Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software Update, Bad Apple, Leopard
OS X 10.5.7: The hidden fixes
I really didn't have any complaints about the latest Mac OS update. It went smoothly on 3 Macs, and I didn't hear any complaints from friends or associates. While many people moan about things that didn't get fixed, I'm somewhat concerned about the things that the 10.5.7 update DID fix that I didn't know about.
A bit of background: For about a year I've had a Logitech Webcam. It was designed for the Mac, and was meant to replace the iSight firewire webcam that Apple unceremoniously discontinued.
The Logitech unit, a Quickcam Vision Pro for Mac, has a wonderful crisp image and a nice wide angle view. It is plug and play. That's the problem. As some other users have seen, its internal aperture adjustment sometimes goes haywire, and you have to unplug it, and re-plug it in again to get a picture that is not really, really dark. It's kind of plug and play, then unplug or don't play. Then plug it in again.
I went on the Logitech forums, and saw many others with the same issue. Logitech said the issue was a feature, not a bug. Yeah, right!
It was clear it wasn't going to get fixed, so guess what? The OS X 10.5.7 update did fix it. That's right. The camera comes up perfectly every time now. So maybe it was a bug in the way the Mac handled some USB webcams. The problem is, this isn't documented anywhere. Not on the Apple web page that details the update fixes, or anywhere else that I could find.
This is a disturbing and continuing habit of Apple documentation. There really is no depth on the updates, just kind of a high altitude view that hits the main changes. Make no mistake, I'm happy about this fix, and I'm sure there are many other 'invisible fixes' as well, but I'd sure like to know what really is in the update. I wonder how many people deep-sixed their Logitech cameras not knowing this fix was coming, or was implemented? Apple can do better. I think secrecy is fine before products come out, but not after. At least my video chats look OK now. If you have had some similar experiences, let us know.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
YodaMac said 4:39PM on 5-19-2009
Before I run out and buy a Logitech webcam - can someone else with one confirm this fix - or maybe the author's camera just "fixed itself" and had nothing to do with OSX 10.5.7.... (not accusing you of anything, just want to hear from others.) :)
Anyone?
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Leo M. said 9:18PM on 5-19-2009
yes, it fixed my issues as well
I haven't had to unplug and plug back in since the update :)
Rick said 8:48AM on 5-20-2009
A quicker workaround, although a bit kludgy, it to shine a flashlight at the camera for a few seconds. Guess that causes the camera to 'blink', like I would, and suddently the camera's aperture seems to recalibrate and all is good.
Jay Wigley said 4:44PM on 5-19-2009
There's a cost in all the documentation you're asking for. Can you imagine how difficult it would be for Apple to take each change--each and every change in a given update--and then:
1) explain the problem so that "anyone" could understand the problem
2) explain the fix--if the details about the fix weren't obvious
This is a huge burden on a software company that they have no obligation to take on in the absence of a compelling business reason to be so transparent. Just explaining the problems would take days to put together, then that document has to be reviewed internally and released externally. Every update would be delayed much much more.
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Mike said 6:05PM on 5-19-2009
You falsely assume that Apple or ANY large software company isn't tracking their fixes and enhancements at a detailed level. Only small fry perform bug fixes on code without change management. The choice is whether or not to spend the man hours summarizing all the changes you have documented for a public audience. In Apple's case, I'd say it is a cost they could bear: a couple techs and corporate communications guys in a conference room for a few days should be able to sum it up.
Jack Chance said 12:07AM on 5-20-2009
it's called trac. http://trac.edgewall.org/
and it is awesome.
they could let us see their trac without publishing the code.
Pusta said 11:08AM on 5-20-2009
Actually, it's not a huge burden. Coming from a large software development company, I can tell you every bug reported is documented in a tracking system (ours was Clearquest). When a fix is submitted for that bug, the developer updates the ticket with the resolution, and it's flagged for a particular release or hotfix. I could simply go into Clearquest, select a particular release or hotfix, and get a complete listing of EVERY fix that was included. The overhead is minimal, and necessary.
