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Apple's Mac OS X 10.5.3 Has Landed
jaymus of dawning writes with word that, as promised, "Apple has just released the latest major revision of OS X. The update yields improvements to tons of system components and applications including the Software Update system, Address Book, AirPort, Automater, iCal, iChat, Mail, Parental Controls, Spaces, Time Machine and VoiceOver. This release contains 200 bug fixes from 10.5.2. See Apple's release page for all the delicious details."
Just like yesterday's test build.
For the last time, PIN Number and ATM Machine are redundancies!
Now, like all updates, I'll wait a week to make sure there are no serious problems. (For those of you still in disbelief, yes, Mac systems do have their share of problems. Like pesky system updates that may or may not allow you to boot into your OS. I forget which revision that was.)
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
During install, my MBP restarted an additional time or two. I thought for a minute there that I was gonna have to restore from a week old super dupe. Alas, on the third startup, it actually started.
Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
10.5.2 Server has a show-stopper bug with AFP/Open Directory which gradually makes authentication impossible. Gradually, you get no file access, no VNC, no SSH and in the end you cannot log on locally with an attached screen and keyboard. The issue has been heavily discussed at http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1251475&tstart=0
I've had serious crashes in 10.5.2 with CoreAudio and Time Capsule, and many small annoyances with iChat, window behavior, Spaces, etc. Hopefully this fixes the bulk of them, at least the serious ones. So far, so good.
You prefer your bugs to go UN-fixed?
Am I just not seeing why this would be hard?
I really want to be able to backup to a remote drive. Perhaps allowing me to save to a disk image?
MABASPLOOM!
Why would this be a problem? I'd rather my OS manufacturer pay attention and regularly release updates rather than stockpile them for a rainy day (never used XP at home, so I'm not sure how MS does the Windows SPs).
If you're going to judge an OS by the number of service packs released, it can go both ways. "Oh, this one only has one service pack, it must be really stable." -- "Oh, this one only has one service pack, this other company must pay closer attention to bug reports".
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
You know they actually fixed the dock folder problem, right? If you right click and check "Display as Folder", it shows as the icon of the folder itself. You can then choose the icon of the folder itself to fit your needs. It's been there since at least 10.5.2.
Of Code And Men
What new drivers are in there for hardware that apple has not came out with yet?
how long be for psystar comes out with own update for 10.5.3?
Correct. It was changed in 10.5.2 specifically.
For the last time, PIN Number and ATM Machine are redundancies!
Usually I wait AT LEAST a week to see what sort of problems folks have before considering going for a big update, but this time I decided that I'd just go ahead and give it a shot on my lappy (2.2G Macbook).
It was a 420MB monster for this machine, and took a considerable time and a couple of auto-starts, but it's up, it's running, I don't have any new problems (yet?), and a couple of small peeves with 10.5.2 appear to have gone away.
Time will tell, but so far I'm either lucky or actually came through unscathed.
(As to number of updates, I'd rather have Apple's way of doing it over Microsoft's - I don't understand waiting for long periods until you get a large enough mass of updates to make a giant "Service Pack" for the system. Quicker, more directed upgrades at reasonable intervals suit me fine.)
--Tomas
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
Ooh, my bad! Thanks, it looks like that's exactly what I was looking for. I must have missed hearing about this when the 10.5.2 update came out. (I haven't upgraded to Leopard yet, that's why I hadn't seen the option for myself).
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
It was enhanced yes, but even after you reconfigure the icon, it still takes two clicks to open the folder. That's still the opposite of an improvement over Tigers dock. Stacks was a horrid idea.
Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
i've finished my install and everything appears to be working. nothing seems any different than before, but i'm sure everything is much better than it was. ;-)
read my comics, please, at http://www.funfactorycomic.com
Since the timing is only 2 weeks away from WWDC, I think this is going to be used as filler material for the Keynote. "We just released 10.5.3 and it, like Leopard, have been doing phenomenally well......". Timing seems a bit too convenient. Yes, I know they've been working on this for several months. Still.
the other factor on OS X releases is that Apple is constantly releasing new integration features and hardware (MBA, Iphone, Time Machine, New graphics drivers for new MPBs, etc), that it wants OS X to be optimized to work with. I'm not surprised that with the near advent of Iphone 2, there needed to be some interface work done to support the new system... (One of note that seemed to commented on MacRumors.com is a GoogleSync Library file.)
