Mac OS X 10.5.3 9D29, Time Machine on Battery Power

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Apple's latest Mac OS X 10.5.3 build (9D29) was released to developers last week. The ongoing developer seeds addressed a number of new bug fixes while we await the final code for release. There had been some hints that this latest build might become the final release for consumers, but we have not heard any further confirmation on that.

http://images.macrumors.com/article/2008/05/13/004408-Picture 2.png

The bulk of the changes to the 10.5.3 update appear to include bug and stability issues, but one new Time Machine option (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/05/12/new_time_machine_option_in_10_5_3_boston_store_opens_thursday.html) was noted by AppleInsider that allows laptop users to initiate Time Machine backups even on battery power. In the current public version (10.5.2), Time Machine backups are suspended while on battery power. The option appears to default to "off" in the latest build.

Apple is continuing to test Mac OS X 10.5.3 with developers, but will be released as a free upgrade to existing Mac OS X 10.5.2 users in the near future.

Article Link (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/05/13/mac-os-x-10-5-3-9d29-time-machine-on-battery-power/)

[DMann]

Looking forward to 10.5.3

[callmemike20]

I can't wait. I hope it fixes the many BBoD i've been getting recently.

[/dev/toaster]

Ah, this will be very useful. A strange thing this is good for is when the power goes out and I am running on battery. (Yes, all my devices have a UPS) That will prevent having a corrupt backup due to the UPS running out.

Totally off topic, but I really hope 10.5.3 fixes the hanging problems in Mail.app.

[nagromme]

I can't wait. I hope it fixes the many BBoD i've been getting recently.

Is that anything like a TBOD? (Transparent Bezel of Death?)

[Small White Car]

Is it just me, or does it seem like Apple has been a LOT more responsive to customer concerns since Leopard came out?

I'm thinking of the un-do-the-clear menu-bar option, the changes to stacks to add list view, and now this.

I seem to remember the Tiger updates being the kind of things that needed improving just because they needed fixing, not because someone asked for a feature online somewhere.

But these days it seems like they're changing a lot of little things that I've seen complained about here first. If this is an actual change in policy on Apple's part, I heartily approve!

[attila]

So noone has noticed the plus and minus buttons in the backup-drive list?

[Small White Car]

So noone has noticed the plus and minus buttons in the backup-drive list?

You're talking about the ones in the story's image?

Those buttons are there now in 10.5.2. No difference.

[yayaba]

Cool, I haven't had any real problems with 10.5.2 (it fixed my wifi problem thank God) but 10.5.3 should only be better!

[rpaloalto]

Not important, but!
Wow this is pretty cool. I'm about to get a new mac pro any time now. The interesting thing is the last mac I bought was a imac with 10.3.3. Looks like my new one will be 10.5.3.:D

[rstansby]

Ah, this will be very useful. A strange thing this is good for is when the power goes out and I am running on battery. (Yes, all my devices have a UPS) That will prevent having a corrupt backup due to the UPS running out.


I'm pretty sure this will only apply to laptop batteries, not UPS batteries.

[The Flashing Fi]

Cool. I do hope that Apple fixes the lagging that happens when you have it set to change the wallpaper. It lags really bad when it changes the wallpaper.

[bigandtasty]

The 10.5.3 :apple: update will be released no later than WWDC. IMHO:D

[ltldrummerboy]

So noone has noticed the plus and minus buttons in the backup-drive list?

The plus button is for choosing what folders you don't want to back up. It's not for multiple backup drives.

[attila]

You're talking about the ones in the story's image?

Those buttons are there now in 10.5.2. No difference.

Uhm, not on my install... I can't add or remove backup drives. Perhaps you mean an earlier 10.5.3 beta?

[Shagrat]

Cool. I do hope that Apple fixes the lagging that happens when you have it set to change the wallpaper. It lags really bad when it changes the wallpaper.

You ARE joking, i take it?

Open Sysy prefs, select desktop, select new background...BOOM!

it would take approx a 1/4 of a second (guesstimate) to switch backgrounds. And for that you are complaining?

Sheesh! I'm glad you're not running Vista.

[justflie]

You ARE joking, i take it?

