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10.5.2 posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Audio, Hardware, Bad Apple

More Audio Driver Drama: Blame Apple, Says Peter Kirn

A few days ago I posted about the problems that the 10.5.2 update was causing with audio recording hardware and software from various manufacturers. Today, in a follow-up post to his original roundup of the issues at hand, Peter Kirn weighs in on Apple's accountability.

Kirn's position is that Apple is responsible because all the evidence suggests that the problems lie with the 10.5.2 update, not any one vendor's drivers. "Problems haven't affected everyone," says Kirn, "but they have been widespread enough that we have a right to be disappointed. As a user, I think I have the right to be disappointed. As a writer, it's my obligation to point it out. And I hope they do better in the future."

Of course, as Peter points out, rumor is that 10.5.3 is right around the corner, so hopefully these problems will disappear and Trent Reznor can get back to making music instead of standing in for angry Mac-using music geeks in my music-related posts.

Filed under: Software Update, Leopard

The changing life and times of Leopard

By now, most of you have had a chance to install the new Mac OS X 10.5.2 update for Leopard. Apple has added some minor tweaks to the OS, as well as some new features. If you haven't seen some of the features, you might want to take a look -- we've looked high and low in the update and have a list of the new features below.

Time Machine status
By default, after installing the update, Leopard sticks a Time Machine backup status button in the menu bar. This drop-down menu will give you the time of the last backup and a "Back Up Now" option. You can also enter the Time Machine interface right from the menu bar, meaning that you can now remove that semi-pesky icon from your dock.



Continue reading for more Leopard changes.

Continue readingThe changing life and times of Leopard

Filed under: Airport, Leopard

Early 10.5.2 reports: some users having wireless issues

As the wanton, reckless eager early adopters of Mac OS X 10.5.2 begin to explore the update's new features and fixes, a few folks are running into a WiFi buzzsaw. Some D-Link and Westell router users have noted on Apple's support boards that their 802.11n connections are failing to authenticate post-10.5.2. Dropping the router back to 802.11g seems to straighten things out. Macfixit concurs, with user reports of ongoing wireless problems.

Considering that Apple's own Airport Extreme has come in for some criticism over the past months for dropping connections (in some cases prompting radical solutions), and that 10.5.2 has wireless fixes listed among the changes, it's both unsurprising and disappointing that the upgrade hasn't gone more smoothly for WiFi users. If you're running 10.5.2 and seeing problems with wireless, let us know below.

Thanks Scott & Greg.

Filed under: Software, Bugs/Recalls, Leopard

10.5.2 breaks Linotype FontExplorer X, or vice versa

Users of Linotype FontExplorer X may want to hold off on the 10.5.2 update ... if it's not already too late. It seems to start up fine, but once you do, clicking a stack will cause the Dock to hang; that's just one symptom, there are problems reported with several applications crashing while FontExplorer X is running.

Suspicions are circulating that a change in font handling may be the culprit, but FontExplorer X is the common thread in most complaints. There are discussions going on at creativebits, Apple.com and at the FontExplorer X discussion board. If you're a Leopard user and a heavy user of FontExplorer, you'll probably want to watch those discussions to see the solution when it surfaces.

Thanks Ivan!

Update: Seems like the problem is solved, version up. And let's have a round of applause for responsive developers while we're downloading.

Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, iMac, Leopard

10.5.2 makes your WoW go faster

Our good friends over at WoW Insider (disclaimer: I'm a lead over there) have unlocked one of the first secrets about 10.5.2 (which dropped today in Software Update): it'll make World of Warcraft play faster.

After hearing that the patch made reader Jason's Mac play faster, WoW Insider's Adam Holisky saw his FPS jump from 30 to 50 on his first-gen Intel iMac (he also has 2gb of RAM, and installed the graphics update with 10.5.2). The picture on the upper right was a test under 10.5.1, and on the lower right was after the update.

Pretty slick. I'd imagine that this would probably affect most 3D games (although who knows how EA's games will work on the Mac at any given moment). The only note that might document this in the update itself is just a "general stability" fix for "third-party applications,' but if you see your 3D go faster after 10.5.2 let us know. Azeroth has never looked so good.

Filed under: OS, Software Update, Apple

10.5.2 in Software Update right now

Apple has dropped a 10.5.2 update out on Software Update. The patch has a number of different bugfixes all across the OS, from Dashboard and Airport improvements all the way to a menubar option in Time Machine and the disabling of GrowlMail 1.1.2 or earlier "to avoid security issues fix 1.1.2 from crashing growlmail."

My Software Update is apparently taking its sweet time downloading the patch, but other TUAWers have already grabbed it and gotten rolling. Welcome to 10.5.2!

UPDATE: Chris Forsythe from Growl notified us that it wasn't a security issue with Growl.

Tip of the Day

Holding the Command key (aka the Apple key) and pressing Tab will cycle through your open applications. It's easier to Cmd-Tab if you are Copy (Cmd-C) and Pasting (Cmd-V) to and from various applications.


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