14 DAY TRIAL // A forum poster confirms that Mac OS X 10.5.7 has been seeded to developers. The build allegedly addresses “major bugs,” while the beta release is listed as build 9J22.
“Yesterday, Apple seeded its new beta for OSX 10.5.7 to the developers. This is the 7th major update (as compared to 11 in Tiger) and it seems that Apple is planning to make Leopard a bit more stable before releasing the new Snow Leopard. The build number for this beta of Leopard is 9J22. In the current form it is a 440 MB file,” reads a Modmyi forum post.
Citing Mac-focused site AppleInsider, the source goes to note that Apple has asked developers to focus their testing efforts on twenty areas of Mac OS X Leopard, where about 70 changes are needed. People familiar with build number 9J22 say the developers' task, this time around, is to look at syncing issues related to Mail, Address Book, etc, as well as try and improve networking. Additionally, a truckload of preferences and widgets have been updated to boost the performance, the same people say.
Safari issues seem to be still plaguing Leopard, with the developers being able to solve the rejection of a few file types by the web browser. However, the new Safari 4 Beta is not supported by Mac OS X Leopard Build 9J22, the source adds. Other improvements have been made to the way OS X handles the RAW image files. Updates to graphics drivers, Time Machine, printing services, screen sharing services, MobileMe syncing, AirPort services, text services, and iCal allegedly made their way into build 9J22 as well.
This being said, the betas are available for download and testing by Apple Developer Center Premier and Select Members via Apple's Developer Connection, at the Mac Dev Center.
Apple launched Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard in late October of 2007. Since then, Apple has updated the software six times, throwing in enhancements, bug and security fixes, as well as occasional UI changes. The last update to Leopard was Mac OS X 10.5.6. Arriving on December 15, the release included security improvements, as well as fresh additions, such as a new Trackpad System Preference pane for portable Macs, and more.