Open Sysy prefs, select desktop, select new background...BOOM!

it would take approx a 1/4 of a second (guesstimate) to switch backgrounds. And for that you are complaining?

Sheesh! I'm glad you're not running Vista.

I think he means that it's lagging when the desktop background is set to change automatically. You can set it to change the picture every 30 minutes, day, etc. So you point it to a folder of images and it pulls from there. I don't use that feature so I can't speak to whether or not it lags on my machine.

[Small White Car]

Uhm, not on my install... I can't add or remove backup drives.

Oh, wait, what?

No no. That's the part where you exclude drives and folder you DON'T want backed up. Go look at it in the current version.

The other check box (Warn when old backups are deleted) that is in the photo is in that section right now. So that's clearly where the photo is taken from.

[.adam]

Uhm, not on my install... I can't add or remove backup drives. Perhaps you mean an earlier 10.5.3 beta?

'System Preferences -> 'Time Machine' -> 'Options'.

The + & - signs are in there.

[Stridder44]

Cool. I do hope that Apple fixes the lagging that happens when you have it set to change the wallpaper. It lags really bad when it changes the wallpaper.

I lol'd. Almost believed you.

But really though, I'm looking forward to 10.5.3.

[MidiMonk]

I look forward to this and hope that 10.5.3 addresses the wifi drop outs.Plus, something new popped up tonight, Launchd has been spiking real bad and temps are rising to fast for comfort.I read that this is an issue with 10.5 in general, so heres to a fix for that as well.


Otherwise, WinXP :(

[Chundles]

You ARE joking, i take it?

Open Sysy prefs, select desktop, select new background...BOOM!

it would take approx a 1/4 of a second (guesstimate) to switch backgrounds. And for that you are complaining?

Sheesh! I'm glad you're not running Vista.

That's not what he means - I've seen it too, when the desktop background changes the whole computer seems to slow down big time for a short period of time. Windows you might be dragging tear and stutter, your mouse leaves a trail across the desktop, it's a definite issue. Minor, but most definitely a bug in the OS that did not happen in Tiger.

[attila]

Oh, wait, what?

No no. That's the part where you exclude drives and folder you DON'T want backed up. Go look at it in the current version.

The other check box (Warn when old backups are deleted) that is in the photo is in that section right now. So that's clearly where the photo is taken from.

Oh! Silly me. Too bad they aren't where I want them to be, so to say ;)

[erkster]

I hope 10.5.3 fixes the issues with ID card readers not working since 10.5 was released.

And also the damned WiFi dropouts! :mad:

[BWhaler]

I find it interesting that Apple continues to make changes like this.

On the one hand, it's good that Apple is adding functional enhancements and re-engineering poorly designed and thought-through components of Leopard.

On the other hand, Apple had two years between releases, and clearly Leopard was a more poorly designed and buggier than any release we have seen in a very long time. 10.4, 10.3, 10.2...none of them needed patches this large or some massive re-thinks like Leopard.

I just hope Apple learns from the Leopard experience. Some components were very poorly designed, and Leopard was--and still is--way too buggy. In general, Leopard has some very poor engineering.

Apple is going through some interesting changes. I hope it is learning and growing into a great company at "the next level."

[saunterer]

I wonder if 10.5.3 will do something about the fan behaviour. They ramp up a bit to early for my liking, especially on the Penryn MacBook's. Other than that I'd like to see something done about the intermittent new mail sound in Mail, but I believe that is to be addressed in this release?

[Chundles]

I wonder if 10.5.3 will do something about the fan behaviour. They ramp up a bit to early for my liking, especially on the Penryn MacBook's. Other than that I'd like to see something done about the intermittent new mail sound in Mail, but I believe that is to be addressed in this release?

What do you mean "for my liking"? The fans are designed to come on to prevent overheating, they're not an aesthetic device.

[boer]

On the other hand, Apple had two years between releases, and clearly Leopard was a more poorly designed and buggier than any release we have seen in a very long time. 10.4, 10.3, 10.2...none of them needed patches this large or some massive re-thinks like Leopard.


Bug rate is constant to the size of the code base, so when Apple adds new features they add more bugs. This is normal in software engineering.

