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Apple programmers still can't master time

by on12 February 2016


They keep reversing the polarity on the neutron flow

Apple software still has problems mastering the issue of time and yet another programming bug involving the calendar is bricking Jobs' Mob's creations.

Ok it is not a bug anyone is seriously likely to stumble upon by accident unless they are particularly stupid, but given Apple's target market, anything is possible.

All you have to do to turn your expensive iOS device into a brick is set its clock to  January 1, 1970 and your phone crashes.

The bug started receiving attention on Reddit Thursday with people experimenting on their own iOS devices to see if it worked.

While no one is really sure why it happens, the consensus is that it is Apple's inability to cope with time zones and summer time. Susceptible devices run Apple's A7 processor and later, starting with the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, and the second generation iPad mini.

"In some time zones, setting the date to 1 Jan 1970 will set the internal clock to a number less than zero, as the time is stored in GMT (as the number of seconds since midnight on that date) and then the offset is applied before displa, In other time zones, setting the clock will result in a positive time value. Best guess is that this is triggered by having the time value less than zero," One experimentor suggested.

Manually restoring the device through iTunes doesn't work, so the only fix for victims of the bug is to pay a visit to their local Apple store.

The question is, what is it about basic programming of clocks does Apple always fail to understand?  Many of its serious bugs are clock related and this is the sort of programming you learn in high-school.

 

Last modified on 12 February 2016
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