Feb 11 2008
Apple releases 10.5.2 update with much requested features
Today, Apple issued the much awaited, much rumored, Mac OS X 10.5.2 Update with a host of fixes and new features (see after the “Read more” for the full list).
Some of the notable additions include:
- Updates Stacks with a List view option, a Folder view option, and an updated background for Grid view. (Stacks can now be viewed as hierarchical folders in the Dock)
- Addresses legibility issues with the menu bar with an option to turn off transparency in Desktop & Screen Saver preferences. (Bye-bye transparent menu bar)
- Adjusts menus to be slightly-less translucent overall. (Bye-bye hard to read menus)
- Adds a menu bar option for accessing Time Machine features (the menu extra can be enabled in Time Machine preferences). (Hello menu bar indicator of Time Machine activity…and a pretty cool icon it is)
While it is a good sign when Apple backtracks some of its UI decisions in favor of the cries of its users, it really sucks that this update comes just a day before the airing of my segment on The Lab with Leo Laporte in which I show you how to use FREE third party software to do a few of these esthetic changes. Now you need only update your system!
In addition to the 10.5.2 update, Apple has also released the following updates:
- Mac OS X Server 10.5.2 Combo Update
- WebObjects Update 5.4.1 for Mac OS X 10.5
- Leopard Graphics Update 1.0
- Security Update 2008-001 (Universal)
- Security Update 2008-001 (PPC)
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.
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.
- 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.
Note:
Similar to 
In