Trying to make sure your code is absolutely free of bugs is too expensive. It would be impossible to make profit with 100 % bug free commercial software. Think about Nasa level software quality assurance here and even they have to deal with bugs in production.

[QFT Lover]

That's not what he means - I've seen it too, when the desktop background changes the whole computer seems to slow down big time for a short period of time. Windows you might be dragging tear and stutter, your mouse leaves a trail across the desktop, it's a definite issue. Minor, but most definitely a bug in the OS that did not happen in Tiger.

Yeah, it's a bit annoying, and it definitely wasn't as obvious in Tiger.
What annoys me is that it stutters more often with not only that, but many of the other animations (dashboard, genie...). It's like Leopard handles worse, or hogs more, video memory.
Oh well. Leopard is fairly awesome.

[saunterer]

What do you mean "for my liking"? The fans are designed to come on to prevent overheating, they're not an aesthetic device.

Indeed, I'm just hoping for some more effective implementation that would keep our Macs a bit cooler.

[adrian.oconnor]

Dear Apple,

PLEASE FIX THE WI-FI PROBLEMS.

Thanks.

[Ilomoga]

I'D appreciate that the warning when old backups are deleted would be BEFORE it has been deleted and not AFTER ...

[iEdd]

So still no backup scheduling? Well at least now my iMac won't backup when it's running on batteries. :rolleyes:

Edit: This is priceless, got this message a few weeks ago. (It's been working fine since then though.)

[newmanc]

Only hope that they can fix my NAS connection problem, Wifi problem and can not shutdown problem...

[RoDe]

Strange, my MBP does backup when it's running on it's battery. But only when the battery is full. When it's half empty it requires me to attach my adapter.

[MrCrowbar]

So still no backup scheduling? Well at least now my iMac won't backup when it's running on batteries. :rolleyes:

Edit: This is priceless, got this message a few weeks ago. (It's been working fine since then though.)

Yea, I had this one too. Really puzzling. :-)

[DarthBradicus]

So still no backup scheduling? Well at least now my iMac won't backup when it's running on batteries. :rolleyes:

Edit: This is priceless, got this message a few weeks ago. (It's been working fine since then though.)

The same thing happened to me, and Time Machine kept failing to backup. I restarted and everything was fine.

[avigalante]

Why is it so hard to implement a user-defined timeframe for Time Machine backups? I hope they really implement this, as my computer does not need to be backed-up every hour or so; a once a day function would be nice.

[badNameErr]

Dear Apple,

PLEASE FIX THE WI-FI PROBLEMS.

Thanks.

Based on that incredibly detailed bug report, I'm sure they'll be right on it!

[Digital Skunk]

Can't wait for this update too. How about making Back To My Mac work with other routers. Or routers that have been IT'ed or over configured by over-zealous IT guys.

And hopefully Time Machine will add the ability to back up on my own determined interval, and allow me to just include what I want, instead of exclude. LET ME CHOOSE APPLE!

After 10.5, I think I am going to wait until 10.6.5 to upgrade to the next OS. I think I got carried away with Leopard's hype.

[dalvin200]

So still no backup scheduling? Well at least now my iMac won't backup when it's running on batteries. :rolleyes:

Edit: This is priceless, got this message a few weeks ago. (It's been working fine since then though.)

how do you run an imac on batteries?

[twoodcc]

nice. i like how time machine is coming along. hopefully next it will be able to backup to multiple disks?

looking forward to 10.5.3

[Digitalclips]

Why is it so hard to implement a user-defined timeframe for Time Machine backups? I hope they really implement this, as my computer does not need to be backed-up every hour or so; a once a day function would be nice.

Then as a work-around switch it off all day and on again once a day. I find I leave it on and just cancel if I am busy and don't want any slow downs, but generally once an hour is good. When a client has me changing a load of things and half way through the job he e-mails me and say "You know, now I think about it ... you are right. Please go back to the way it was ..." I can smile and hit the TM button. Then the TB button, (time billing) button :)

[Jim Campbell]

Why is it so hard to implement a user-defined timeframe for Time Machine backups? I hope they really implement this, as my computer does not need to be backed-up every hour or so; a once a day function would be nice.

