Notes: Mac OS X 10.4.2, Apple in talks with Overstock.com

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
The latest on Mac OS X 10.4.2 Update



After taking a brief hiatus to kick back and celebrate during this past holiday weekend, Apple on Monday released to developers the latest pre-release build of Mac OS X 10.4.2 Update.



According to reports already present on Internet websites, the Tiger system update sits at build 8C44. This appears to indicate that only four or five complete compiles of Mac OS X 10.4.2 have been made over the past two weeks -- typically a telltale sign that development is nearly complete and extensive quality assurance measures are in motion. In its earlier stages of development, it's believed that Apple was compiling the software on average of once each business day.



The latest build continues to weigh in at approximately 60MB and is reported to have addressed annoying glitches that arise in Mac OS X 10.4.1 when a user switches AirPort locations, attempts to log into WPA networks, or wakes a machine from sleep after network locations have changed.



Sources also told AppleInsider that build 8C44 includes a snazzy new Widget Manager icon, portraying the existing Dashboard application icon as a locket. It appears half-way open to reveal images of sprockets and gears (presumably representing the widgets). This latest build also repairs a bug that allowed Dashboard widgets to re-expand after a user logged out or rebooted his or her system, sources said.



When it's released, Mac OS X 10.4.2 is expected to deliver nearly 100 bug fixes and reliability enhancements to the Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" operating system. While earlier reports had indicated that the software was nearing a release in mid-to-late-June, this was apparently not the case. Instead sources say Apple plans call for extensive testing of the system update in its latter stages, as it will soon be released to retail.



According to this early post on Apple's AppleScript website, Mac OS X 10.4.2 will also include Standard Additions 1.10.1 for Mac OS X.



Apple taps Overstock.com



Rumors that Apple may be holding a tad of extract iPod inventory persisted last week. Specifically, sources told AppleInsider that Apple representatives recently contacted Overstock.com to discuss a possible arrangement where the online discounter would help rid the iPod maker of some of its own overstock.



Specifically, sources said the two companies likely talked of moving excess iPod shuffle and 4th generation iPods with mono-chrome displays. However, this could not be confirmed with 100 percent certainty.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    bwhalerbwhaler Posts: 260member
    Great news on 10.4.2 being a serious bug patch. Tiger desperately needs it.



    In some ways, Tiger is so buggy, I get nervous that only 100 bugs have been fixed and the patch is only 60mb.



    But the good news is Apple sees the problems and doing something about it.



    I know no piece of software is bug free, and never can be. But Tiger is too far in the other extreme. But if the .2 patch gets rid of the 100 very bad and in your face bugs, I will be happy and finally move my companies Macs over to Tiger.



    At this point, while I am anxious for .2, I don't mind waiting longer if it means Apple keeps stomping out the bugs.
  • Reply 2 of 34
    amac4meamac4me Posts: 282member
    Good news ... I still haven't updated to Tiger as I've been waiting for the first few updates. It looks as though it will be safe to upgrade to TIger once 10.4.2 is out.



    The Overstock tidbit is interesting ... I would think that Apple would like to have this ironed out before the Holiday buying season.
  • Reply 3 of 34
    somynonasomynona Posts: 40member
    Any news on Quartz 2D Extreme?
  • Reply 4 of 34
    crees!crees! Posts: 501member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BWhaler

    Great news on 10.4.2 being a serious bug patch. Tiger desperately needs it.



    In some ways, Tiger is so buggy, I get nervous that only 100 bugs have been fixed and the patch is only 60mb.



    But the good news is Apple sees the problems and doing something about it.



    I know no piece of software is bug free, and never can be. But Tiger is too far in the other extreme. But if the .2 patch gets rid of the 100 very bad and in your face bugs, I will be happy and finally move my companies Macs over to Tiger.



    At this point, while I am anxious for .2, I don't mind waiting longer if it means Apple keeps stomping out the bugs.




    Glad none of these "in your face" bugs affect my daily work. Care to share any that are affecting you?
  • Reply 5 of 34
    schmidm77schmidm77 Posts: 223member
    Here's to all the folks who were screaming back in April "we don't care if it's buggy, just get it to us."



    Incidently, the only annoying thing I experience is the strange visual behavior when the mouse pointer changes.
  • Reply 6 of 34
    drumsticksdrumsticks Posts: 315member
    Bear in mind that sometimes the same bug shows up in a few different forms. Stomping 1 bug can lead to the reduction of many symptoms. So 100 bugs rid off, could mean many more symptoms gone!
  • Reply 7 of 34
    bug fixes are always wellcome
  • Reply 8 of 34
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:

    According to reports already present on Internet websites, the Tiger system update sits at build 8C44. This appears to indicate that only four or five complete compiles of Mac OS X 10.4.2 have been made over the past two weeks -- typically a telltale sign that development is nearly complete and extensive quality assurance measures are in motion.



