Mac OS X 10.5.8 is recommended for all Leopard users. The update is available via Apple’s support downloads page in both incremental and combo update packages, as well as via Mac OS X’s. MacOS X 10.5.8 on MacBook ProHelpful? Please support me on Patreon: thanks & praise to God, and with thanks to the.
MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' Q&A - Published September 5, 2009
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What is MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'? How is it different from MacOS X 10.5 'Leopard'?
At first glance, there do not appear to be major differences between MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' and MacOS X 10.5 'Leopard'. Apple itself refers to it as more of a 'refinement' than an upgrade -- and, accordingly, has priced it at US$29 for those upgrading from 'Leopard' -- and some Windows users have dismissed it as little more than a 'service pack' of bug fixes.
If viewed as just a list of features, Snow Leopard may not look particularly interesting to the average user, and if it was just for the modest speed boost and estimated 7 GB of hard drive storage savings, it would be reasonable to dismiss it as a 'service pack'.
There are a handful of particularly valuable new features though -- native Microsoft Exchange support, improved VoiceOver for the visually impaired, and handwritten Chinese input support -- as well as welcomed minor improvements -- 'Exposé' arranging open windows on a grid rather than in a disorderly fashion, the ability to copy a single column of text from a PDF file, and QuickTime X's fast and easy uploading to YouTube, for example.
Nevertheless, even with a small performance increase, hard drive storage savings, and some useful new features, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think of Snow Leopard as a minor update and perhaps not worthy of a 'full cat' increase, even if it is comparatively inexpensive for an operating system upgrade.
However, there are three major technological improvements that Snow Leopard unveils -- 64-bit support, Grand Central Dispatch, and OpenCL -- and these advances are far more substantial than a service pack. These three technologies lay a foundation for future improvement and as programmers utilize each fully, performance will continue to increase.
Also see:
- What are the 'pros and cons' of upgrading to MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'? Is it 'worth it'? Is there any reason not to upgrade?
- Which Intel Macs have 64-bit processors? Which have a 64-bit EFI? Which are capable of booting MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' in 64-bit mode?
- What is 'OpenCL'? Which Macs support the 'OpenCL' technology provided by MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'?
- What is 'Grand Central Dispatch'? Which Macs support the 'Grand Central Dispatch' technology provided by MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'?
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Mac Os X 10.5.8 Update
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Apple on Wednesday released the latest update to Mac OS X Leopard, version 10.5.8, which improves the reliability of key features such as AirPort wireless networking and Bluetooth while also fixing disappearing display resolutions in System Preferences.
Included in the 10.5.8 update is the latest version of Apple’s Safari Web browser, version 4.0.2, which was first released last month, as well as an improvement for full-history searches in the browser.
In addition to the AirPort improvements, Mac OS X 10.5.8 features a number of other network-related fixes, such as improved iCal reliability with MobileMe Sync and CalDav, improved data reliability issues with iDisk and MobileMe, overall improvements to AFP reliability, and improved Sync Service reliability.
On the device front, the update brings additional RAW image support for third-party cameras, improved compatibility with some external USB hard drives, a fix for an issue that could prevent importing large photo and movie files from digital cameras, and the aforementioned Bluetooth improvements for external devices, USB Web cameras, and printers.
The 10.5.8 update also addresses an issue that could cause extended startup times and fixes a problem with dragging Aperture images into Automator, which had been incorrectly triggering an iPhoto action.
There are a number of security fixes in OS X 10.5.8 as well, including patches to bzip compression, a fix for buffer overflow issue in ColorSync, improved error handling for launchd, and a fix for MobileMe not signing out properly. Another issue—also resolved in this batch of security fixes—could have allowed someone with physical access to a computer to circumvent a screen saver password through the use of the MacBook’s four-finger gesture controls.
Apple also released Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 Update, which improves the reliability of AFP for file services and Time Machine backups, maintains a history of user’s previous passwords, propagates file system permissions, and improves Spotlight indexing and memory consumption.
Mac Os X 10.5 Iso Download
Mac OS X 10.5.8 is recommended for all Leopard users. The update is available via Apple’s support downloads page in both incremental and combo update packages, as well as via Mac OS X’s Software Update.