I think the whole point of Time Machine is that if you know enough about back ups to want to schedule them, then Time Machine probably isn't the solution for you - it's supposed to be a selling point for the alarming number of us who currently never back anything up.

Can I direct your attention instead to any number of third party solutions? I'm using Carbon Copy Cloner, which is free and which offers both scheduled and ad hoc back-ups of everything from individual folders to an entire bootable copy of your original drive.

Cheers!

Jim

[aksmax]

But...I back up my MBP and MB, with Time Machine, all the time. I don't even have a power cord in the room I keep my external hard drive in. What am I missing? Is it different if you manually initiate the backup maybe?

[decimortis]

Then as a work-around switch it off all day and on again once a day. I find I leave it on and just cancel if I am busy and don't want any slow downs, but generally once an hour is good. When a client has me changing a load of things and half way through the job he e-mails me and say "You know, now I think about it ... you are right. Please go back to the way it was ..." I can smile and hit the TM button. Then the TB button, (time billing) button :)

as a graphic designer, i feel the hourly back-ups are perfect for this very reason, especially if you have a file corrupt on you that was fine in the morning, fire up the delorean, and your back in business.

though i also agree on the point about setting your own custom back up times.

[lhunter]

Does anyone know if using Time Machine over an Airport Extreme is still possible in 10.5.3? I know it is an "unsupported feature, but it is possible in 10.5.2.

[achtung!]

Based on that incredibly detailed bug report, I'm sure they'll be right on it!

there have been bug reports concerning wi-fi since the initial launch of leopard. it's their third attempt to fix the god-damn wi-fi! better be fixed this time! with tiger there weren't any problems... i would really like to see an apple's bug priority map, organized by severity! can anyone get that for me? :mad:

[bluefido]

The bulk of the changes to the 10.5.3 update appear to include bug and stability issues, but one new Time Machine option (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/05/12/new_time_machine_option_in_10_5_3_boston_store_opens_thursday.html) was noted by AppleInsider that allows laptop users to initiate Time Machine backups even on battery power. In the current public version (10.5.2), Time Machine backups are suspended while on battery power. The option appears to default to "off" in the latest build.



Great option for an extensive laptop user like me. Now, I finally don't have to constantly look for a non-existent option!

[bluefido]

there have been bug reports concerning wi-fi since the initial launch of leopard. it's their third attempt to fix the god-damn wi-fi! better be fixed this time! with tiger there weren't any problems... i would really like to see an apple's bug priority map, organized by severity! can anyone get that for me? :mad:

Honestly, I don't have any issues w/ my wi-fi. I read about them, but do the majority of users actually experience them. Regardless, Apple should squash them, but I can't vent about a problem that I personally don't have, which goes against the grain on this forum at times.

[scottishwildcat]

Why is it so hard to implement a user-defined timeframe for Time Machine backups? I hope they really implement this, as my computer does not need to be backed-up every hour or so; a once a day function would be nice.
It's not hard, it's possible today, there's just no built-in GUI for it. If you want one, try Time Machine Editor (http://timesoftware.free.fr/timemachineeditor/).

[smartalic34]

maybe with the update time machine will stop doing unnecessary backups, like re-backing up my entire Dcuments folder for no reason...

[star-affinity]

I don't want the front application to stall with

kernel[0]: NVChannel(GL): Graphics channel timeout!

showing several times in the log.

No, it doesn't work to force quit.
Everything just beach balls. Can't switch apps or anything.

Please tell me that this doesn't happen in 10.5.3! :)

[nelefa]

...is a macbook graphics driver update so I stop getting horrible graphics corruption in World of Warcraft (which persist after Warcraft finishes).

I'm a man of simple tastes.

[spaz8]

i'm hoping we get some new drivers too to get the 8800 cards up to the same speed as the Windows ones.

[/dev/toaster]

I'm pretty sure this will only apply to laptop batteries, not UPS batteries.

I know ... but, if my laptop is running on battery that means the power went out. I don't want it to start a backup because it won't finish before my UPS gives out. (Resulting in a corrupt backup)

[Voidness]

Anyone else notice something in that screenshot? It's a subtle change, but the text behind the options pane isn't blurred like it is in 10.5.2. I've attached a screenshot to show what I mean.