    Or it just means that everyone was off for a long weekend and no one was around to fix bugs or compile the stuff.



    Quote:

    Here's to all the folks who were screaming back in April "we don't care if it's buggy, just get it to us."



    Well, I don't recall anyone saying that. In fact, when they released it, I seem to recall more people concerned about its probable buggyness (although there are more than a few apologists who just scream up and down that "You can't get rid of all the bugs" without caring about severity - hey, anyone here lose their sparse disk images because they were corrupt on creation?).



    Quote:

    \tGood news ... I still haven't updated to Tiger as I've been waiting for the first few updates. It looks as though it will be safe to upgrade to TIger once 10.4.2 is out.



    I see nothing that says this will make it 'stable' and 'usable'. Tiger was so full of bugs because Apple wanted it out to make money (the gall!) for the quarter, users be damned! 100 bug fixes isn't much, and it really depends on what they are. If 90 are fixes to some minor routines, its not as big of a deal as it would be to fix 100 glaring issues (you know, like changing permissions on a directory doesn't update the Get Info box - that's loads of fun. And its still extremely difficult to do something simple, like setting up a folder that can be used by several users, where files saved by one are readable/editable by others).



    Of course, I would like it if Apple could actually include complete functionality and UI for new stuff when they add it to the OS, rather than having to wait for a patch or a whole new OS release (Having any issues with spotlight? Then you're stuck going to the command line. ACLs were added to the OS, and mentioned big-time by Apple, but, again, only available through command-line usage. Nice.)
  • Reply 9 of 34
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    I wish we could LOCK folders. Like on that other operating system. Would be a real nice thing to add in a point update. I don't think they get it. Maybe it's the UNIX geeks that used to work for NeXT. People in general do NOT make different accounts, they make ONE account. They want Admin privs. Like me for example, I don't want the hassle of setting up a guest account, I just want to be able to put a few things in a folder that is LOCKED or password-protected and keep everything else the same. A disk image that is passworded is an extra step and annoyance.



    Safari also desperately needs bugfixes, but I'm sure Safari is in good hands now, since WebKit's open sourced, and apparently received a lot of good changes. Finder is...well I'm beginning to lose hope for the ol' Finder. Maybe they worked harder on the Intel version.
  • Reply 10 of 34
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aquatic

    I wish we could LOCK folders. Like on that other operating system. Would be a real nice thing to add in a point update. I don't think they get it. Maybe it's the UNIX geeks that used to work for NeXT. People in general do NOT make different accounts, they make ONE account. They want Admin privs. Like me for example, I don't want the hassle of setting up a guest account, I just want to be able to put a few things in a folder that is LOCKED or password-protected and keep everything else the same. A disk image that is passworded is an extra step and annoyance.



    Safari also desperately needs bugfixes, but I'm sure Safari is in good hands now, since WebKit's open sourced, and apparently received a lot of good changes. Finder is...well I'm beginning to lose hope for the ol' Finder. Maybe they worked harder on the Intel version.




    It is already there...use the accounts the way they were meant to be used and you would be fine.



    how to use accounts in a *nix enviornment: (for this example I will use a home mediphore)

    one admin (root) the password for which only mom and dad have, no one uses this account other than maintainentce and setup.

    1 standard account for mom and 1 for dad for day to day use,

    Junior gets a "managed" account, the parents set just what he can and can not do.



    In this topology, dads accoumnt can't get into moms home folder, junior cant get into mom or dad...etc...but if something goes wronfg, log in as admin and fix it...or just type in the admin password when queried to do a task...
  • Reply 11 of 34
    brent1abrent1a Posts: 42member
    How long after the release does (anyone) think that the retail Tiger box will contain 10.4.2 at the Apple Store? I'm sure they will have plenty of the original 10.4 boxes to still get rid of or do you think they've been depleting their 10.4 stock so the 10.4.2 transition wil be instantaneous?
  • Reply 12 of 34
    amoryaamorya Posts: 1,103member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    one admin (root) the password for which only mom and dad have, no one uses this account other than maintainentce and setup.



    Admin is not root.



    There's no problem running as admin all the time, either.





    Amorya
  • Reply 13 of 34
    What are THE major bugs out there? I've only encountered 2: Safari is unstable as H*LL, and most games doesnt work properly for some reason.
  • Reply 14 of 34
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorya

    Admin is not root.



    There's no problem running as admin all the time, either.





    Amorya




    Well, there is, depending on who you're letting running the computer as an Admin. Since an Admin can do most tasks (like reassign privileges on a folder), it kind of bypasses the whole point of doing separate accounts to keep people out.



