Apple drops new Leopard build, may be release candidate

[AppleInsider]

Apple on Friday evening seeded developers with yet another pre-release of its next-generation Leopard operating system, this time a full-blown build that appears as if it could be a candidate for release.

Labeled "Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard build 9A559," the new release came just hours after the Cupertino-based company issued two minor updates to the previous full-sized build (9A527), both of which were aimed at testing the system's automated Software Update mechanism.

Developers who successfully applied both of the automatic software updates saw their version of Leopard upgraded to build 9A528d. By contrast, Friday evening's release of build 9A559 was issued as a 6.5GB web download to all Apple Developer Connection members, whether they had installed the previous builds or not.

People familiar with the new release say it contains only two known issues and may be considered the first of several release candidates, the latter of which would eventually be declared Gold Master and shipped off for duplication and retail packaging.

Of the two known issues in build 9A559, one relating to archive installs appears to be the most critical. Those people familiar with the matter say archive installs from Tiger to Leopard may fail on some Power PC systems if the user attempts to preserve their user settings. To remedy this problem, Apple reportedly suggests that users perform an upgrade install, a clean install or opt out of preserving user settings.

The second known issue affects users who have HP printers connected to their system or are upgrading from a Tiger system with an HP printer that had previously been configured. Though Apple did not specify the root of the problem, it recommended that these users perform a custom install of Leopard and de-select the HP printer drivers in the installer. The proper drivers would be delivered via Software Update following the Leopard install, the company added.

With a self-imposed October launch timeframe quickly approaching, Apple would need to declare a build of Leopard Gold Master sometime in the next three weeks in order to meet the tail-end of that deadline.



On its website, Apple offers an illustrated overview of Leopard, a detailed list of top features, a breakdown of the software's core technologies, and a list of associated developer tools.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Banjo]

Great news! Anyone know if there's a screenshot gallery up somewhere?

[dontlookleft]

this is good to hear. im glad theyre nearing a final release.

after this comes out i'll finally be able to get my new imac. ahhh =]

i find no reason in paying for a new computer and getting an old system with it, i'll just wait out the next month or so.

[noirdesir]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

... may be considered the first of several release candidates, the latter of which would eventually be declared Gold Master ...

... the last of which would ...

[Matthew Yohe]

Originally Posted by Banjo

Great news! Anyone know if there's a screenshot gallery up somewhere?

There really wont be much of a change from the last builds. They are done with features and currently building in stability.

This thing comes out in a month you know!

[Fairly]

If this is an RC then they must all be working 34 hours per day 17 days per week because the bug reports still flooding their inboxes show no sign of abating.

If this is an RC then I am definitely not upgrading until at least 10.5.4. I'll let the other suckers get burnt instead.

[Fairly]

Originally Posted by Banjo

Great news! Anyone know if there's a screenshot gallery up somewhere?

Oh please. What we need is a well functioning system. We need the loose wires all connected. We need to know the system is consistent and stable. Seriously: what the F is a bloody screenshot going to show you? As if you haven't seen thousands of them already? PUH-LEEZE.

[TednDi]

Originally Posted by Banjo

Great news! Anyone know if there's a screenshot gallery up somewhere?

here you go!

http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/features/

[MacTel]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

The second known issue affects users who have HP printers connected to their system or are upgrading from a Tiger system with an HP printer that had previously been configured.

You know, HP has always had a problem with their drivers on the Mac platform. I started experiencing problems with their printer drivers going from OS9 to OSX 10.0 and I'm not shocked at all about their drivers causing problems again. Do they put their interns on the Mac printer driver projects or what?

[Matthew Yohe]

Originally Posted by Fairly

If this is an RC then they must all be working 34 hours per day 17 days per week because the bug reports still flooding their inboxes show no sign of abating.

If this is an RC then I am definitely not upgrading until at least 10.5.4. I'll let the other suckers get burnt instead.

And you know this how?

Are you checking their inboxes?

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by Fairly

Oh please. What we need is a well functioning system. We need the loose wires all connected. We need to know the system is consistent and stable. Seriously: what the F is a bloody screenshot going to show you? As if you haven't seen thousands of them already? PUH-LEEZE.

You excuse his enthusiasm and we will excuse you being a dick.

[rmeyer52]

I have downloaded and installed the latest Leopard build and it does in fact have a lot of fixes and patches. Only issue is that Mail crashes when you use stationary and have "check spelling before sending" in preferences.

[emig647]

Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe

You excuse his enthusiasm and we will excuse you being a dick.

*check*

10.x.0 releases have always had a little bit of bugs. For apple to note the above 2 bugs compared to other 10.x releases is kinda cool, because the list is usually a lot bigger than that near the FC / GM.

