An inside look at Apple’s sneaky iTunes 8 upgrade

September 11, 2008 (Thursday) | Apple

I’m reading lots of complaints about the new iTunes 8 update causing horrific problems on Windows machines, including widespread reports of STOP errors, aka the Blue Screen of Death. So how can a supposedly simple software update cause a fatal crash? Maybe because this isn’t a simple software update. Once again, Apple is using its automatic update process to deliver multiple software packages, including a device driver that has a long and checkered history of causing the Blue Screen Of Death to appear. And it’s delivering this massive payload without even a pretense of proper disclosure and without asking consent from its users. I was able to reproduce a crash and put together a gallery that shows the whole sordid process.