    Its also good if you fear programs and such trying to install system-wide services, daemons, or the like without your knowledge.



    Its also one big pain in the ass if someone isn't an administrator, as who knows what they'll have access to or not.
  • Reply 15 of 34
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aquatic

    I wish we could LOCK folders. Like on that other operating system. Would be a real nice thing to add in a point update. I don't think they get it. Maybe it's the UNIX geeks that used to work for NeXT. People in general do NOT make different accounts, they make ONE account. They want Admin privs. Like me for example, I don't want the hassle of setting up a guest account, I just want to be able to put a few things in a folder that is LOCKED or password-protected and keep everything else the same. A disk image that is passworded is an extra step and annoyance.



    Safari also desperately needs bugfixes, but I'm sure Safari is in good hands now, since WebKit's open sourced, and apparently received a lot of good changes. Finder is...well I'm beginning to lose hope for the ol' Finder. Maybe they worked harder on the Intel version.




    What other operating system lets you lock folders? I've not seen this anywhere. Windows has encrypted or secure folders (if you're running the right versions of windows), but its all based on the current login, so its no good. I don't think Unix has this, since you complain about the 'Unix geeks'. OS 9? I don't recall that feature at all in OS 9. Maybe I missed it. Linux maybe? Be? Amiga? Please, help us out.



    And if you're not using separate accounts, esp. if you have kids, you're being foolish. Kids just destroy everything. Loading software, deleting stuff, moving it around. If its just the wife, what are you hiding from her???



    You could always make a folder hidden by putting a . in front of it (accessible through the Go menu) or using a .hidden file on it.



    And the ol' Finder is never going to be like OS 9. Never again (and good riddance). I just wish they would actually fix the bugs in the new finder, so it didn't act stupid all the time (how many times do you have to tell it to calculate folder sizes for all folders before it will ever stick!).
  • Reply 16 of 34
    amoryaamorya Posts: 1,103member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Louzer

    Well, there is, depending on who you're letting running the computer as an Admin. Since an Admin can do most tasks (like reassign privileges on a folder), it kind of bypasses the whole point of doing separate accounts to keep people out.



    OK, I wasn't clear - I didn't mean everyone running as admin! I read the message I replied to as suggesting that no-one should run as admin all the time, and I was pointing out that there is no real technical reason for this.



    Root, on the other hand, 99.9% of people should never need to use.



    Amorya
  • Reply 17 of 34
    kwsanderskwsanders Posts: 327member
    Like some of the posts make reference to here, the things that I do on a daily basis are not really affected by any of the known bugs.



    The only major issue that I have is with networking. I have an Airport Extreme card in my Power Mac. The wireless network is very fast and efficient. However, when I hard-wire my Power Mac to my D-Link DI-624 router/switch after a while, surfing the web gets very sluggish and I get a lot of timeouts. I have turned off IPV6 (sp?) networking, but that still did not help.
  • Reply 18 of 34
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kwsanders

    Like some of the posts make reference to here, the things that I do on a daily basis are not really affected by any of the known bugs.



    The only major issue that I have is with networking. I have an Airport Extreme card in my Power Mac. The wireless network is very fast and efficient. However, when I hard-wire my Power Mac to my D-Link DI-624 router/switch after a while, surfing the web gets very sluggish and I get a lot of timeouts. I have turned off IPV6 (sp?) networking, but that still did not help.




    Look for a firmware update to your router. I think I read on Macintouch that a lot of DLink users were having issues.
  • Reply 19 of 34
    jabohnjabohn Posts: 582member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kwsanders

    I have an Airport Extreme card in my Power Mac. The wireless network is very fast and efficient. However, when I hard-wire my Power Mac to my D-Link DI-624 router/switch after a while, surfing the web gets very sluggish and I get a lot of timeouts. I have turned off IPV6 (sp?) networking, but that still did not help.



    I have a Dlink 524 that I connect to with my Airport Extreme card. It seems to connect better in Tiger (more bars) but occasionally it goes down to one bar or completely drops the connection. Sometimes the wireless network just disappears too and I have to reboot the router. In Panther I didn't get as many bars but it was more consistent.



    I appear to have the latest Dlink firmware.
  • Reply 20 of 34
    kwsanderskwsanders Posts: 327member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Louzer

    Look for a firmware update to your router. I think I read on Macintouch that a lot of DLink users were having issues.



    I just checked the D-Link support site and I currently have the latest firmware for the DI-624c. I am not sure what the issues could be. I do not notice this with my Windows based PCs that I have at home.



    Oh well, hopefully I can take some time out to tinker with it later. At least the wireless is working very well.
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