Mac OS X 10.5.2 released to the wild

Tonight Apple released the most significant Mac OS X iterative update to date! Mac OS X 10.5.2.

The 10.5.2 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac:

Active Directory

* Addresses issues which could hinder or prevent binding Mac OS X 10.5.x clients to Active Directory domains.

AirPort

* Improves connection reliability and stability
* Includes 802.1X improvements
* Resolves certain kernel panics

Back to my Mac

* Adds support for more third-party routers, as detailed in this article

Dashboard

* Improves performance of certain Apple Dashboard widgets (such as Dictionary)
* Addresses an issue in which Dashboard widgets may no longer be accessible after switching to or from an account that has Parental Controls enabled

Dock

* Updates Stacks with a List view option, a Folder view option, and an updated background for Grid view

Desktop

* Addresses legibility issues with the menu bar with an option to turn off transparency in Desktop & Screen Saver preferences
* Adjusts menus to be slightly-less translucent overall

iCal

* Improves iCal so that it accurately reflects responses to recurring meetings
* Addresses an issue in which a meeting may remain on the calendar after being cancelled
* Addresses stability issues related to .Mac syncing of iCal calendars
* Resolves an intermittent issue in which editing an event with attendees would cause the event to shrink and not register that the event was updated

iChat

* Addresses an issue with simultaneously-logged in accounts in which iChat sounds generated from one account might be heard in another account
* Fixes an issue in which iChat idle time is affected by Time Machine backups
* Improves connectivity when running iChat behind a router that doesn't preserve ports
* Enables logged chats from previous versions of iChat to open faster and more reliably
* Addresses an issue with text chats in which users may be unable to receive messages from the sender
* Addresses an issue that may prevent rejoining an AIM chat room without reopening iChat
* Addresses video chat compatibility issues with AIM 6 and third-party routers
* Fixes an issue with case-sensitivity of AIM handles

iSync

* Adds support for Samsung D600E and D900i phones

Finder

* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when displaying folder contents in Column view
* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when accessing Users and Groups in a Get Info pane
* Resolves an issue that prevented setting permissions on a folder alias
* Resolves an issue in which the Eject command could write to a disc in the optical drive
* Fixes an issue in which the scroll bar might disappear when deleting a file within a folder that includes files that are out of view
* Fixes an issue in the Sharing & Permissions section of Get Info windows, in which the gear icon appears to be gray/disabled after authentication
* Addresses an issue in which the Show Icon Preview preference might not be not saved when turning it off
* Fixes an issue that could occur when trying to print an image from the Finder

Mail

* Addresses an issue with Message menu's Mark > As Read choice
* Fixes an issue in which duplicate On My Mac folders may appear in the sidebar after upgrading to Leopard
* Improves the accuracy of the Data Detectors feature
* Resolves an issue with scrolling through a Note that is displayed using the split view in the message window
* Fixes an issue with deleting messages located in the Drafts folder
* Fixes an issue in which dragging the icon in the Safari URL field into a Mail message creates an attachment instead of a link
* Addresses an issue found when opening a item in the Notes folder that is not a Note
* Fixes an issue that may prevent RSS feeds from being delivered in Mail
* Resolves an issue in which a selected message could "flash" from blue to gray when in Organize by Thread mode
* Fixes an issue with scrolling between multiple To Dos in an email message
* Fixes an issue in which the body of email messages with certain MIME structures may not be displayed
* Improves performance with America Online (AOL) account-based messages in Mail
* Addresses issues with some ISPs during automatic set-up in Mail
* Addresses an issue in which Mail might not send mail on some networks to some SMTP servers
* Mail now automatically disables the (unsupported) third-party plugin GrowlMail version 1.1.2 or earlier to avoid issues
* Adds an option to view large icons in the Mailbox list

Networking

* Addresses a hanging issue that may occur when connecting to an AFP network volume

Parental Controls

* Improves stability when opening the Parental Controls System Preferences pane
* Fixes an issue that may prevent changes to the email address for permission requests
* Addresses an issue with printer administration for a guest account enabled with Parental Controls
* Addresses an issue with setting printer administration privileges from another Mac on the local network
* Fixes an issue that could prevent certain applications from being allowed
* Addresses accuracy issues with the web content filter

