14 DAY TRIAL // On May 29th, 2008 Apple released Mac OS X 10.5.3, the latest maintenance and security update to Leopard users - the version many of you are probably still using right now. As it turns out, you can now fire up Apple Software Update to get a new version of Leopard: Mac OS X 10.5.4.
"The 10.5.4 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac," says Apple. General enhancements include recent Apple security updates, RAW image support for several cameras, and improved L2TP VPN client reliability. The update also addresses an issue that may result in a partially installed X11 application, and a bug with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 files on a remote server.
A more detailed list of enhancements brought by Mac OS X 10.5.4 is available below:
AirPort
- Addresses AirPort reliability issues with 5GHz networks. - Addresses AirPort issues that may result in slower performance in Logic Studio or MainStage.
iCal
- Improves overall iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone. - Resolves an issue that prevents deleting an iCal event without notifying the creator. - Addresses an issue in which events in all calendars affect availability. A checkbox now enables information-only calendars to be transparent from free/busy lookups. - Resolves a UI issue preventing delegated calendars from showing up as a separate window. - Addresses an issue with copying and pasting attendees from one event to another. - Resolves an issue in which iCal may not delete events after a specified time interval, even when set to do so in iCal preferences. - Addresses an issue in which To Dos cannot be marked private.
Safari
- Addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages. - Resolves issues that may be encountered when accessing secure web pages with client certificates that reside on a smart card.
Spaces and Expos?
- Addresses an issue in which switching from a space with a Finder window keeps the Finder as the active application instead of the application residing in the destination space. - Fixes an issue in which dragging an application from the list of application assignments in Spaces System Preferences does not assign the application to the desired space. - Resolves an Expos? issue that may result in only a subset of windows being shown.
You can use two methods to update to the current version of Leopard
1- Automatically: Choose Software Update from the Apple menu (Apple Menu -> Software Update). If your computer is not up-to-date, other software updates available for your computer may appear and you will be prompted to install them. Some updates must be installed prior to others, so you should run Software Update more than once to make sure you ultimately get everything up to date.
2- Manually: Download the Mac OS X 10.5.4 installer package (available HERE) and run it like you would any program: double click to mount the installer image -> double click on the installer package and follow the on-screen instructions.
Article updated to for the availability of a manually-downloadable Mac OS X 10.5.4 installer package.