James Kachan said 4:51PM on 5-19-2009
It also didnt list USB data transfer buffer problems that has been plaguing Professional Photographers using tethered capture.
(just as the 10.5.6 update made no mention of the USB speed boost - before, USB was noticeably slower than Windows)
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9457366
Things seem fixed now though.
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petey said 4:51PM on 5-19-2009
As much as I love open communication I think that list every update (we each have own opinion what is THE MOST important patch)..
Little more, but for heavens sake don't list everything. (As I heard Apple "touched up" over 16.000 files)
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petey said 4:55PM on 5-19-2009
I typoed really bad. What I meant to say was:
As much as I love open communication I think that list every update (we each have own opinion what is THE MOST important patch) would render the list almost unusable since 10.5.X patches are major updates..
Little more, but for heavens sake don't list everything. (As I heard Apple "touched up" over 16.000 files)
Goose07 said 5:44PM on 5-19-2009
As I agree that there is certainly a cost in documentation. However, you can provide high level information, and a link to all of the others. There is documentation SOMEWHERE on all of the fixes. Apple not providing that documentation in a consumer friendly format is the issue here.
Mike said 6:12PM on 5-19-2009
A huge list, no... But a summary beyond "bug fixes" is warranted.
Cowicide said 7:09PM on 5-19-2009
What's wrong with having a "huge list" with all fixes available somewhere on the Apple site? If you can't "deal" with it, then by all means continue to use the current, practically useless summary Apple misers out now.
Personally, I'd love to have access to all the fixes, etc. to better help determine which updates fit machines running in a production environment. It's not like I'd sit there and read through 16,000 fixes... there's this great invention called "find/search" that lets you search through docs. You should look into it.
I'll never understand why people bitch about things they can simply ignore if they choose to.
robogobo said 4:46AM on 5-20-2009
That second one wasn't much better ;)
stigallj said 4:52PM on 5-19-2009
Shouldn't you title this 'The hidden fix'? You found one fix, good for you.
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scralpha said 5:15PM on 5-19-2009
A single fix that only helps a small minority of Mac users at that (no built-in iSight + Logitech Quickcam Vision Pro). Would've been nice to know that before I clicked through for more of a post that didn't apply to me at all...
Chris said 8:58PM on 5-19-2009
Yeah nice title. I clicked read more for 2.1 paragraphs? Good job, you got me!
JoshK said 5:04PM on 5-19-2009
There was an update to ATI graphics cards (found in iMacs and Mac Pros) that screwed up the 3D acceleration of VMWare Fusion. VMWare is suggesting not to update to 10.5.7 until there is a fix. If you already have and you don't use 3D rendering programs then just turn it off.
I had this issue and it really slowed down my Windows rendering. Very frustrating. Hopefully it's fixed and sped back up.
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Johnny said 5:05PM on 5-19-2009
I agree with Jay Wigley. It would be impossible to document everything. Quite frankly, I also don't blame them for not admitting to every tiny bug.
It could also be that it was fixed by some general code cleanup in the USB and not specific to fixing the device - such a small change that there was no reason nor did the developer even really remember having made the change. I do this all the time. You see something you (and even the best of devs) could have done better or that you now know better (or that other affecting code have made better) and make the quick change without much thought. There are so many combinations of things that can affect some of the strangest and most irrelevant things.
That being said, I have definitely noticed 'invisible fixes' in many updates. In some cases, I wonder if it wasn't just that something went bad on my system and was then replaced by the update. That's why it is highly recommended to install combo updates, especially on a wonky machine.
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Jesper K. said 5:16PM on 5-19-2009
The update to 10.5.7 was near perfect for me. At first, everything was good and blissful, but then when I unplugged my Late 2008 Alum. MacBook and browsed my "Applications" folder, this "bug" (a problem if you will) showed me its face:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FjzEt-MMzA
Im guessing no one here has a solution to this? And it seems that this problem isn't widely spread, judging from the answers on Apples forums.
I tried installing thru the normal "SoftwareUpdate" and using the Combo Updater I downloaded from Apple's site, neither of them fixed this unusual and annoying problem.
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