Apple today released Mac OS X 10.5.2 and Mac OS X Server 10.5.2 which are 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.
This is the mother of all Mac OS X updates.
What’s included in Mac OS X 10.5.2 (Client):
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. (Ladies and gentlemen, Stacks are no longer virtually useless!)
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.
Once Mac OS X 10.5.2 Update is applied, Software Update will expect users to download and install a separate graphics driver update, Leopard Graphics Update.
Mac OS X 10.5.2 and Mac OS X Server 10.5.2 are available via Software Update and also as standalone installers.
More info and download links:
• Mac OS X 10.5.2 Combo Update (343MB)
• Mac OS X Server 10.5.2 Combo Update(382MB)
@Tommyr
‘ello, ‘ello, what’s all this then?
> Just one example to jog your memory: the unending wait for file
> copies, moves or deletes in Vista – has Leopard suffered
> from anything remotely as crippling as this? No,
To be fair, didn’t Apple have a bug when files were deleted in certain conditions when they were being moved?
ShelbyMac, did you reset the G5’s SMU?
Dearest Zune Tang,
Good to see you now know the difference between a Lemon and a Lemming.
Keep up the good work!
Installed it last night. All went as usual, no issues.
One thing I noticed right away when I went back to placing my Apps folder in the dock, is that in list view (the old Tiger method), it no longer cuts off the list of items at 256. It now displays all 350 apps in one helluva long scrolling list. Like I want.
Major disappointment: In list view of docked folders, linked sub-folders apparently cannot be traversed any more. In Tiger that was one of the main appeals: Creating folders with links to various places and then placing those into the Dock.
Now linked folders are just flat and can’t be entered.
Major bummer. It seems they were actually looking to keep it as stunted as possible even so. 🙁
That makes absolutely no sense from a usability point of view.
My conclusion: HierarchicalDock will have to stay in use even under 10.5.2.
It not only traverses linked folders but it also displays color labels and even the item count for sub-folders.
Apple deserves a kick in their behind for sloppy work like that – it could not be clearer that it was an orphaned feature they had no interest in themselves!
@TowerTone
Wow, thanks! I’ve looked before, but obviously not in the right way in the right places. I’m downloading right now.
@Ping
Are you sure that you can’t get hierarchical action from docked folders? I think check again. It works for me and I don’t even need the feature.
Shogun: Are you sure that you can’t get hierarchical action from docked folders? I think check again. It works for me and I don’t even need the feature.
Hierarchical traversal works in principle – but only until you hit a link to another folder. That link then just appears as a flat file (complete with tiny link arrow in its icon) but cannot be traversed (only to be opened in a Finder window).
Which basically defeats the purpose for me, as I use docked folders primarily for link lists to various places everywhere on my system.
I’ll file a bug report to Apple about it, but I would have much preferred it if they had got it right on the first go. Or can anyone imagine a plausible reason why a user would want links to folders not to be followed to the original…?
@ TowerTone
Ah, thanks anyway. What I want is not a screen saver but an active desktop image behind the icons and windows. Kind of a screen saver desktop image. I assume that it would take too much memory and processing power to keep going, but some day we’ll see it.
MW: looked
hic
shhhnaa
peeeee
My snappyness has improved 27%
@ Bill B
I am having the same issues with font management. As soon as I disabled my font management I was able to launch programs.
Unfortunately I am still convinced that time machine is only a good idea, but not practical, YET. I hate that I cant set a schedule for it to do it’s big daily backups!! I am a graphic designer, so I always have huge files open. I have 5gb of memory on my Mac Pro and I use the firewire 800 into a super snappy OWC Raid drive. Even still… When TM starts its backups my computer haults to a stand still. To the point I have to just walk away from the project I am working on. Its a major pain in my a$$!
I really hoped apple would address this ad give more preference capabilities to TM.
Shogun
Look again. I believe that is what it does. They call it a cross between a screen saver and desktop as a description. It is resource hungry, but it can be turned off easily.
But the thing I like about sites like that is the user comments sometimes lead me to a better solution. There is an application named in one comment that allows you to make your own, but it is not ready for Leopard. Might be worth watching.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/32910
@ChunkyB
Don’t get in a hurry and bail out on install (or a troubleshooting reboot, or Safeboot either).
Just hit install, type your passwords and go do something else. Why does everything have to happen in 15 sec or people cancel out. If you come back in the extreme of 15 MINUTES and it’s not responding then hold in the button and reboot. Sometimes the system is DOING something important and needs a bit of extra time on a particular computer.
Such an impatient world.
@MikeR
I always run Disk Utility Repair Permissions before I load anything. Also, if you have Disk Warrior I run that as well, so everything is as perfect as I can get it. Then I do an Archive and Install. If going from Tiger to Leopard and you are really confident, you could back up your stuff in Tiger, do a fresh install of Leopard and mover your things over. However, I’ve had good luck with Archive and Install if you don’t have a lot of ancient crap that you would like to see gone forever.
I’ve considered doing an Archive and Install on my home Mac still running Tiger, then backing up using Time Machine, THEN reload Leopard clean and try the files transfer so if I screw up Time Machine can save my ass. : ) Love Time Machine, already saved me at work last week.
P.S. but back up in some manner before you try any type of upgrade, Arcive and Install or any manner. Best to be safe than sorry.
In any tech product there are trade offs that have to be made when releasing. Leopard was delayed twice because of resource contraints to launch the iPhone but the version that was released last October was 99.5%. 10.5.2 and the video update went off without a hitch for me (iMac 2.8) and my Internet connection seems to be a lot faster now then before.
There is no doubt that Leopard is the best OS on the market right now hands down but with Apple picking up market share in the OS environment one has to wonder if they have the resources they need to continue the evolution. There are Mac people out there who look at 10.5.2 as the missing piece from Leopard and feel that Leopard was not ready for prime time back in October. As Apple continue to diversify its business I believe that there should be more emphasis on OSX. Vista is a huge dissappointment and Apple now has a chance to continue to make huge inroads into the PC market. However, with increased customer base Apple will also face the challenge of maintaining there award winning customer service while growing.
The media is right..Apple OSX works better then Vista and is easier to use. With innovation comes the responsibility of continuing to innovate. I believe they can maintain their position as the worlds best PC maker but maybe Apple will need to spend some of the money that they have in the bank on a lot more developers to keep OSX strong and ensure that every release has limited “trade offs”.
Upgrade to 10.5.2 was quick and easy for me. Goodbye silly stacked icons and opaque menu bar.
@Tom V
I agree about time machine. I wish I could adjust how often it backs up. I end up turning it off a lot. One time, at night, would be fine by me.
Still no support for the Adaptec 2906 SCSI card.
If I remember correctly, 10.5.2 is supposed to contain about 130 fixes. In case you think that is a lot, Vista SP 1 is going to contain over 550.
Last post?
@mozart11:
If you quit your bitching maybe Apple will give you Aperature 2 for free since they just updated it. Or maybe they’ll just make you pay the $99 upgrade fee if they read MDN.
@Dick: I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news but, I would not expect to ever see support for the 2906 SCSI card unless Adaptec puts out some kind of firmware update. That card is at least 8 years old if not more. I know this because I used to install them in blue and white G3s and early G4s back in 99 or 2000 and I believe the card had already been around for awhile. I would strongly recommend replacing the card. I know it’s a pain but it’s probably your best bet.
Why did my 10.5.2 download only come in at 180 megs?
I thought it was supposed to be 380…
Once it unpacks you will get the full download. I wish every upgrade was as easy as an Apple upgrade