Microsoft Apple Handbags at dawn

IT IS handbags at dawn after Microsoft has hit out at claims that a virus which was discovered in Apple's iVideo machine was its responsibility.

Yesterday Apple tried to pin the blame on Vole when a Windows virus turned up on its iVideos. The virus only activated when iVideos tried to connect to a Windows machine and seems to have come from a infected computer at one of Apple's Chinese contractors.

Apple's response was to blame Vole for not having a more robust operating system and that has Microsoft's anti-virus expert Jonathan Poon fuming.

Writing in his bog, Poon said that instead of focusing on how and why it was even included in the first place, Apple published a series of video ads, trying to divert the blame on Windows.

"It's not a matter of which platform that the virus originated. The fact that it's found on the portable player means that there's an issue with how the quality checks, specifically the content check, was done," he said.

Apple's strange manufacturing cycle meant that the base device from which the image was was connected to a PC did not have a virus checker or the up to date anti-virus software which is included with most Windows computers". Poon said Apple's announcement showed the outfit had a complete lack of awareness of how malware works.

He said that Apple needs to learn a thing or two from burger giant McDonald's in Japan which encountered a similar incident this week. When it found a virus in some gear it was giving away at its stores it took responsibly for its own manufacturing processes and did not try to pass the buck.

He said that if Apple Supremo Steve Jobs needed some advice on how to improve Apple's quality checks he should give him a ring, in the meantime the outfit should acquire a bit more integrity. OOOOh get her.