Apple OS X 10.5.7 released, updating to ensue
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted May 12th 2009 4:14PM
posted May 12th 2009 4:14PM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
What's included?
General
- Includes latest security fixes.
- Includes additional RAW image support for several third-party cameras.
- Improves performance of video playback and cursor movements for recent Macs with NVIDIA graphics.
- Resolves an issue with Dvorak keyboard layout in Mac OS X 10.5.6.
- Improves the reliability and accuracy of Unit Converter, Stocks, Weather and Movies Dashboard widgets.
- Addresses a situation that may cause issues when logging into Gmail.
- Improves reliability when syncing contacts with Yahoo!.
- Expansion Slot Utility for Mac Pro now reports the correct PCIe slot configuration.
- Improves network performance when connected to certain Ethernet switches that have Flow Control enabled.
- Improves stability for network home directories hosted by Mac OS X Server v10.4.
- Improves Finder search results for network volumes that may not support Spotlight searching, such as Mac OS X Server v10.4, Time Capsule, and third-party AFP servers.
- Includes several improvements to Directory Service and Client Management, which are described in the About Mac OS X Server 10.5.7 Update article.
iCal
- Improves overall reliability with CalDav.
- Improves reliability when automatically syncing with MobileMe.
- Addresses reliability and sync issues with Notes.
- Addresses an issue that may cause the BCC field to populate incorrectly when redirecting a message from the Sent mailbox.
Parental Controls
- Improves consistency with Parental Controls and application restrictions.
- Addresses an issue in which time limits may not work properly with full-screen games and Fast User Switching.
Printing
- Resolves an issue that may cause certain third-party printers to print to the incorrect paper tray.
- Non-admin user accounts can now be allowed to add and remove printers by enabling Parental Controls and selecting "Can administer printers".
- Includes other printing reliability and stability improvements.
Finally...
Finally? Finally what? this list of fixes seems pretty small to me, and while its great they are fixing things i think 5.6 is pretty stable and haven't encountered any of these issues.
So if your interested in getting a higher number version of the OS and have been waiting long months for it, then yeah Finally, but otherwise, this is a ho-hum update...
@eMax
Every single person that ordered the Apple ATI 4870, were waiting for this update as apple sold it without the proper drivers in 10.5.6. So basically people had a graphics card with no drivers; this has been going on for the past couple months.
As a guy who snatched up the Pro with the ATI 4870, and who also was upgrading from a 4-year-old Powerbook G4... I'm intrigued. I don't see any mention of new drivers in 10.5.7, but also havn't been left wanting new ones either... which is probably simply because I experienced such a jump in performance and didn't know the difference.
All this to say: If that's true, where should I be noticing improvements now that I've updated? Exciting stuff. :)
@D.J.
The update "hopefully" fixes mouse-jumping, and better support for 3rd party monitors.
If you bought the 2009 mac pro, you aren't affected as those machines came with a "custom build" of 10.5.6 with the beta drivers of 10.5.7 already on it. People that bought the upgrade kit lacked the drivers so they couldn't even use a majority of their apps: FCP, Motion; even games like WOW wouldn't load. Without drivers no quartz extreme, no core image, etc.
Please go ahead and update your boxes. Then, let me know if you find any bugs. THX.
ROTFLMAO.
On the driver note, I wish they updated their windows drivers instead... nice bit of a marketing lie that their (at least aluminum) macbooks work with windows when the drivers are completely worthless and quite possibly defective by design
OSX.5.7....Light years ahead of Vista and probably even Windows 7. Go Apple.
"Breaking"
Typical Engadget…
When news 'Breaks'... Engadget 'Fixes' it.
Update installed, everything works (mac pro). The difference however is like turning the tap on, tasting the water, turning it off and on again and comparing it to that. Whatever it fixed it didn't affect me.
But +1 to it works. ;)
meh....i'm in no hurry to get this update...
What possible reason could you have for refusing a free update that fixes bugs and improves the stability of your system?
The only possible answer is that you're worried about compatibility with mission-critical application X, but issues from point updates are relatively uncommon.
@Karl: I can see five hundred megabytes of possible reasons up there.
Five. Hundred. Megabytes.
For a security patch/bugfix?