Apple has been keeping 2 seeds (one internal / one for devs). I'm sure leopard will have some small issues, but nothing big. Especially big like Vista. Leopard will do just fine, just like the other 10.x.0 releases. By 10.x.1 95% of the bugs will be fixed. the x.1 release usually takes them 2-6 weeks. Big deal.

Fairly, go troll somewhere else.

[TBaggins]

Originally Posted by Fairly

If this is an RC then they must all be working 34 hours per day 17 days per week because the bug reports still flooding their inboxes show no sign of abating.

Yeah, I used to work in the vid games industry, and nothing makes a programmer cry like a hard release deadline looming while new serious bugs keep popping up like a game of whack-a-mole.

The best part is when they fix something, and the fix breaks something else key and critical, with two days to go to release. All while they've just pulled a few 100-hour weeks in a row. How those guys keep from jumping out the window, I don't know. They certainly deserve a lot more respect than they usually get.

f this is an RC then I am definitely not upgrading until at least 10.5.4. I'll let the other suckers get burnt instead.

I may jump in at 10.5.1. Just hope my aging iBook G4 800MHz with 640MB RAM will be able to run it well.

.

[Buck]

Apple has been keeping 2 seeds (one internal / one for devs)

Could that possibly mean that the door is open for potential unanounced features, like major UI change or the like? Or are we going to get what we see now?

[Cory Bauer]

Originally Posted by TBaggins

I may jump in at 10.5.1.

Which will probably be 2 weeks after the retail release of 10.5.0

[emig647]

Originally Posted by TBaggins

I may jump in at 10.5.1. Just hope my aging iBook G4 800MHz with 640MB RAM will be able to run it well.
.

From what I understand, g4's aren't supported...

[DaveGee]

All I have to say is....

4K78 IS THE FINAL!

**AND**

4K78 IS NOT THE FINAL!

:

[Zandros]

Originally Posted by emig647

From what I understand, g4's aren't supported...

No, it's G3s, ie. B&W-machines that won't be supported any more.

/Adrian

[josa92]

Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe

You excuse his enthusiasm and we will excuse you being a dick.

Well said, dear.

[emig647]

Originally Posted by Zandros

No, it's G3s, ie. B&W-machines that won't be supported any more.

/Adrian

Actually we're both wrong, SOME G4's aren't supported.

* Intel processor or a PowerPC G4 (867 MHz or faster) or G5 processor
* DVD drive
* Built-in FireWire
* At least 512 MB of RAM (additional RAM is recommended for development purposes)
* A built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported by your computer
* At least 7 GB of disk space available, or 12 GB of disk space if you install the developer tools

So the eMacs, some early iMacs, and some of the g4 towers won't be supported... according to the current requirements on these seeds.

[SpamSandwich]

Gettin' closer, babies...

[TBaggins]

Originally Posted by emig647

From what I understand, g4's aren't supported...

That's not what I've been hearing. FWIW, here's the sys reqs listed at Wikipedia:


System requirements

The pre-release documentation states the following system requirements[citation needed]:

Intel processor or a PowerPC G4 (867 MHz or faster) or G5 processor
DVD drive
Built-in FireWire
At least 512 MB of RAM (additional RAM is recommended for development purposes)
A built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported by your computer
At least 7 GB of disk space available, or 12 GB of disk space if you install the developer tools


Edit: Oops, ok, you saw that too now. I'm just happy that there's some G4 support, at least.

.

[TBaggins]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Gettin' closer, babies...

Who's T.O. winking at? The QB he'll be blaming all his dropped passes on, or his future parole officer?

.

[icfireball]

Originally Posted by TBaggins

That's not what I've been hearing. FWIW, here's the sys reqs listed at Wikipedia:


System requirements

The pre-release documentation states the following system requirements[citation needed]:

Intel processor or a PowerPC G4 (867 MHz or faster) or G5 processor
DVD drive
Built-in FireWire
At least 512 MB of RAM (additional RAM is recommended for development purposes)
A built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported by your computer
At least 7 GB of disk space available, or 12 GB of disk space if you install the developer tools


Edit: Oops, ok, you saw that too now. I'm just happy that there's some G4 support, at least.

.

Oh darn. Looks like my Mac Pro can't run leopard.



jk, of course.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by TBaggins

Who's T.O. winking at? The QB he'll be blaming all his dropped passes on, or his future parole officer?

.

[EruIthildur]

Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe

You excuse his enthusiasm and we will excuse you being a dick.

[Quine]

I'd really like to know if they've incorporated the entire ui of itunes into the whole os now. A lot of it has been incorporated, but last I saw, checkboxes and radio buttons were still old-style, and looked really ugly against the nice new ui in my opinion.

[MacTel]

Originally Posted by Quine

I'd really like to know if they've incorporated the entire ui of itunes into the whole os now. A lot of it has been incorporated, but last I saw, checkboxes and radio buttons were still old-style, and looked really ugly against the nice new ui in my opinion.

iTunes is the OS. It's the new OPENSTEP.

