First builds of Mac OS X 10.4.8 released to developers
Apple Computer on Monday released to developers the first pre-release builds of Mac OS X 10.4.8, a maintenance and bug fix update for its Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system that is currently under development.
In addition to improving the stability and performance of Tiger, sources say Apple will target specific enhancements towards AFP, DVD Player, iCal, iPhoto, Mail and Safari.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company also appears to be working on improvements to the operating system's underlying components, including fonts, graphics, modem usage, networking, the Rosetta emulation environment and printing.
Builds of Mac OS X 10.4.8 Update were released for Macs with both Intel (build 8L2108) and PowerPC (build 8L108) processors, sources said.
Mac OS X 10.4.8 is expected to be amongst the final batch of updates to Tiger, as Apple has stated that it will release Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to consumers during the first half of 2007.
In addition to improving the stability and performance of Tiger, sources say Apple will target specific enhancements towards AFP, DVD Player, iCal, iPhoto, Mail and Safari.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company also appears to be working on improvements to the operating system's underlying components, including fonts, graphics, modem usage, networking, the Rosetta emulation environment and printing.
Builds of Mac OS X 10.4.8 Update were released for Macs with both Intel (build 8L2108) and PowerPC (build 8L108) processors, sources said.
Mac OS X 10.4.8 is expected to be amongst the final batch of updates to Tiger, as Apple has stated that it will release Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to consumers during the first half of 2007.
Comments
My guess is that many people are waiting on buying a new computer for Vista to be released. Any of those who are near the switching "fence" will be made to leap over based on a head to head comparison.
The thought has also crossed my mind that Microsoft verbally delayed the ship date, but really it will ship before that date so that headlines can read "Vista ships early!" Maybe not though.
The thought has also crossed my mind that Microsoft verbally delayed the ship date, but really it will ship before that date so that headlines can read "Vista ships early!" Maybe not though.
It would have had to ship in 2003 in order to be "early." I don't think they'd risk the pummeling they'd get for trying to claim that.
Speaking of Vista, it is looking like they are going to start shipping by the end of the year. They are squashing bugs and optimizing code at a surprising rate if reviews of the latest builds are anything to go by.
Have any links to reviews on Pre-RC1 (or whichever is the latest)?
Have any links to reviews on Pre-RC1 (or whichever is the latest)?
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5536.asp
That's Paul Thurrott's review of Pre-RC1. Someone said the install ISO size is 600MB smaller, it installs in under 30 minutes, and feels much faster. I don't know if this is all true as I haven't tried it yet but the folks at Redmond must be drinking a lot of coffee lately.
But it still has an ugly and cluttered (and wordy) interface...
Speaking of Vista, it is looking like they are going to start shipping by the end of the year. They are squashing bugs and optimizing code at a surprising rate if reviews of the latest builds are anything to go by.
I should hope so, since it's s'posed to go to manufacturing in October. If they can make that date, then it'll be available for volume licensing to businesses in November, I think, and then on shelves sometime in January.
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5536.asp
That's Paul Thurrott's review of Pre-RC1. Someone said the install ISO size is 600MB smaller, it installs in under 30 minutes, and feels much faster. I don't know if this is all true as I haven't tried it yet but the folks at Redmond must be drinking a lot of coffee lately.
But it still has an ugly and cluttered (and wordy) interface...
wow! its very cluttered and wordy! Some of the organization of menus is even confusing! And the UI...well I won't even start on that..
http://www.winsupersite.com/images/s...ta_5536_17.jpg
This is an example of what I mean by wordy. A short story worth of reading every time you want to change a system setting. To me, the text gets in the way. For someone who has never used a computer before, it might be helpful but to have that there every day...it's completely unnecessary. Whatever happened to tooltips? What about the help system? An easy to recognize icon and a short title is all that should be there. It's like Microsoft still isn't 100% confident about the concept of a GUI. They didn't copy enough from Apple IMO.
Also, notice the "Adjust Font size" on the left side. Why is that there? Is that the most important of all the settings?
http://www.winsupersite.com/images/s...ta_5536_18.jpg
What's up with all the white space? Also, why all the text? A picture is worth a thousand words. There should be a miniature window that shows a preview when the mouse hovers over the color swatch.
I could pretty much rant on and on about this stuff but I'll stop here. I know I am preaching to the choir anyway.
Okay Now, Let's Hope That This Update Will Fix My And Other People's Problems In (10.4.7).
Problems like capitalizing the first letter of each word?
hypoluxa,
http://www.winsupersite.com/images/s...ta_5536_17.jpg
This is an example of what I mean by wordy. A short story worth of reading every time you want to change a system setting. To me, the text gets in the way. For someone who has never used a computer before, it might be helpful but to have that there every day...it's completely unnecessary. Whatever happened to tooltips? What about the help system? An easy to recognize icon and a short title is all that should be there. They didn't copy enough from Apple IMO.
Also, notice the "Adjust Font size" on the left side. Why is that there? Is that the most important of all the settings?
http://www.winsupersite.com/images/s...ta_5536_18.jpg
What's up with all the white space? Also, why all the text? A picture is worth a thousand words. There should be a miniature window that shows a preview when the mouse hovers over the color swatch.
I could pretty much rant on and on about this stuff but I'll stop here. I know I am preaching to the choir anyway.
I like in the sys prefs that they have to explain what exatly each of them are & what they do, why not not just have a mouse menu pop up when you mouse over the icon? IMO too much text for the items..
I've Gotta Tell You Guys, This Will Not Most Likely Be The Last One. There'll Be An Mac Os-x (10.4.9) Update To Boot Too!!!
And I'm sure they will be a 10.5.1, and 10.5.2 as well.
Why all the buzz over version decimals? I just don't get it.
Speaking of Vista, it is looking like they are going to start shipping by the end of the year. They are squashing bugs and optimizing code at a surprising rate if reviews of the latest builds are anything to go by.
Wow, that really is Daffy. I'm not trying to bash Vista, and I do want it to ship as soon as possible (it's good for the economy, and I look forward to using it as opposed to XP for things I need Windows for).
That being said, I've seen the most recent build and it seems *very* far from being complete. It's not just the drivers, bugs and optimizations...those can be turned around swiftly. There are fundamental things that just appear not to be well thought out or developed.
While it's possible Microsoft won't flesh these things out before shipping, I suspect that they'll concede the loss of 4Q2006 and then go when it's "more ready".