Don't get me wrong I'll be getting it - my DSL is shit slow but I can leave it running overnight, no big problem. But imagine if you're in the small-but-not-zero percentage who can't get broadband (or the larger percentage who can but don't). Imagine downloading that over a modem? Didn't think so.
I think it's big because they include all previous patches as well, and then deliver the same file to everyone regardless of whether you have the earlier patch or not, thus reducing testing. Makes sense, but it's still a damn big download.
wait....isnt 10.5.7 snow leopard
I'm pretty sure that's 10.6
No, that's 10.6.
No, 10.6 will be.
no, 10.6 dummy
haha nvm got ahead of myself for a second
Yep, they are going to make you pay for that 0.3 of updating! LOL
GEEZZZ 10.6 will be Snow Leopard, DUMMY!!!!
(I just wanted to get a shot in while the going was good)
@murmermer: That is unbecoming of you. Seppuku is the only option.
No. That is 10.6
No, that will be 10.6.
I just want to join the 10.6 conga line.
10.5.7 is the Mexican Hopping Leopard.
i think that is 10.5.8 or was it 10.6....
why did he get voted down for his perfectly neutral 2nd comment
"haha nvm got ahead of myself for a second"
did everyone still hold a grudge from the first? pfff fanboys
@smaa: Cause it's fun!
Isn't that 10.6?
10.6 is Snow Leopard
R u sure? Im on 10.5.6 on my Macbook and iMac and Software Update gives me nothing. 10.5.7 is not even in the Apple downloads page. Was this a premature posting?
nohone, where do you get this stuff? Where did I say you had the same problem as greggo? And you're complaining about ME twisting facts? That's hilarious. I think you just don't like it when a Mac person argues using facts, because then you can't respond in any way other than "you're twisting facts".
And let me guess, you're going to entirely discount the fact that I have a whole studio of people printing exactly where they want to print just so you can try to support your stance that it must be the Mac causing the problem? Because that's a whole lot of evidence for you to ignore. Don't you think that if Macs printed to random floors all the time, somebody would have noticed it by now? The Engadget forums alone would be awash with Apple haters bitching about it.
But no, continue to assume that the Mac is the the problem, despite evidence that strongly suggests the contrary, and despite your own near total ignorance of the Mac platform, never mind your complete lack of any troubleshooting skills thereof. It's just more fun for you to draw your conclusions out of your ass, right?
@ZAK:
Hey "broski", save that ID10T and PEBCAK shit for somewhere where it will be appreciate, like a newsgroup circa 1992. For the rest of you normal people, he was trying to be humorous - "Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard", etc.
Fucking lame man.
Quite frankly, Mac printing sucks - we'll see if this fixes the VERY REAL problem where I select the correct printer tray (for photos) and the p.o.s. prints on a full letter size sheet. That problem has existed for me with my printer that is sold in the APPLE STORE itself of all places for over a year.
@craig0ry:
Install the fucking drivers for the printer and you won't have that problem. And be sure to select the photo tray instead of the main tray when you print.
What do these 500mb of changes consist of? Will it affect the Adobe Suite? I have to use a Mac at work and don't want to screw it up with a flawed update. The damn thing is problematic enough as it is.
I never update my computer at work since I don't own it. That is the IT (or whatever you office calls it) department's domain.
At home, it's a different story.
The Apple ads make fun of Windows updates .. but Mac OS gets frequent updates too .. so I dunno wtf they are on about.
And yeah I own a Mac.
I'm no scientist, but... wait a day or two?
I see the updated post with the changes... a couple of those I can use, mainly the print fixes. I wonder if it will fix it to when I send a print to a specific printer, it actually prints it there instead of the one on the floor below me? God I hate Macs.
No, greggo. The update will not fix ID10T errors, nor will it fix PEBCAK issues. Since the Mac OS will not just print to a random printer on different floor without you telling it to, you should probably look a little harder at where the problem actually lies.
@Zak
I'm just an art dude, I have no idea what you just said. Probably my IT dept doesn't either, because those knuckleheads can't figure out wtf is wrong with this thing.
We've reinstalled drivers many times, with the same result. Oddly enough, I'm the only person in the building running 10.5, everyone else has 10.4 (or something like that). We're all using CS4, and the same print drivers. I'm the only one with the problem.
