Mac OS X 10.5.2 to deliver sprawling list of fixes for Leopard
Mac OS X 10.5.2 Update, the next in a year-long series of planned updates to Apple's new Leopard operating system, promises to be one of the most hefty maintenance releases put out by the company for its operating system software in recent years.
According to people familiar with the matter, Tuesday evening gave way to the first test builds of the software update for developers, including a 354MB bare-bones delta build and a 362MB combo updater -- both of which were labeled Mac OS X 10.5.2 build 9C7.
The Cupertino-based Mac maker reportedly asked those developers to focus their testing efforts on an expansive list of components running some 37 items long. Among them were Data Detectors, the Mac OS X Dock, the Finder, grammar checking, iCal, iChat, Mail, Parental Controls, Quick Look, Rosetta, Safari, Time Machine, and Leopard's 802.11 AirPort implementation (which has troubled some MacBook users.)
Meanwhile, the list of fixes and Leopard code corrections already baked into the 10.5.2 release runs even larger at a whopping 76. In particular, Apple appears to have placed an extra emphasis on its implementation of CUPS (Common Unix Printing System), fixing several distinct issues with the modular printing system, such as problems with reverse order printing and print jobs that had been placed on hold. Fixes for AirPort shared printing were also implemented, according to those familiar with the software.
In addition, Apple continues to free its Rosetta PowerPC compatibility layer of memory leaks while also tying loose ends in the new version of its Mail client -- correcting anomalies with mail flags, the display of certain fonts in mail windows, and the way Mail data detectors interface with iCal.
Mac OS X 10.5.2 build 9C7 stands as just the first external distribution of the impending Leopard update, which is not expected for released to end users until early next year. Previous rumors had suggested the software could arrive alongside new hardware at next month's Macworld Expo, which kicks off January 15th.
According to people familiar with the matter, Tuesday evening gave way to the first test builds of the software update for developers, including a 354MB bare-bones delta build and a 362MB combo updater -- both of which were labeled Mac OS X 10.5.2 build 9C7.
The Cupertino-based Mac maker reportedly asked those developers to focus their testing efforts on an expansive list of components running some 37 items long. Among them were Data Detectors, the Mac OS X Dock, the Finder, grammar checking, iCal, iChat, Mail, Parental Controls, Quick Look, Rosetta, Safari, Time Machine, and Leopard's 802.11 AirPort implementation (which has troubled some MacBook users.)
Meanwhile, the list of fixes and Leopard code corrections already baked into the 10.5.2 release runs even larger at a whopping 76. In particular, Apple appears to have placed an extra emphasis on its implementation of CUPS (Common Unix Printing System), fixing several distinct issues with the modular printing system, such as problems with reverse order printing and print jobs that had been placed on hold. Fixes for AirPort shared printing were also implemented, according to those familiar with the software.
In addition, Apple continues to free its Rosetta PowerPC compatibility layer of memory leaks while also tying loose ends in the new version of its Mail client -- correcting anomalies with mail flags, the display of certain fonts in mail windows, and the way Mail data detectors interface with iCal.
Mac OS X 10.5.2 build 9C7 stands as just the first external distribution of the impending Leopard update, which is not expected for released to end users until early next year. Previous rumors had suggested the software could arrive alongside new hardware at next month's Macworld Expo, which kicks off January 15th.
Comments
Among them were ... the Mac OS X Dock, the Finder, ...
God, I hope they give you the option of switching off Stacks and make the Finder remember icon settings without having to manually edit every window.
...and how about some new Airport Extreme firmware to correct the issue with the AirDisk being disabled if it is mounted when you put your comptuer to sleep.
...and adding (back) an option for browsing nested folders from the dock would be fantastic.
Come on!
*sigh*. So they're not going to fix what they broke in Front Row 2.0 at all, huh?
What's broke in Front Row? It works so much better now, well to me anyway.
I wonder if all the people who said they wouldn't touch Leopard until v-dot-2 arrived will run out and get a copy when it lands?
Looks like I will be in this group and be buying the Family Pack.
*sigh*. So they're not going to fix what they broke in Front Row 2.0 at all, huh?
What did they break? It runs fine for me.
Agree with Cubert. Ok, so Apple have Expose, Deshboard, and Spaces. Hello....combine dashboard and spaces. Or at least give us the option to do so.
developers to focus their testing efforts on an expansive list of components running some 37 items long. Among them were Data Detectors, the Mac OS X Dock, the Finder, grammar checking, iCal, iChat, Mail, Parental Controls, Quick Look, Rosetta, Safari, Time Machine, and Leopard's 802.11 AirPort implementation (which has troubled some MacBook users.)
I'll add my fix wishlist -- iChat screen sharing has worked exactly once out of about 100 tries.
Something (Parental Controls?) is trashing my internet connection, after my iMac has been on for a while, I suddenly can't load pages. Requesting Apple.com loads the page footer only.
What's broke in Front Row? It works so much better now, well to me anyway.
While it generally works better, especially for streaming over a network, one thing in particular that doesn't work anymore is display of album art when using a remote source. I have a Mac Mini hooked up to the TV and if I go to Sources in Front Row and select my PowerBook, I get the library loaded and can browse without incident (which wasn't the case in 10.4), but it will not display ANY album art (iTS, ID3 tag?makes no difference).
What's broke in Front Row? It works so much better now, well to me anyway.
What broke in Front Row for me is the "Resume Playing" or "Start From Beginning" choice for movies stored on an external drive that is aliased into the Movies directory. The only work around would be to alias every one of them individually! I often have to pause a movie to do something else and now cannot resume... I have to find where I was manually. This used to work fine.
What broke in Front Row for me is the "Resume Playing" or "Start From Beginning" choice for movies stored on an external drive that is aliased into the Movies directory. The only work around would be to alias every one of them individually! I often have to pause a movie to do something else and now cannot resume... I have to find where I was manually. This used to work fine.
Odd, it worked fine for me out of the box.
Every time I have something active in spaces, like an FTP uploading a website or any download app, in another space than the one I am working on I get a kernel alert... A friend of mine is experiencing the same...
I wonder if all the people who said they wouldn't touch Leopard until v-dot-2 arrived will run out and get a copy when it lands?
I know I probably won't. I only really had time to upgrade to Leopard over the next two weeks, but am having issues deciding what features I'll get from it. With this huge update coming as well, I want to see how well it works first. Looks like March may be upgrade time, but I may wait a bit longer.
Anyone else having such Mail issues and have you found a way for a fix?
Cool. But it kind of highlights how many things were broken to begin with. Not to mention the unnecessary newly-designed Leopard bells and whistles which are so much less a joy than Tiger was. My impression is that however much Leopard may be the technical advance it's touted as, someone at Apple isn't really looking after the store.
Not really. You could look at every Apple update from 10.4.x and see the same things. It doesn't mean its all broken to begin with.