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ExtraBITS for 29 September 2014

In this week’s collection of ExtraBITS links, we look at the viability of Mac OS 9 in 2014, why old security vulnerabilities just won’t die, and Apple’s iPhone stress-testing process.

Using Mac OS 9 in 2014 — Andrew Cunningham of Ars Technica was challenged by his coworkers to use Mac OS 9 for a few days. Armed with a 2002 PowerBook G4, Cunningham set out to do his job with the now 12-year-old Mac OS 9.2.2… and found that he could get nothing done. However, he discovered that it was a nice setup for classic games that no longer run on modern Apple devices.

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Why Security Vulnerabilities Aren’t Going Away — Old security vulnerabilities never seem to go away. Our own Glenn Fleishman, writing for Boing Boing, explores the reasons why, which boil down to companies not deactivating old software and there being no money in maintaining it.

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The Place iPhones Go to Die — In response to claims that the iPhone 6 bends in pants pockets, Apple gave The Verge a rare look at the facility where it stress tests new iPhone models. Apple tested 30,000 iPhones before release, including a special test that simulates pressure inside a pants pocket. Apple claims that out of over 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models sold so far, there have only been nine complaints about bent phones.

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