Mac OS X 10.5.7 (Juno) on Track for April Release

People close with Apple suggest that Mac OS X 10.5.7, one of the last maintenance and security updates to Leopard, is on schedule for release later this month. It should arrive with updated speech support, as well as improvements to iChat encryption, Mail signatures, USB drivers and System Profiler's ability to properly show information on Mini DisplayPort adapters.

According to a report over at AppleInsider, people familiar with the latest Leopard test build (9J39) claim that “Mac OS X 10.5.7 remains on track for a release sometime during the month of April. The release, code-named Juno, will be the seventh maintenance and security update to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard since its release in October 2007,” reads the report, which also points out to the rapid approaching of Snow Leopard as a hint that 10.5.7 may be one of the last updates to Leopard as we know it.

The latest build seeded to developers is said to bundle few fixes. Nevertheless, developers have been receiving new builds of OS X 10.5.7 (code-named Juno) on a weekly basis, “usually on Thursday or Friday evenings,” according to the Mac-focused site. Rapid seeding successions, as well as few known issues listed in the seed notes arriving with each build indeed suggest a close release of the uber update. Noteworthy areas tweaked in build 9J39 include iChat (encryption issues), Mail (signatures), USB (drivers), and System Profiler (improvements to showing information on Mini DisplayPort adapters).

Other fixes and tweaks from previously seeded builds include: resolved issue where the computer may wake after Sleep enabled; fixed Mail signature synching issue; fixed localization problem with Weather Widget; resolved color corruption issue; fixed problem with CFNetwork FileProtocol and WebArchive; resolved problem with AFP C Client and searches; issue with FSCatalogSearch loops and AFP X Client fixed; issue with HFS and Magneto-Optical Disk resolved.

Apple's developers have also improved the behavior of Flash Player in Leopard, fixed issues with CoreGraphics and screen zoom parameters, as well as some issues with CoreAnimation and mouse movement between snapshots, and resolved an issue with Image RAW and image conversion. Currently, Mac OS X 10.5.7 (reportedly) packs almost 100 code corrections.