Before Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5.7

An AppleInsider report claims that people close with Apple have gained knowledge of a seventh maintenance update to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. According to those people, a test build of the software has been handed to developers who were asked to focus on core areas of Leopard.

“Apple this week is believed to have tapped its vast developer community to begin testing Mac OS X 10.5.7, a sizable maintenance and security update to the company's Leopard operating system with a particular focus on syncing improvements,” the report reveals. “The software reportedly boasts nearly six dozen code corrections and weighs a hefty 440 megabytes in barebones form.”

According to the source, the update is mostly aimed at fixing bugs spanning a wide range of system components and services. Among those components, AppleInsider mentions graphics drivers, Time Machine, printing services, screen sharing services, MobileMe syncing, AirPort services, text services, and iCal. Leopard's standard, forward-facing apps, such as Mail, AddressBook, and system preferences, are also in need of attention, the source claims. Developers were also asked to focus their efforts on a problem with Safari not accepting certain types of cookies.

Apple launched Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard in late October 2007. Since then, Apple has updated the software six times, including enhancements, bug and security fixes, as well as occasional UI changes. The company's every move is watched closely by those familiar with the next iteration of Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6 aka Snow Leopard. Apple is expected to release the new OS version sometime during this summer. We can trust the company to release the 10.5.7 maintenance update before WWDC '09.

The last update to Leopard was Mac OS X 10.5.6. Arriving on December 15, it included Mac OS X security improvements, as well as fresh additions, such as a new Trackpad System Preference pane for portable Macs.