry that's the way that word is used. I guess different words means different things to different people, but here it only means "not announced through the press". You could of course hope for the whole industry to change to a word you like better, but I wouldn't hold my breath :)

This business is binary. You're a 1 or a 0. Alive or dead.
Sorry, couldn't resist the cheesy movie quote.

I don't´t think he is talking about the Apple Software Update program, but about how the journalists writes about new updates from Apple. But I might be wrong.

I totally agree. I used to have Engadget in my RSS feeds, but removed them. I gave them a chance...they were in there for almost a year. The quality of their posts and/or reviews, however, leave a lot to be desired.

I still fail to see the excitement over a phone with (better) iTunes integration, they're not exactly revolutionizing communication with that.

Well if the rumors are true then it won't just be a phone with better iTunes integration it will be an iPod phone. This is supposedly what the phone is going to look like. Or something like that. I also think the reason people want an Apple phone is because Apple software tends to be easier to use and more intuitive than others.

For one, it could be the fact that people might just not care about these other products enough. This is certainly a fact, Apple products and events get far more coverage than any other company's wares.

For another, there were a few major reported issues with the iTunes software, which makes the update more important (if not to you, definitely to the affected people). It may be a .0.1 update, but if it fixes some of those major issues, it can be a heck of a lot more important than the small updates to Firefox, for instance.

The Apple fanbase is also much more likely to seed and/or create news about such updates than the Firefox (or Nokia) fanbase. They're more vocal than almost any other fanbase, because they're much, much, much larger. Remember, keyword here is fanbase — microsoft may have more users for instance, but their fanbase is incredibly tiny compared to Apple's.

And that it has "negative overtones" is all in your head, as far as I'm concerned. I've never ever heard anyone relate that media term to "negative overtones" or any such thing.

The big fuss is misuse of the term and I still believe it has negative overtones.

This sums everything up. "quietly" has negative overtones for me too, always has... that's why I commented about it earlier in another seed ... and then I saw Bwana's article.

"Quietly" is also a good term to attract attention...

Wait a minute... Engadget could have done that purposely to attract attention! I wonder how many comments/hits the article has now. No, I won't go check.

And.... ? How does any of that make this a quiet release?

The fact that there was no Press Release for it?

I thought I'd made that clear already…

Bwana when Microsoft patches that they will be doing it quietly I'm sure. The difference is that no one cares that Microsoft quietly patches something. Because of Apple's fan base people care that they quietly update iTunes and yes people will read articles about that but I doubt many people would read an article about Microsoft patching an exploit. I think the point Faruk was making is that Apple has borderline obsessed fans that will make a big deal out of Apple doing the smallest thing or even not doing said smallest thing. Apple's products are like celebrities. People want to know about every little thing they do. So iTunes 7.0.1 is like Paris Hilton wearing a German dress and making the front page of Newsvine for it. To you it might not make a difference but to some it is big news, and some people will go out and buy that dress (or download the update) because they read the article.

"Quietly" is simply a media term for "without press release".

This time it's an Apple release. Some other time it's a Microsoft release, yet another time it's Google quietly doing something.

My point is, you're making a fuss over nothing, because quiet Apple releases are not the only thing happening "quietly" in the world. Just because you've never noticed any other company "quietly releasing" something doesn't make it not happen, as I've just proven to you with two links. I bet that you can put "any major tech company quietly" in Google and find results for all of them. Apple is just a company here, "Quietly" is just a media term, and this post is just a rant about nothing (to me).

I apologize (doubly) for (consciously) offending you with that, but seriously, this just puts even more attention on Apple for absolutely no valid reason. If you'd have taken the time to do two more Google searches after your initial one, you'd never have written this post.

Not that I actually mind that, but y'know... content?

It's not. The media chooses to use it whenever they desire.

Right, so why again is that Apple's fault? It's the media you need to be mad at, not Apple. Your entire post is focused on Apple, not the media.

The only reason that there are more results (and more minutiae-results) for Apple is, as I explained above, the simple fact that the media scrutinizes Apple's every move — far more than they do for any other company.

Apple is the media's favorite company to write about, because it's almost guaranteed readership, which means advertising income, which means a striving business, which is what today's media is all about. It ain't about reporting anymore, that time's long gone. The media of today is about getting visitors/readers for advertising income. Harp on that all you want, and I'll support you. Just don't blame Apple for something they're not at fault for.

- major iTunes 7 issues for some users
- much larger userbase for iTunes than for any of your listed apps

It's not exactly that at all.

Apple was the media's dog during the 90's — the media just looooved to kick Apple even though they were down. They could never resist spitting on Apple at every opportunity.

Times have changed, but the media has not. What changed with time is that, unlike in the mid-90's, Apple is now doing extremely well (rather than sinking down into oblivion). The media, not having changed at all, still love writing about everything and anything Apple, but if you want to hold Apple responsible for that, don't look at the mysteries, look at the Apple of the 90's that was going downhill.

The media scrutinizes every single move Apple makes; you can't hold Apple accountable for a demographic that made itself get out of hand entirely.