But it could be that the blur effect only shows up on Macs with support for Core Image. I don't have a Mac running Leopard that doesn't support Core Image, so can someone who has confirm this?

[nagromme]

Anyone else notice something in that screenshot? It's a subtle change, but the text behind the options pane isn't blurred like it is in 10.5.2. I've attached a screenshot to show what I mean.

But it could be that the blur effect only shows up on Macs with support for Core Image. I don't have a Mac running Leopard that doesn't support Core Image, so can someone who has confirm this?

Good eyes! That IS odd. Maybe a non-Core Image thing, or a quirk of single-window grabs on non-Core Image Macs? Even weirder, the one line of text ("Hourly backups..." within the red circle IS blurred--and only there. (Could be JPEG artifacts caused by the red circle, but it really doesn't look that way to me.)

Still, I can't think how a real window OR a fake window would end up looking that way. So I don't take it as a sign of a fake necessarily. (Someone faking that pane would start from the existing pane--with blur and all.)

[seashellz]

anything about a fix for the 2 hour Permissions Repair routine?

[knewsom]

What with all the press surrounding the "Open Computer" and the Hackintosh communities out there, I gotta wonder if Apple's planning on implementing something to "break" non-authorized installs.

[spinko]

I wish they would include an option to select the disks you want to back-up and not the ones you dont.. that would be much more simple IMHO...

[nagromme]

What with all the press surrounding the "Open Computer" and the Hackintosh communities out there, I gotta wonder if Apple's planning on implementing something to "break" non-authorized installs.

I doubt they will spend time or money on that. Things will break without them trying--maybe not with every update, but over time it will happen.

[Digital Skunk]

It's not hard, it's possible today, there's just no built-in GUI for it. If you want one, try Time Machine Editor (http://timesoftware.free.fr/timemachineeditor/).

I saw this and appreciate it, but it should still be built in.

I know ... but, if my laptop is running on battery that means the power went out. I don't want it to start a backup because it won't finish before my UPS gives out. (Resulting in a corrupt backup)

I get this point, I'd prefer Apple make it possible to quit backups quicker, without having to backup for ten minutes then quit.

UPS were meant to power the computer until the power comes back on, or you shut the machine down.

[bigwig]

Any fixes for FileVault? It still doesn't work with HFSX (case-sensitive) filesystems. Odd, really, since it takes actual work to break an app in that way.

[!¡ V ¡!]

I find it interesting that Apple continues to make changes like this.

On the one hand, it's good that Apple is adding functional enhancements and re-engineering poorly designed and thought-through components of Leopard.

On the other hand, Apple had two years between releases, and clearly Leopard was a more poorly designed and buggier than any release we have seen in a very long time. 10.4, 10.3, 10.2...none of them needed patches this large or some massive re-thinks like Leopard.

I just hope Apple learns from the Leopard experience. Some components were very poorly designed, and Leopard was--and still is--way too buggy. In general, Leopard has some very poor engineering.

Apple is going through some interesting changes. I hope it is learning and growing into a great company at "the next level."

Actually I like the new direction :apple: is heading with Mac OS X. Reason being for all the little additions and changes is to please customers and Leopard has to run a longer course when compared to Tiger. Think about it we will not be seeing another update (10.6) for another couple years. So all these minor changes are a positive IMO. :)

[psychofreak]

Actually I like the new direction :apple: is heading with Mac OS X. Reason being for all the little additions and changes is to please customers and Leopard has to run a longer course when compared to Tiger. Think about it we will not be seeing another update (10.6) for another couple years. So all these minor changes are a positive IMO. :)

SJ said that from Leopard, they will get back on track with faster OS refreshes.

[!¡ V ¡!]

So still no backup scheduling? Well at least now my iMac won't backup when it's running on batteries. :rolleyes:

Edit: This is priceless, got this message a few weeks ago. (It's been working fine since then though.)

Yea, I had this one too. Really puzzling. :-)

All this message is stating is that it require 192 MB more information and your HDD only has 1.9GB remainder.

In total you require ~2.0GB for the back-up to be completed. The wording is not confusing to me, however I can see some might be. ;):)

[!¡ V ¡!]

SJ said that from Leopard, they will get back on track with faster OS refreshes.

