Apple developers asked to test Mac OS X 10.4.10 broadly

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
A tenth and presumably final update to Apple's Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system is reported to have hit the widespread testing phase, placing within its cross-hairs nearly all of the system's most vital components.



As revealed by both AppleInsider and MacRumors last week, the forthcoming update will be the first in recent history from the Cupertino-based Mac maker to reach the "dot ten" sub version, or Mac OS X 10.4.10.



Over the weekend, MacRumors reported on the release of the first pre-release builds of the software to developers. According to the rumor site, the two distinct software seeds carry build number 8R2205 (for the Intel version) and 8R205 (for the PowerPC version).



People who claim to be familiar with the test releases have noted on various web outlets that builds presently do not contain any outstanding issues. That should come as no surprise, as Apple is no longer adding feature enhancements to Tiger through its incremental maintenance updates.



Instead, the company is striving solely to stabilize and optimize the system ahead of Leopard, its next generation OS due out this October. As part of the effort, Mac OS X 10.4.10 in its early stages is said to target loose ends in over four dozen of Tiger's system components.



Those claiming to be familiar with Mac OS X 10.4.10 have singled out disc recording and mass storage operability as some of the focal points of the software. Meanwhile, others add that the Tiger update will also strengthen AirPort wireless software, graphics drivers, USB and FireWire.



Among the improvements reported to have been rolled into the initial builds are bug fixes for network directories and JavaScript.



The update is expected to arrive free-of-charge for owners of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger sometime later this year.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    The bigger news is how soul-crushing this will be for those who argue x.x.10 releases aren't possible.
  • Reply 2 of 39
    macnut222macnut222 Posts: 100member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    The update is expected to arrive free-of-charge for owners of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger sometime later this year.



    Did anyone really expect Apple to charge for a sub-version update?
  • Reply 3 of 39
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by danielandrews View Post


    The bigger news is how soul-crushing this will be for those who argue x.x.10 releases aren't possible.



    That's why I think people should not say "never".
  • Reply 4 of 39
    zorinlynxzorinlynx Posts: 170member
    I'm especially happy to see graphics drivers as an area of improvement; hopefully this will fix the ocassional kernel panics and lockups I'm seeing while running Second Life.



    Another looooooooooooooong-standing issue that I hope they fix someday is the system getting into a hosed state when mounted network shares "go away" for whatever reason. The timeout on network shares is *way* too long and I shouldn't have to reboot just because I slept my laptop while connected to an afp share, then woke it up on another network.



    Hopefully they get this and other minor issues fixed.
  • Reply 5 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    That's why I think people should not say "never".



    Are you saying we should never say "never"?
  • Reply 6 of 39
    moukkismoukkis Posts: 17member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zorinlynx View Post




    Another looooooooooooooong-standing issue that I hope they fix someday is the system getting into a hosed state when mounted network shares "go away" for whatever reason. The timeout on network shares is *way* too long and I shouldn't have to reboot just because I slept my laptop while connected to an afp share, then woke it up on another network.




    Zorinlynx,



    Why don't you check out this MACOSXHINT from today:



    http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...70522053721530



    Best Regards,

    Moukkis
  • Reply 7 of 39
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zorinlynx View Post


    Another looooooooooooooong-standing issue that I hope they fix someday is the system getting into a hosed state when mounted network shares "go away" for whatever reason. The timeout on network shares is *way* too long and I shouldn't have to reboot just because I slept my laptop while connected to an afp share, then woke it up on another network.



    Hopefully they get this and other minor issues fixed.



    I've seen people say that this issue was largely fixed in 10.4.9.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Matthew Yohe View Post


    Are you saying we should never say "never"?



    I think it works out to that.
  • Reply 8 of 39
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    I've seen people say that this issue was largely fixed in 10.4.9.



    AFP networking is better with 10.4.9, but it's still an issue. At least Leopard is doing at least a partial revamp of the networking within Finder. The new setup is now much more Apple-like.
  • Reply 9 of 39
    "Presumably final update" to Tiger? I'm going to step out on a limb and say there will be a 10.4.11. Why? Because Apple always releases a patch right before a 10.x update... That and there's still a good 4.5 months before October. There's bound to be some updates before then.



    I'd be willing to put $50 on it... any takers?



    -Clive
  • Reply 10 of 39
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Clive At Five View Post


    "Presumably final update" to Tiger? I'm going to step out on a limb and say there will be a 10.4.11. Why? Because Apple always releases a patch right before a 10.x update... That and there's still a good 4.5 months before October. There's bound to be some updates before then.



    I'd be willing to put $50 on it... any takers?



    -Clive



    I agree and won't take the bet. Usually they do that to tweek any compatibility issues between the OSes.
  • Reply 11 of 39
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    I agree and won't take the bet. Usually they do that to tweek any compatibility issues between the OSes.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Clive At Five View Post


    "Presumably final update" to Tiger? I'm going to step out on a limb and say there will be a 10.4.11.