It's this philosophy (Mac OS X is the preferred integration point for the entire Apple Product Line) that promotes more frequent releases.
I don't think Microsoft follows the same philosophy, hence every product (MS or 3rd Party) typically comes with a CD to upload a driver that may or may not have been consistently tested (both as a user experience and purely technical integration) against Windows. Also, given the fact that Windows has hundreds of key components that 3rd parties (read: graphics drivers, disk drives, network controller etc) need to support against Windows, issuing Service Pack level upgrades more frequently would only lower the quality of the 'microsoft experience.' So For microsoft, less equals better user experience.
I guess the question is, do you really think that those numbers are an accurate metric of stability, or reliability, or quality in general?
The large download is the Combo update. If you used Software Update, you've got the smaller Delta (10.5.2->10.5.3) version.
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Shortly after Kalyway finishes it, I expect.
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I prefer not to have to install little patches that have many dependencies on other patches and require restarts individually when I have a fresh Windows install.
It would be nice if Microsoft bundled their updates quarterly and let you download one blob and then select the updates to install in one shot.
SP3 was in the oven for a long time and I'm so glad it's here now, but getting an SP2 or earlier system up to date was a huge pain in March.
Quarterly updates (delta and combo version) are helpful. They would reduce my work building slipstream disks by a lot.
You don't miss bug fixes because you just do quarterly+other updates as they come- but for new installs combo updates are wonderful.
You can download the 10.5.3 combo installer here. Running again worked fine, so I'm guessing they fixed the bug in 10.5.3; you just need 10.5.3 to run the fixed pkgExtractor!
My friend and I are both on white iMacs, use different isps, and neither can install the upgrade, a package error is encountered.
I haven't checked the official site but I doubt we are alone in this issue.
While I haven't had an update completely scramble my setup its not a big fear if you keep to a regular schedule of backups, including immediate ones prior to trying to upgrade.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Nope. I got the 420 MB version through Software Update on both of my MBPs (one 2.16GHz Core Duo, one 2.4GHz Penryn).
Actually ever since the release of Leopard you could use Time Machine on a network drive, as long as it was shared by another Mac.
You mean a standalone network drive, and that need is supported by Time Capsule.
Or you could create the TM volume on a disk attached to your local system, then put it up on a network shared device (like attached to an Airport).
Or you could use any number of workarounds to allow you to use the remote system as a TM drive...
It's not like there are not options, some of them even Apple supported, and many of them working ever since TM was out.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I think they released this early exactly so they would not have to talk about it, but leave room for other more important things...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Amongst all the bug fixes, they added a new feature to the Address Book that lets you sync your contacts with Gmail now.
http://googlemac.blogspot.com/2008/05/mac-os-x-1053-sync-google-contacts.html
This update when applied correctly *see favorite hackintosh site for details* kills OpenGL/CI/QE if you using NVInject. EFI String Folks seem to be ok.
That was one of the reasons I hadn't upgraded yet. I'm insulted that Apple could be so stupid.
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
Leopard's Spaces had been criticized for making it hard to organize virtual desktops by task rather than by application (for example at http://blogs.sun.com/bblfish/entry/why_apple_spaces_is_broken and http://www.dribin.org/dave/blog/archives/2007/11/13/spaces/).
10.5.3 seems to address most of these criticisms with two small changes: Command-Tab now tries to find application windows in the current space before switching spaces, and there's a new preference to not switch spaces at all when switching applications.
This makes a big different in the usability of Spaces!
Hahah.
// -- http://www.BRAD-X.com/ --
Does the update include a fix for the Mac Book Pro stuck-in-sleep bug? I bought my wife a MBP for Xmas, and every few weeks she complains that the laptop doesn't wake up when she opens the screen.