Now when SJ says "OS refreshes" does he mean 10.5.x refresh or 10.X refreshes. ;):)

[shigzeo]

i am still on 10.4.11 for various reasons. not because i feel tiger is the best but mainly as i do not have a backup medium in the meantime to put all my stuff. well two days a go my lacie tough aluminium drive came. great fw800 device.

but, tiger was not a disaster but it was not good till 10.4.3 but that seemed to come faster than leopard. at least from all the complaints i hear about leopard. it seems to be longer in between good releases and rubbish ones. oh well...

cheerssies

[ra noodle]

i have stayed with 10.4.11 and have iphoto6 and ilife6......now i know from many threads and posts that many of the mac owners transitioned easily from Tiger to Leopard, I know others have the skill level to cope with up's and down's.
But I have tried to look at the larger/largest overall picture of this Leopard and how many have had little difficulty, some, and others it has been a total disaster- as well as problems some have had with iphoto08 and ilfe08.....I do NOT have such mythic god like adoration for Jobs...frankly I think he conned and hustled what have been/are loyal, intelligent Mac "family", that at this time there STILL IS A "DEVELOPMENTAL LEVEL OF 10.5.3 IS A SIGNATURE OF HOW MUCH THIS JOBS HAS SUCKERED SO MANY ........way too much has been made of this jerk and thats exactly what I think of jobs....a g****** a****** for suckering so many to buy his products.....and up until 10.4.11 I was also one of these persons because I like all the rest of you simply know that Mac's are the best, that their design is the best--the powerbook design could just as well be a PERMANENT mode as far as I am concerned...that this "leopard" has turned out to be a turkey for too many and jobs had no business releasing such a s***** OSX, it should never have been released until it was ONE HUNDRED PER CENT!!! with updates only improving things.....at this point I have NO respect for him at all, he's as much a hustler as that Gateway crap was, or the Lexmark brand of products or the Iomega products that were utter crap--that I stupidly bought and like Lexmark within a week or two of the one year warranty for each product and both brands totally crapped out with the drives actually ripping into the CD or as in the case of Lexmark printers (3 total) that the carrier within a week over its warranty suddenly began slamming back and forth until they crapped out.....what really lost my respect for Jobs has been his total indifference to the problems across the board of what he comes out with that have been having this and that problems...and while many Apple stores and employees have been 110% helpful...the apology needs to come from Jobs!

[knewsom]

I doubt they will spend time or money on that. Things will break without them trying--maybe not with every update, but over time it will happen.

I hope not... :D

[iEdd]

All this message is stating is that it require 192 MB more information and your HDD only has 1.9GB remainder.

In total you require ~2.0GB for the back-up to be completed. The wording is not confusing to me, however I can see some might be. ;):)

I'm pretty sure it meant 192MB total, because the hour before that I hadn't really changed anything or downloaded stuff, so an update to the backup had to be small. Also, when I restarted and it backed up without error, NO old backups were deleted.
I also find it hard to believe they would word it so grammatically incorrect. ;)

Edit: Also when you burn a disc in toast or finder, it says "800MB were needed when only 700MB is available" for an 800MB file, not 1500MB.

[musicmasteroz]

nice little addition the time machine while on bat :)


lets hope that apple does spend enough time beta testing this release [ as they didn't with 10.5 n 10.5.2 - releasing for commercial reasons ].....

its seems they r doing the right thing this time [ as they hav released numerous ADC versions so far... well done apple :apple: ]

nothing is better than testing testing testing :)

[adrian.oconnor]

Based on that incredibly detailed bug report, I'm sure they'll be right on it!

Heh, though I have filed a genuine bug report and posted on the Apple support forums (where you it got totally lost in the ether thanks to the number of people who all have the same or similar issues with wi-fi).

It's unfortunate because I bought my first Mac to replace an ageing but amazingly reliable HP workstation that my wife and I used at home. I sold it to her based on the 'it just works' mantra, but all it has done is drive her mad. Every now and again, the network just stops. We have to use the Airport icon to turn Airport off and back on again, which gets it going again. Mail seems to cause this to happen a lot, and you can never be sure if it is sending/receiving properly, but even without Mail it just happens on its own once every couple of hours or so.

