Apple quietly testing first betas of Mac OS X 10.5.8
Apple this week is reported to be testing the first internal builds of Mac OS X 10.5.8, one of the final updates, if not the last, slated for its current Leopard operating system software.
News of this particular maintenance update is significant for owners of PowerPC-based Macs, given that Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard requires a Mac with an Intel processor. That means Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.5.9 will likely represent Apple's final push towards solidify and stabilize Leopard before shifting the majority of its resources towards the first point release of Snow Leopard, which will arrive this fall.
Rarely has Mac maker committed resources to providing further updates for its previous-generation operating systems after having launched a major new milestone release. Instead, successive updates are often limited to critical security updates and individual component compatibility fixes.
According to people familiar with the matter, roughly a dozen builds of Mac OS X 10.5.8 have been compiled to date, with the most recent builds reportedly standing as members of the 9Lxx build train. Mac OS X 10.5.7 development culminated with the release of build 9J61, suggesting that the 9Kxx build train was used for a customized milestone of 10.5.7 that bundles support for one or several of the new Mac notebook products introduced Monday.
At this time, it's unclear exactly which system components Mac OS X 10.5.8 will address. However, a cursory review of Apple's support forums shows quite a few threads from users who've been hit with network-related issues after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5.7 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Meanwhile, a variety of other discussion threads detail several additional issues faced by users after upgrading to 10.5.7, such as random freezes, problems with DVD playback, loss of Bluetooth connectivity, broken Time Machine backups, and invalid digital signature warnings.
News of this particular maintenance update is significant for owners of PowerPC-based Macs, given that Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard requires a Mac with an Intel processor. That means Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.5.9 will likely represent Apple's final push towards solidify and stabilize Leopard before shifting the majority of its resources towards the first point release of Snow Leopard, which will arrive this fall.
Rarely has Mac maker committed resources to providing further updates for its previous-generation operating systems after having launched a major new milestone release. Instead, successive updates are often limited to critical security updates and individual component compatibility fixes.
According to people familiar with the matter, roughly a dozen builds of Mac OS X 10.5.8 have been compiled to date, with the most recent builds reportedly standing as members of the 9Lxx build train. Mac OS X 10.5.7 development culminated with the release of build 9J61, suggesting that the 9Kxx build train was used for a customized milestone of 10.5.7 that bundles support for one or several of the new Mac notebook products introduced Monday.
At this time, it's unclear exactly which system components Mac OS X 10.5.8 will address. However, a cursory review of Apple's support forums shows quite a few threads from users who've been hit with network-related issues after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5.7 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Meanwhile, a variety of other discussion threads detail several additional issues faced by users after upgrading to 10.5.7, such as random freezes, problems with DVD playback, loss of Bluetooth connectivity, broken Time Machine backups, and invalid digital signature warnings.
Comments
I expect 10.5.8 will be the last Leopard release and to release several weeks after Snow Leopard. I don't expect to ever see a 10.5.9.
Gosh. What a well-reasoned argument.
:d
Come on PPC users - get yourselves a great new Mac!
I will I will! My G5 is doing just dandy though right now. I was thinking of a new MacBook but it looks as if Ill be looking at a 13in MBPro now.
I expect 10.5.8 will be the last Leopard release and to release several weeks after Snow Leopard. I don't expect to ever see a 10.5.9.
I'm of the opinion that 10.5.9 is very likely given the timeframe. Snow Leopard won't be released until September and given that 10.5.8 already exists internally, it's almost certain it'll be released before Snow Leopard. It seems unlikely that it'll take Apple 3 months or more to develop 10.5.8. 10.5.9 will then likely be the final update to Leopard, released after Snow Leopard, just like 10.4.11 was released after Leopard.
Come on PPC users - get yourselves a great new Mac!
The new Macs don't provide anything I need so it wouldn't make any sense to get one. Spending $2,500 on a new MacPro just to get modest operating system upgrade seems a little expensive.
It's really a bummer, I was hoping to use some of the refinements. I wonder how long 3rd parties will support Leopard (and therefore the PowerPC?) If they will keep putting out new updates for Leopard for the next 2-3 years than I will be content.
Come on PPC users - get yourselves a great new Mac!
I have a dual G5 that does everything I need it to do. It's still plenty fast for a home computer and the two internal drive bays let me have lots of storage without a bunch of external boxes and wires going everywhere.
Having said that I'm really excited about Snow Leopard and want to get a new Mac once it comes out. Unfortunately the current desktop lineup doesn't excite me at all. Money is tight. When I buy a new computer I need it to last 4-5 years. The mini has great reliability stats, but is not going to perform very well in the 8-core universe a few years from now. The iMac has a long list of issues including higher than average repair history, excessive glare, crap TN display in the 20" model, and uneven backlighting/color in the 24" model. It's also going to look really slow in a couple of years with its dual core processor and entry level GPU.
Before anyone says it, notebooks have zero appeal for me. My home computer never needs to leave the house.
Before anyone says it, notebooks have zero appeal for me. My home computer never needs to leave the house.
I'm pretty much the same way, but still went with a Mac Book Pro - it was the best mix of features and performance as I want to use Aperture and the iMac GPU's are a little wanting. And my version of the MacBook Pro can take a bootable eSATA express card so I can get fast desktop drive performance. And it is nice being able to take it with me when I like
I would like a two slot mini-tower - something along the lines of the old Mac IIcx/IIci - some of the most popular desktop Mac's of all time. Something that would let me have a couple of hard drives and an upgradeable GPU.....
http://discussions.apple.com/thread....sageID=9470801
I expect 10.5.8 will be the last Leopard release and to release several weeks after Snow Leopard. I don't expect to ever see a 10.5.9.
This is what people were saying about 10.5.7.
Come on PPC users - get yourselves a great new Mac!
I will when they make the Mac Pro more affordable [and all Greeny] or create a middle tier mid-tower.
I'll bite on the hardware when 10.6.3 is out.
The new Macs don't provide anything I need so it wouldn't make any sense to get one. Spending $2,500 on a new MacPro just to get modest operating system upgrade seems a little expensive.
It's really a bummer, I was hoping to use some of the refinements. I wonder how long 3rd parties will support Leopard (and therefore the PowerPC?) If they will keep putting out new updates for Leopard for the next 2-3 years than I will be content.
I suspect that you're good for at least the next 12 months, possibly 18.
After that, most developers will be dropping PPC support. By then there will be few PPC machines in use, and the cost to continue upgrades will be too high for the payback.
I suspect that you're good for at least the next 12 months, possibly 18.
After that, most developers will be dropping PPC support. By then there will be few PPC machines in use, and the cost to continue upgrades will be too high for the payback.
They can move to Linux on PPC and know they can have Debian or many other distros to continue using the system in conjunction with their new OS X box(es). I know I would do that.
They can move to Linux on PPC and know they can have Debian or many other distros to continue using the system in conjunction with their new OS X box(es). I know I would do that.
You might, but very few others would. It's just not a reasonable choice.
For those who really like Linux, it's fine, but otherwise, it's not.
For most people Linux is a real step down. I would recommend Windows first.
Anyone know when this little 'improvement' was introduced?
Helps to quit (and thus re-launch) the Dock process in Activity Monitor until it happens again.
Also it would be great if the Bonjour function that shows computers/devices on the local network under ”Shared” in a Finder window could be more stable. Sometimes it seems to ”get stuck in the old network”*when one move to a new network — not updating to show what's on the current network.