Apple Patches Tiger

Apple Computer Inc. has released the first patch to its new “Tiger” operating system, Mac OS X 10.4, with an update that purportedly addresses several of the problems reported by early users of the software.

Mac OS X 10.4.1, which can be downloaded either directly from Apples Web site or via the Software Update system, includes bug fixes for Mail, Address Book, iSync and Safari.

According to the release notes posted on Apples support Web site, the update fixes problems with the systems Active Directory plug-in—issues that were highlighted by users soon after Tigers release. However, although the update addresses some network mounting issues, it is not clear as yet if it addresses a problem that prevented some users from mounting SMB volumes via the Connect To Server menu option.

/zimages/5/28571.gifWill Tigers problems hurt Apple?Click hereto read more.

Mail problems fixed include an issue with attached pages documents, which could occasionally lead to an erroneous alert that the documents contained an application, plus a problem that meant that large graphics pasted into an e-mail could cause the application to crash.

In addition, the update fixes several issues with iSync 2.0, including an issue with the Motorola Inc. V180 and V551 phones, which failed to sync correctly in the original release. The default setting for initially synchronizing mobile phones has also been changed from “Erase data then sync” to “Merge data on computer and device.”

Also fixed were bugs in iDVD, DVD Player, iCal and Safari. Some users had reported problems viewing PDFs launched from Safari: The application would unexpectedly quit under certain circumstances. In addition, PDFs saved from Safari would not always print correctly. iCal now correctly handles meeting invites from Mail, while DVD Player no longer unexpectedly quits if launched while certain languages are selected as the default.

Although the update includes two minor enhancements to Dashboard—better support for third-party mice with scroll wheels and a change to the Dictionary widget—it does not change the default behavior for downloaded widgets, which some commentators claim represents a potential security risk.

/zimages/5/28571.gifClick hereto read “Malicious Widgets May Torment Tiger Users.”

And there is no news on the networking issues that have affected certain third-party products, including Ciscos VPN client, Apani Networks Mobile VPN for Nortel or Thursby Softwares ADmitMac.

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