Windows XP, under boot camp, doesn't have any problems with wi-fi. Even 10.4.11 works perfectly (but I wanted the Mac for iPhone development so I'm sticking with Leopard).

I've wondered about taking the airport kexts from Tiger and seeing if they work in Leopard, but I suspect that's just asking for a hiding to nothing.

The worst thing of all is that I would run a cat5 cable and wire it in properly, but my house is designed such that I can't get easy access to do it neatly, and I'd have to run bare cable/ a conduit along the wall next to the Mac.

[star-affinity]

I'm quite sure you will be happy with AirPort in 10.5.3.
Just hang in there... :)

[ingenious]

I find it interesting that Apple continues to make changes like this.

On the one hand, it's good that Apple is adding functional enhancements and re-engineering poorly designed and thought-through components of Leopard.

On the other hand, Apple had two years between releases, and clearly Leopard was a more poorly designed and buggier than any release we have seen in a very long time. 10.4, 10.3, 10.2...none of them needed patches this large or some massive re-thinks like Leopard.

I just hope Apple learns from the Leopard experience. Some components were very poorly designed, and Leopard was--and still is--way too buggy. In general, Leopard has some very poor engineering.

Apple is going through some interesting changes. I hope it is learning and growing into a great company at "the next level."

Really? I've had almost no problems whatsoever with Leopard. In fact, I've found Leopard in its early stages to be Apple's most stable and bug-free release yet! With Tiger, it was until 10.4.3 that I didn't experience hard freezes and other shenanigans... I think it's been since 10.2.5 that I've had such stability.

[nintyuser]

How does someone go about requesting a feature be added for 10.5.4?

The feature is disabling the power button when the computer is on.

My friend thinks it's funny to press the button and shut off my computer.

Is there an apple script that I could write to turn this feature on and off at will?

I think this should be added as a simple checkbox option in sys prefs. It can't be that hard to add.

Thanks.

[adrian.oconnor]

How does someone go about requesting a feature be added for 10.5.4?

The feature is disabling the power button when the computer is on.

My friend thinks it's funny to press the button and shut off my computer.

Is there an apple script that I could write to turn this feature on and off at will?

I think this should be added as a simple checkbox option in sys prefs. It can't be that hard to add.

Thanks.

You should look at Energy Saver in System Preferences. In the 'Options' tab is the setting 'Allow power button to sleep the computer'. That does what you want.

However, holding the power button down for 10 seconds will still cause the Mac to instantly shutdown, so maybe you need to 'educate' your friend.

[BWhaler]

Really? I've had almost no problems whatsoever with Leopard. In fact, I've found Leopard in its early stages to be Apple's most stable and bug-free release yet! With Tiger, it was until 10.4.3 that I didn't experience hard freezes and other shenanigans... I think it's been since 10.2.5 that I've had such stability.

You can't be serious.

[retro83]

Are there any updates to iTunes/Frontrow?

Currently it will not show album artwork when using a shared library, hence making it useless as a media centre as the text is too small to read from any distance away.

It used to work in Tiger, fix it please Apple.

Also my GUI performance is very poor indeed. I have an X3100 graphics card and the desktop is often dropping frames when minimizing or displaying animations. Again, did not ever happen on my old Macbook with Tiger.

[jellomizer]

Is it just me, or does it seem like Apple has been a LOT more responsive to customer concerns since Leopard came out?

I'm thinking of the un-do-the-clear menu-bar option, the changes to stacks to add list view, and now this.

I seem to remember the Tiger updates being the kind of things that needed improving just because they needed fixing, not because someone asked for a feature online somewhere.

But these days it seems like they're changing a lot of little things that I've seen complained about here first. If this is an actual change in policy on Apple's part, I heartily approve!

Apple is getting a lot of new customers who are not so Mac Faithful as Mac users typically are. A lot of them are first time Mac Owners and if OS X doesn't do what they want they wil fairly quickly install Windows or Linux on their system and use that as their primary OS. And when it is upgrade time again they will go with an other probably "more affordable" PC Manufacturer.