    Me too: "Depending on when this is officially released, we may also see a 10.4.11."
  • Reply 12 of 39
    chris vchris v Posts: 460member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by danielandrews View Post


    The bigger news is how soul-crushing this will be for those who argue x.x.10 releases aren't possible.



    This is its biggest feature, for me. 10.4.9 seems quite stable, but I would like that one bug squashed.
  • Reply 13 of 39
    chemchem Posts: 4member
    It's killing me that nobody here has mentioned the obvious reason for putting out 10.4.10 for testing and release at this time. Look at the timelines!



    Leopard delayed

    Centrino Pro (Santa Rosa) released

    MacBook Pro update is due, announcement widely expected at WWDC June 11

    Mac OS X 10.4.10 released for testing in late May



    This update almost certainly contains Santa Rosa support and whatever new drivers the new Santa Rosa MacBook Pro will need, which will be announced in a couple of weeks. A 10.4 update is needed to support new hardware. Inspection of 10.4.10 may also reveal what graphics adapter the new MBPs will use! You could maybe even tell if they use LED backlit displays (as has been rumored). Someone should dig into this patch...
  • Reply 14 of 39
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    It's not THAT stable. There are glitches.



    The other night, for reasons I'm unaware of, I got a kernel panic. MY browser was open, but I wasn't accessing a page at the time.



    Suddenly, the screen panic graphics sweeps downward, and the lovely message appeared.



    Safari still quits or freezes at odd times.
  • Reply 15 of 39
    gbergergberger Posts: 2member
    I just hope that Apple will make 10.4.10 available on a DVD. I'm still stuck with dial-up, and running 10.4.6.



    Atempting to download a 10.4.10 from Apple is a practible impossibility
  • Reply 16 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gberger View Post


    I just hope that Apple will make 10.4.10 available on a DVD. I'm still stuck with dial-up, and running 10.4.6.



    Atempting to download a 10.4.10 from Apple is a practible impossibility



    There are lots of members here (myself included) who would gladly burn a disc with the updater and mail it to you if you so desire.
  • Reply 17 of 39
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gberger View Post


    I just hope that Apple will make 10.4.10 available on a DVD. I'm still stuck with dial-up, and running 10.4.6.



    Atempting to download a 10.4.10 from Apple is a practible impossibility



    There are also 5 Apple retail stores in Virginia and all of them would burn you a DVD of 10.4.10 at your request.
  • Reply 18 of 39
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chem View Post


    It's killing me that nobody here has mentioned the obvious reason for putting out 10.4.10 for testing and release at this time. Look at the timelines!



    Leopard delayed

    Centrino Pro (Santa Rosa) released

    MacBook Pro update is due, announcement widely expected at WWDC June 11

    Mac OS X 10.4.10 released for testing in late May



    This update almost certainly contains Santa Rosa support and whatever new drivers the new Santa Rosa MacBook Pro will need, which will be announced in a couple of weeks. A 10.4 update is needed to support new hardware. Inspection of 10.4.10 may also reveal what graphics adapter the new MBPs will use! You could maybe even tell if they use LED backlit displays (as has been rumored). Someone should dig into this patch...



    Sorry to ruin your day, but that's not true. Apple has several times in the past released new hardware with support built into a special version of 10.whatever.whatever.



    And people have been widely expecting a MBP announcement for three months, so to say that 10.4.10 is now magically the proof, I'd just like to point out I thought 10.4.9 was the proof.



    And what does Leopard's delay have to do with any of this? I don't recall Apple ever holding up a hardware release for an OS release (or vice versa).



    BTW, aren't you being a little optimistic that Apple's MBP update would be so grand it would require such a special update to the OS? Besides the processor, I'd be shocked if Apple decided to update the video, sound, or anything else.
  • Reply 19 of 39
    chemchem Posts: 4member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Louzer View Post


    Sorry to ruin your day, but that's not true. Apple has several times in the past released new hardware with support built into a special version of 10.whatever.whatever.



    And what does Leopard's delay have to do with any of this? I don't recall Apple ever holding up a hardware release for an OS release (or vice versa).



    BTW, aren't you being a little optimistic that Apple's MBP update would be so grand it would require such a special update to the OS? Besides the processor, I'd be shocked if Apple decided to update the video, sound, or anything else.



    Apple was probably doing Santa Rosa development exclusively on Leopard, as Leopard was supposed to come out before SR. Therefore they have to backport SR and any other new MBP updates to 10.4. That, coupled with other work they had in the pipeline, leads to a 10.4.10 before the SR MBPs are released. Further, the SR MBPs most certainly will contain updated video, or else all the reviews will laugh at them, and point out how Wintel laptops like Thinkpads or Latitudes are so much more advanced / faster / etc than MBPs, and also came out a month or two earlier (many Wintel machines just received significant video bumps). Apple will not want that kinda PR.



    My next post will be after the MBP specs are revealed, and the 10.4.10 support of SR is revealed, and it will be a "I told you so."
  • Reply 20 of 39
    chemchem Posts: 4member
    double post, please delete.
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