Odd, two iBooks and a white Intel iMac all showed 198MB through Software Update at my end.
You are correct, according to Apple, but that only adds to the mystery. Out of curiosity, were there any updates you'd skipped?
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No, that was a pretty crappy "fix". I want my "Unsorted" folder icon to open a Finder window, like it did in every other OS X release before Leopard. Not a 500 item long list of files. I currently have a shell script set up to change a plist file and kill/restart the Dock at boot. I haven't been interested enough in changing the plist's cryptographic hash, so OS X won't "fix" my changes at boot.
After all, I am strangely colored.
Yeah, I was actually looking forward for a way to change stacks back to the Tiger way. But still nothing :( makes it unusable, as most stuff I have has subfolders, why click there if you land in a finder window again ... really idiotic design
"Freiheit ist immer auch die Freiheit des Andersdenkenden" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1871 - 1919
Isn't this merely a point revision? Oh, "revision" not "version". Back to sleep...
__
Arse
Go flame away or learn to read. That topic has been answered a thousand of times. If you really had a Macbook, you'd know the answer for sure. Troll!
Of Code And Men
I don't think you should call them stupid. They made a design decision at first, then listened to the public and changed it 3 months after Leopard was out. And, as some AC has pointed (using less friendly words), Leopard has many features that, IMO, outweighs that one by a lot...
Of Code And Men
thanks! no really.
For you Tiger users, part of this update also includes security updates for Tiger. See the tech note for details.
Of interest to me was the Adobe Flash fix. That was overdue.
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071111202112177
That shell script is a good start. You have to run it after each boot, since it modifies a cryptographically signed plist. (If you're interested, you can figure out how to use OS X's plist utilities to change the plist's cryptographic hash)
After all, I am strangely colored.
I applaud them for listening to the public, but didn't they do any usability testing first? I mean, Leopard had been in development for like a year and a half before it shipped, and they never realized the dock folder icon thing was a problem? It makes me wonder what other terrible design decisions they haven't gotten around to fixing yet.
Again, I had heard about the transparency option for the menubar in 10.5.2, but I hadn't heard about the "display as folder" option. I'm glad they fixed it.
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
Nope. Both machines were up-to-date.
I haven't yet figured out what the difference between the ~200 and ~400 MB delta updates is, although it seems like more PPC and white iMac users are getting the smaller update. The combo update, it turns out, is 536 MB.
i actually downloaded and installed this update while in school on my MBP (downloaded during English, installed during Japanese) and the install went flawless for me.
i started the update, put the comp on the desk behind me, took a test, and by the time i was done it was prompting me to restart =P in my experience with OSX (only about 6 months still newbie when it comes to mac) i have had very few problems, much less then the windows updates I'm used to.
I am expecting a call from the tech department of my school (still in high school) asking how i managed to take up half the schools bandwidth =). they already throttled our maclab (which i helped build) after 6 new iMac's and a mac mini tried to download the 10.5.2 update at the same time.
Thanks a lot, that helps :)
"Freiheit ist immer auch die Freiheit des Andersdenkenden" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1871 - 1919
Just tried on a MacPro and it asks for the larger update, so it appears hardware related in some way. No mention on Macintouch or Macfixit, though, and I'd expect the regulars there to notice if it was widespread. Time to examine the installer packages.
Thanks for the feedback.
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Some people notice boot times because they dual boot, not because they shut down every night. I have to boot into Windows almost every day, so I do notice it. I'm not obsessed with boot times, though. I'm just saying I understand why some people could be.
It will still fail to properly terminate a file copy when it experiences a low-level read error. After acknowledging the error dialog, the progress dialog sticks around without progress for hours unless the Finder is force-quitted, and sometimes the problem drive has to be powered down temporarily for the Finder to relaunch.
I've been getting this with external SATA drives connected via a backplane to the two extra SATA ports in a Mac Pro that aren't lined up with hard drive bays (presumably intended for use with SATA optical drives).
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?