Preview

* Improves stability when scrolling through a PDF document
* Fixes an issue that prevents tabbing within a PDF document after clicking on the PDF
* Improves the Mail Document feature so that email attachments are more reliably created from Print Preview

Printing

* Addresses an issue in which remote printers may be deleted when the computer is put to sleep
* Improves printing performance when using some Microsoft Office applications
* Resolves an issue with some printing options, such as landscape orientation, number of copies, two-sided printing, and so forth that may not have functioned with some printers shared by Microsoft Windows
* Adds support for certain printers connected to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station
* Resolves a stalling issue that could occur when installing certain Canon printing software from a disc

RAW Image

* Adds RAW image support for several cameras, as detailed in this article

Safari

* Addresses issues with Safari reliably resolving certain domains

Login and Setup Assistant

* Addresses an issue in which Setup Assistant could unexpectedly appear each time Mac OS X 10.5 starts up
* Improves stability and performance during log in

System

* Improves the accuracy of the grammar checker
* The computer will now shut down if an automatic disk repair does not succeed during startup

Time Machine

* Adds a menu bar option for accessing Time Machine features (the menu extra can be enabled in Time Machine preferences)
* Improves backup reliability when computer name contains slash or non-ASCII characters
* Fixes an issue in which the backup disk displayed in the Finder may be out of sync with the disk chosen for Time Machine
* Addresses issues in which some external drives are not recognized by Time Machine
* The status menu now appears by default

Other

* Improves general stability when running third-party applications
* Addresses an issue in which the incorrect search results may be displayed for certain Automator Find/Filter actions
* Addresses an issue with the Latvian and Russian keyboard layouts
* Addresses an issue in which the backlight could turn off before Energy Saver's backlight setting

May I suggest that you download the Combo Update!

Fruit of the Loop

The iPod shuffle is now available in five funky flavours! Silver, pink, orange, green, and blue. Just $79, the 1GB iPod shuffle makes the perfect gift for Valentine's Day or as a gift to yourself!



If good things come in small packages, the iPod shuffle just may be the biggest thing in small. At 1.62 inches long and about half an ounce, the iPod shuffle holds up to 240 songs and can play up to 12 continuous hours of music.

Clip it to your coin pocket. Clip it to your bag. No matter where you clip your skip-free iPod shuffle, you’ll have instant access to music. Put it on, turn it up and turn some heads. Just imagine wearing one of these on Wisteria Lane!

The first step to wearing 240 songs is downloading iTunes — free. Then drop your iPod shuffle into the included dock, plug the dock into your Mac or PC’s USB port, and sync in minutes. Got more than 240 songs? No problem. Let iTunes autofill your iPod shuffle and get a new musical experience every time.

I'm mulling over which colour to buy and have narrowed this down to two. Orange or blue? What, dear reader, do you think?

Speak & Spell

Surprises are rare. Yahoo! has removed the shrink-wrap from Yahoo! Messenger for Mac 3.0 Beta 1.

Nearly 3 years ago I trashed Yahoo! Messenger 2.x.x, a dated carbon application, for the last time and never gave it a second thought. Looks like the Mac developers (Konfabulator?) at Yahoo! had other ideas! This is a sweet update, applied with Tiger lip gloss:

*New look and feel for OS X
*New features including Avatars, sounds, iTunes current song and display images
*Coming soon: IM with friends that use Windows Live™ (MSN) Messenger

There's currently no chat room support. However, the final release should find its way onto most docks; it's already on mine!

New Nike iTunes is ready for download too. Hm, wonder how the Cola wars will shape up now that Coca-Cola has purportedly signed an international marketing deal with Apple?

Fahrenheit 451

Why should anyone buy Toast 7 Titanium if they're already using iLife '05 and/or Toast 6? A simple answer is problematical. However, after putting Roxio's latest iteration through its paces, I can't imagine not seeing Toast 7 taking pride of place in the Dock!

