14 DAY TRIAL // The Security Update 2012-001 launched this week delivers a ton of fixes, but it also breaks Rosetta compatibility for some users, rendering their PowerPC apps useless. Apple has now released Security Update 2012-001 version 1.1 to address this issue.
Earlier this week, one Softpedia reader commented: “Don't download this yet! It kills a lot of Rosetta programs and Microsoft Office... Be careful. It's left me unable to function in some of my work duties.” Others soon followed with similar warnings.
Apple has now sent out an advisory that says “Security Update 2012-001 v1.1 is now available for Mac OS X v10.6.8 systems to address a compatibility issue. Version 1.1 of this update removes the ImageIO security fixes released in Security Update 2012-001.”
The company specifies that “OS X Lion systems are not affected by this change.” Security Update 2012-001 version 1.1 is recommended for all users of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
The new release is accessible via Software Update from your Mac’s Apple menu.
Rosetta is a dynamic binary translator for Mac OS X. It was released by Apple in 2006 when the company transitioned the Macintosh from PowerPC to Intel processors. The software allows pre-existing apps to run on the newer processor architecture.
Unlike other Mac OS versions before it, Lion ships without Rosetta installed. Users must download and install it manually on systems running OS X 10.7 and newer versions.
Pre-existing PowerPC versions of Apple "Pro" media-production applications (e.g. Final Cut Pro, Motion, Aperture and Logic Pro) are not supported by Rosetta. These apps require a "crossgrade" to a universal binary version to work on Intel-based Macs.
Security Update 2012-001 patches over 50 vulnerabilities in Snow Leopard, including a couple of cross-scripting (XSS) holes.