14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is moving quickly with its first Leopard patch, the second build of which has already been released to developers for testing. Besides various bug fixes, the company is also making improvements to some of the key system components.
Last week Apple released the first build of the first Leopard patch to its developers for initial testing. Since then the company has moved quickly and the second build of Apple's first security and maintenance update for Leopard was issued to developers yesterday.
Although it was believed to have been addressed in the previous build, AppleInsider reports that Mac OS X 10.5.1 build 9B16 was accompanied by a note which specifically listed a fix for the Finder that should solve the potential data loss bug. Besides fixing the Finder's move feature so that data will no longer be deleted until there is a confirmation of the successful copy to the new target location, the update also improves the Apple Software Update solution. The popular method for staying up to date with all Apple related software has been enhanced so that now application files that have been moved outside of the designated 'Applications' folder will receive revisions. This follows other improvements that were previously being tested, such as the ability to update drivers for third party devices such as printers, using Apple's update delivery method.
Like with the previous build, besides these two significant changes, Apple is asking developers to test a wide range of areas, especially Time Machine, Mail, iCal, Back To My Mac, Bonjour, AirPort, gaming graphics, networking and the Finder. Considering the fact that the data loss bug has been resolved and the potential severity of the data loss associated with it, and how easy it is to run across it under the right circumstances, the company will probably move quickly and release the patch in the upcoming weeks.