Firstly, Toast now incorporates the DVD compression features showcased in Popcorn (presumably defunct). Copy and compress a 9GB dual-layer DVD to a standard 4.7GB recordable DVD disc. Avoid artefacts by extracting the movie, language and audio format of your choice only.

A DivX Pro codec license is available out-of-the-box and interpolates with iMovie HD and Final Cut HD. The DivX format is reaching critical mass and DivX HD DVD players are all the rage. On the strength of this new feature alone, I'll be purchasing a DivX Certified DVD player and will post my experiences.

Toast 7 Titanium’s video conversion doesn’t end with DivX, either. You can convert videos to versions suitable for playback on 3GPP-equipped cell phones and handheld devices, H.264 players and Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP). Now that Sony's PSP is clearly a global phenomenon and UMD (contradictory to expectations) is meeting little consumer resistance (Woolworths' aisles are flooded with pre-order movie product). The AVC encoding facility maybe enough to compel users to upgrade.

I've experimented with converting H.264 to Sony's specified codec with subjectively pleasing results, but will be better placed to judge its effectiveness when review hardware arrives: the teaser trailer for Serenity was reformatted from 480 x 204 to 368 x 208 and black bars automatically inserted.

The only fly in the ointment, aside from a few quirks (to be expected with any new software release), is the acquiescence to Apple's dictate regarding music purchased from iTunes Music Store; you cannot burn a CD or DVD using songs legally downloaded! This 'feature' was introduced in Toast 6.1.

Do you want more?

The Craft

Catch Scream 2 (1997) last evening on Channel 4? There was a time when Neve Campbell adorned magazine covers around the globe, and the desktop of a former Dow Jones Reuters online journalist (whom writes this very blog)! Here's a picture that captures an idyllic era.



A year after Apple announced that Dashboard would debut with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Yahoo! buys Konfabulator as part of its search services 'land grab'. From today the widget application is available gratis here. Regardless of this step, Yahoo! please update your IM client for Macintosh before Google consigns you to a cached page footnote. Actually, an IM widget would be an excellent idea.

Arlo Rose, part of the duo behind Konfabulator, continues to attest that Apple aped 'his' widget idea. They're from Apple's 1984 Macintosh. Remember desk accessories Arlo? It maybe overkill for Tiger users to include Konfabulator in the Dock. To quote the Dr Pepper slogan - "You've got to try it to love it".

Tomorrow should witness new announcements concerning Apple's iBook and Mini lines. I'd like to see the addition of nVIDIA GPUs to the diminutive desktop line.

Like A Prayer

Along with yesterday's refreshed iPod hardware, Apple updated the software for all models too. After downloading iPod Updater. Switched my 3G iPod to Disk Mode and ran restore. At the prompt I unplugged and reconnected iPod to the Dock (attached to an external power supply). Rebooted and the flash firmware* upgrade task bar ran smoothly (taking several minutes to complete).

iPod automatically restarted and the new menu screen including Music and Shuffle Songs was present and correct. The battery charge icon has undergone a cosmetic change and there's a new shuffle icon. Initially the LCD screen was faint/flickering (as noted on Apple's Discussions forum), but after a few minutes turned a solid black (once energized).

Apple is to be commended for finally updating the entire iPod range past and present. Version 2.3 (3G) appears to have addressed software stability issues inherent in the maligned 2.2. I'll test the battery life and sound (for improvements) and pause when disconnecting the headphones feature. Will the new firmware introduce unannounced functionality in the near future?

Further to my iTiVo post of only a few days ago. Simmering speculation surrounds a possible TiVo takeover bid from Apple. Given the pedigree of both brands and the Media Centre proof of concept, known as Mac Mini, the smart money suggests that an announcement is imminent (or not).

[*Firmware upgrades are always mission critical and should never be interrupted (read all pertinent documentation and/or follow onscreen instructions). Always connect the device to a dedicated mains power supply as an incomplete firmware write will leave you with 'dead' hardware. Once successful, you cannot revert back to the previous firmware version.]