@Greggo
The real question I have about the update for printers is why there is an update. Zak, it has been said before that Macs do not need printer drivers, so why do I need to update the printer drivers for the HP connected to my Mini? And why is it user fault that a Mac is not printing to the right place. Macs are so easy to use, that these problems do not happen. Right?
Can you give a resonable answer, or are you going to spout your usual "you are too stupid to be around the brilliance of the all powerful Zak"?
Greggo and nohone: I have an entire studio full of people who can print exactly where they want to print. There is no random printing to other floors. Since we're all using Macs, and Greggo is also using a Mac, the problem would seem to lie squarely with greggo himself.
This is basic logic and troubleshooting. If this is too difficult for either of you, I'll understand. And nohone, I don't remember ever saying Macs don't need printer drivers. New printers are released all the time, of course we need new drivers. HOWEVER, OS X comes with a vast array of drivers so the correct statement would that unless it's some kind of specialty printer, you generally won't need to INSTALL drivers.
OS X also comes with zero conf networking and will automatically connect to most modern printers on a network using the correct drivers without any configuration. Hence the name "zero configuration". But oh wait, let me guess. That's not a reasonable answer either, right? Facts are just so boring, aren't they?
*freakin engadget comment system drives me nutz!!!* anyways...
@Zak
"Since we're all using Macs, and Greggo is also using a Mac, the problem would seem to lie squarely with greggo himself."
I assume you meant to say "the problem would seem to lie squarely with greggo's mac", because outside of choosing which printer I want to print to, there ain't a whole helluva lot more I can do. I'm no IT geek, but I know how to print a fucking document.
BTW, when it DOES print to the other floor, the quick fix for me is to print the file again, choosing the EXACT SAME PRINTER in the pull down menu.
So let's see, I send to print once, it goes to another floor. I send to print again, repeating my steps exactly, and it prints to the correct printer. Yeah, sounds like *I'M* doing something wrong.
Zak, first I did not write ***you*** said that Macs do not need drivers. I had that in what I originally wrote, but changed it before posting because I had no proof you specifically said that. I guess facts are boring only when they do not fit what you want, so you create your own "facts". But it has been said many, many times by some around here that Macs do not need drivers, I was just looking for a Mac fan to say that was not true.
But you also said somehing that is very important; that it requires some troubleshooting to fix Greggo's problem and can be too difficult for some. Greggo also said that he is an artist. Since Macs are geared to the artist type, and an artist is having problems printing to the correct place, then Macs are not the panacea that many make it out to be, that it can be complicated for some.
Also, I never said I was having the same problem that Greggo is having. But, once again, you are twisting facts, to fit in your narrow minded world.
I love it how when noobs use computers (not just macs) and there is some setting that is wrong it's "the computers fault".
@Zak
Wow. A lot of pent up angst there. I'm guessing you weren't the star QB in high school. All of your passwords are "GOD" aren't they?
If you would have actually read what I posted you would have seen that I am not part of the IT here at my job. I am merely a graphic artist. When my computer does something unexpected, I call someone of your ilk to fix it.
And if you would have continued to read what I posted you would see that I can perform the exact same function and get 2 different results. I take it from this explanation you either think I'm lying or too stupid to push the same button 2 times in a row. With the inferiority complex your projecting I'm going to assume it's the latter. I feel sorry for the poor souls at your company who you have to "help". Most likely you're the most popular cat in the building.
0.5GB! come on!! it sucks when you've dont have unlimited bandwidth.
When are they gonna fix the terrible font rendering?
Terrible? Reading a webpage on a PC is positively jarring after using Safari on the mac.
that's because Safari is a POS on windows. apple doesn't make good windows software. Imagine that.
...so?
You couldn't have said it better. Even if you wanted to.
10.5.7 is Slush Leopard
Not that's 10.5.9
Hah! +1
10.5.8 is Def Leppard
Please, please fix ical.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I don't have any problems with 10.5.5--it runs perfectly in fact, and when I tried installing 10.5.6, I got into a whole mess of trouble. Ain't upgrading.
Now now, that is impossible, upgrade problems on Apple products, surely you jest?
My finder has been screwing up recently... i have to force quit it after trying to transfer large files from an external HDD
@Oli D: Got the same problems with 10.5.5 at work, let's see if jumping straight to .7 resolves that.
Engadget picture shows 450mb OSX file. Mine stands tall at 286mb. Hrm...