[murphyweb]

Originally Posted by noirdesir

... the last of which would ...

If you are going to correct other peoples grammer it usually wise to make sure that they are indeed incorrect and your suggested replacement is indeed better. In this case you score 0/10 on both counts, bad luck.

[mrpiddly]

Originally Posted by MacTel

iTunes is the OS. It's the new OPENSTEP.

how exactly is that?

[O4BlackWRX]

So a little birdie told me 9A599 is out now....

[MacTel]

Originally Posted by mrpiddly

how exactly is that?

OPENSTEP was a multiplatform API set that Next made to sit on top of operating systems like Solaris and Windows NT. It was essentially a scaled down OS (not just a presentation layer) on top of an OS. iTunes has many processes on both Windows and Mac operating systems that make me wonder what in the heck is it doing.

I see iTunes being integrated into Leopard and on the Windows side too. I have to wonder besides the obvious of supporting the iPod and iPhone if the OPENSTEP engineers (if any are left at Apple) are using iTunes as a Trojan horse to make Windows more OSX-ish. Hence creating an Apple familiarity that is a big advertisement for people to consider Apple on their next computer purchase.

What was the need for Safari to be on Windows? No Apple hardware requires Safari on Windows, so why was Apple so generous to develop it? Next we'll see the iLife and iWorks products on Windows, because all the API underlying them are already ported over. Hence the OPENSTEP reference.

[Idle]

Originally Posted by murphyweb

If you are going to correct other peoples grammer it usually wise to make sure that they are indeed incorrect and your suggested replacement is indeed better. In this case you score 0/10 on both counts, bad luck.

Not to turn this into a grammar debate, but the correction was indeed correct. "Latter" is used only when talking about two items. "Last" should have been used in this case because it was referring to one of several release candidates.

[mrpiddly]

Originally Posted by MacTel

OPENSTEP was a multiplatform API set that Next made to sit on top of operating systems like Solaris and Windows NT. It was essentially a scaled down OS (not just a presentation layer) on top of an OS. iTunes has many processes on both Windows and Mac operating systems that make me wonder want in the heck is it doing.

I see iTunes being integrated into Leopard and on the Windows side too. I have to wonder besides the obvious of supporting the iPod and iPhone if the OPENSTEP engineers (if any are left at Apple) are using iTunes as a Trojan horse to make Windows more OSX-ish. Hence creating an Apple familiarity that is a big advertisement for people to consider Apple on their next computer purchase.

What was the need for Safari to be on Windows? No Apple hardware requires Safari on Windows, so why was Apple so generous to develop it? Next we'll see the iLife and iWorks products on Windows, because all the API underlying them are already ported over. Hence the OPENSTEP reference.

Windows iTunes is an application so people have to be able to learn how to use it quickly. While some elements are modeled after osx, i would not say that using itunes actually helps a user learn how to use osx. The only real way for a user to become familiar with the os it to actually use it.


safari on windows makes sence as it will improve the osx version (more website/pluggin support) and more users can developer for the iPhone.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by DaveGee

All I have to say is....

4K78 IS THE FINAL!

**AND**

4K78 IS NOT THE FINAL!

:

Schrödinger's cat is a Leopard?

[ascii]

Originally Posted by MacTel

What was the need for Safari to be on Windows?

Maybe so Windows developers can test their sites for iPhone compatibility. Obviously the final tests would have to be on a real iPhone, but just while they're working a Safari window could be useful.

[TBaggins]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Best... animated gif.... EVER.

We are not worthy.


.

[murphyweb]

Originally Posted by Idle

Not to turn this into a grammar debate, but the correction was indeed correct. "Latter" is used only when talking about two items. "Last" should have been used in this case because it was referring to one of several release candidates.

No, Latter can mean the the most recent in a series, not just the latest of two.

Used in the way it was used in the sentence it is indeed a correct use of the word, it seems very very petty that someone's only contribution to the debate is to point out a perceived incorrect use of grammar that was actually correct.

From Merriam-Websters Dictionary....

Main Entry: lat·ter
Pronunciation: 'la-t&r
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lætra, comparative of læt late
1 a : belonging to a subsequent time or period : more recent <the latter stages of growth> b : of or relating to the end <in their latter days> c : RECENT, PRESENT <affected by latter calamities>
2 : of, relating to, or being the second of two groups or things or the last of several groups or things referred to <of ham and beef the latter meat is cheaper today> <of ham and beef the latter is cheaper today>

[jApple]

Originally Posted by TBaggins

Best... animated gif.... EVER.

We are not worthy.


.

Very true!

<Chuck Norris crouches - picks up some dirt - smells it - and says "A plane crashed here"> Bonus points to anyone who knows this one