Apple updates Leopard to 10.5.4

Time to update those Leopard laptops to 10.5.4.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple has released Mac OS X 10.5.4, the fourth update to Leopard since it was released last October.

The new version contains the usual mix of bug fixes and security updates, with iCal getting the most attention. iCal won't delete events without telling you as a result of the latest update, for example, and Apple said the update "improves overall iCal reliability." Airport and Spaces & Expose also received some updates.

MacRumors.com notes that the update paves the way for Apple to release the MobileMe service, the successor to .Mac unveiled by Apple at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

There are also a couple of security-related fixes for Safari and other issues that my colleague Rob Vamosi will cover in more detail. Mac OS X 10.5.4 should pop up through Software Update any moment now, or you can force the issue by visiting Apple's site.

For what it's worth, 10.5.4 did not appear in the list of available updates when I ran Software Update on my Open Computer from Psystar, as expected. As of about 2 p.m. PDT, Psystar hadn't posted a version on its site, although it might take the company some time to get the Open Computer version of the update up and running.

[pcoogan]

A "new version" wow, you have got to love Apples marketing team. That makes me feel so much better now, that I didn?t buy a PC. PC users have to download bundles of patches every month. Where as I get a whole new version, for free. Which is nothing like a bundle of patches, right?

[Dalkorian]

Right. Other than to prove you have no idea whatsoever what you are talking about, what was the point of this post again? If you really do have a Mac (which I doubt), the point is simple - you run Software Update and it gets a "combo update" which fully patches your machine to current levels. Try running it again afterward - nothing comes up (except possibly some updates to software that required a certain OS level to install, for example there might be an update to iTunes that requires 10.5.3 or better and if you were running 10.5.2 before updating it wouldn't come up until after the update). With winblows update, you have to run the update to get a round of patches, then run it again to get the patches for the patches, then again for the patches that require the patches for the patches, then again for the patches to the patches that required the patches for the patches ...

[mynameiscoffey]

Actually it is different. The version requires the user to have all of the updates, where as a list of patches a user may only install specific ones and leave out others. Versioning is actually a really good way to ensure that everything is up to date, instead of asking "is patch Q1869103#2" installed. Its a lot simpler for the user.