Most likely a delta updater, not the incremental.
Downloading the update and will finally leave 10.5.4 behind! I've been on 10.5.4 because of damn Pro Tools 7.4.2, but I've decided to go ahead and update since I really want to try out iLife 09'.
Id be more worried about a 90MB printer driver
No kidding.. is this for every HP printer ever?
OSX needs to be patched for increased compatibility, stability AND security? Color me impressed.
Please tell me something that I can't do cheaper with Linux or Windows.
derp
colour
Run OS X? Windows is more expensive than OS X so that should be your first big clue. Now try running iLife in Linux or Windows, for any price. Or Final Cut, or Aperture, yadda yadda yadda.
i take a different view to Zak,
I think that you are paying a premium for a premium product,
I use windows, linux and OSX, i find OSX the easiest to use, but resort to using windows when there is no particular application i am looking for on the platform.
Macs are ot about doing things cheaper, if you dont understand that then your not the target market.
@Zak: And the hardware for that? DING!
and iLife? come on, we are talking about real software here, please.
Don't tell me you use iWork also...
Verythrax - ding what? You mean Windows and Linux don't need hardware to run? You're not making any kind of point that makes sense. You can buy a brand new Mac Mini for $600. Any other questions, can I help you with what seems to be a terminal case of ignorance? Or are you done now?
Oh yes, and iLife. iLIfe is a very good suite of software, it doesn't surprise me that you've never tried it. You're used to the crapware that comes on PCs, so your ignorance is understandable if not excusable.
@ Oli D
Thank you for your rational, non-fanboyish response. While I think the price difference between Macs and PCs is sometimes blown out of proportion, I see the value in the additional cost to use the platform and pay the premium gladly. If you don't think the premium is worth it, there are other options out there.
Downloading right now, let's see how this turns out. Can't say I've had too many problems with OS X 10.5.6 (which I'm running at the moment) apart from Time Capsule, the damn things been driving me crazy!
I'm impressed that (a) people still use Dvorak KB layouts and (b) Apple would fix a problem here.
I'm not flame-baiting folks who like Dvorak; just genuinely-surprised! :-)
Safari seems snappier!!! yes.
You do know there is a Mac version of Firefox, right? Opera, too. Just saying.
@sg: he wanted faster browsing, not slower.
@Sweet Greggo
I'm fairly sure Carl knows there are options outside of Safari. It's a joke. "Snappy Safari" is a long standing joke as a matter of fact.
although i use firefox, i hate the fact it takes an eon to start.
I am waiting impatiently for Chrome OSX
@Shunnabunich
Okay.
@Chris
Ah, didn't know that. I'm just a PC livin' in a Mac world where it's cold and damp, but everything looks like shiny gummies.
Greggo...
...
...Geetey effo
I was using Firefox when I first got my mac but switched to Safari. There were few extensions worth having for me anymore, so why use the slower browser?
Side note: when I had to send my macbook in for service (stupid matsushita superdrive!) I ended up using Chrome / Safari on my old Windows laptop. :P
@Oil D
You can get Chrome for OS X now. Its a free download from the chromium website.
Haha, yea, it was a joke, I guess Chris was the only one that got it. Figured more would. Guess its a macrumors type thing. I haven't even installed it anyways. Everything works fine for me.
I do have Firefox installed but only used when friends use it.
Why update a PERFECT OS?
/sarcasm
How much is Apple charging for the update?
The same price MS charged XP SP2 users to upgrade to SP3.
You're a funny guy...
Great, non of the issues mentioned apply to me
I'll get this update the next time I boot into OS X... if I ever get the chance to on my MB because my day job revolves around Windows so that's what loads auto-magically. If a person currently has Tiger, can he/she go straight to Snow Leopard without needing Leopard first?
Yes.
I went from 10.3 to 10.5 w/o using Tiger.
Does it fix the firewire audio for my Mackie Satellite, that they broke in 10.5.4, fixed in 10.5.5, and re-broke in 10.5.6?
Cool finally out!!
729MB for the full combo updater. Not that many people use those, but I prefer to run them rather than the over the web Software Update (which is MUCH smaller).
"That's right Mac lovers (me included) -- your mildest dreams have come true (mine too)." - Engadget
Right guys?.. *ducks, runs for cover*