[dal20402]

On the other hand, Apple had two years between releases, and clearly Leopard was a more poorly designed and buggier than any release we have seen in a very long time. 10.4, 10.3, 10.2...none of them needed patches this large or some massive re-thinks like Leopard.

You have a short memory. The initial releases of both Panther and Tiger had the same sort of stability and usability problems.

Plus, in Tiger's case, the 10.4.0 implementation of Spotlight caused performance problems the likes of which we've never seen with Leopard.

While there were some bugs and headaches, I was able to use Leopard as my daily OS from day one, and Spaces and Time Machine made the headaches worth putting up with. I was not able to use Tiger as my daily OS when it came out.

Of course, had I ever experienced any of the WiFi problems I keep hearing about, I would have felt differently... but I never have. In fact, WiFi under Leopard has been generally more reliable for me than it was under Tiger, but I have a feeling that's because my school improved its WiFi network.

[SilentCrs]

I know ... but, if my laptop is running on battery that means the power went out. I don't want it to start a backup because it won't finish before my UPS gives out. (Resulting in a corrupt backup)

If you're only running on AC power, what's the point of getting a laptop to begin with?

[Kilamite]

I know ... but, if my laptop is running on battery that means the power went out. I don't want it to start a backup because it won't finish before my UPS gives out. (Resulting in a corrupt backup)

I'm sure Apple will implement a way so when the battery is getting below 10% it will stop the backup to prevent a corrupt backup. I doubt they will just let it keep backing up till the computer turns off.

[mreg376]

Apple is getting a lot of new customers who are not so Mac Faithful as Mac users typically are. A lot of them are first time Mac Owners and if OS X doesn't do what they want they wil fairly quickly install Windows or Linux on their system and use that as their primary OS. And when it is upgrade time again they will go with an other probably "more affordable" PC Manufacturer.

I don't think that will happen. OS X at its worst is legions better than Windows, and Linux is like computing back in 1985. Anyone who's switched to the Mac knows that. If finding the cheapest computer is important to them, they would have never considered the Mac in the first place. Come to think of it, I don't know anyone who's switched back. Do you?

[MartiNZ]

Well I spent a few weeks mainly running in Vista on boot camp because of Leopard's unreliability, and I was getting tempted to switch (and I've been using OS X since 10.1.2, and used System 7, just missing out on those dark intervening years), as Vista was completely reliable and actually quite enjoyable to use.

Then Apple shipped the boot camp 2.1 update, and it killed Vista's reliability. I'm pretty sure that was mainly to stop people thinking about switching to Windows. But still, in the last few weeks there have been a few dozen updates for Vista, with a lot of bug fixes, while for Leopard we have to wait for 300 to be fixed at the same time, while potentially all 300 are pissing someone off at any given time.

Apple is getting to just really like big numbers ... and big waits.

[mreg376]

Well I spent a few weeks mainly running in Vista on boot camp because of Leopard's unreliability, and I was getting tempted to switch (and I've been using OS X since 10.1.2, and used System 7, just missing out on those dark intervening years), as Vista was completely reliable and actually quite enjoyable to use.

Then Apple shipped the boot camp 2.1 update, and it killed Vista's reliability. I'm pretty sure that was mainly to stop people thinking about switching to Windows. But still, in the last few weeks there have been a few dozen updates for Vista, with a lot of bug fixes, while for Leopard we have to wait for 300 to be fixed at the same time, while potentially all 300 are pissing someone off at any given time.

Apple is getting to just really like big numbers ... and big waits.

Congrats. You're a minority of one. Even Microsoft admits that Vista has problems. Good luck with that.

[MartiNZ]

Congrats. You're a minority of one. Even Microsoft admits that Vista has problems. Good luck with that.

Compared to the 300 bugs we're waiting on getting fixed :).

Anyway, as I was saying, their releasing a bum boot camp update brought me to my senses. I just hope 10.5.3 breaks Apple's bad run - 10.5.2, the Leopard Graphics Update, the boot camp update - all introduced problems as well as solving them.

[AidenShaw]

Congrats. You're a minority of one. Even Microsoft admits that Vista has problems. Good luck with that.

There are a lot more people running Vista than Leopard, and like the other guy, most of them aren't having serious problems. Most of them aren't even having minor problems.

Don't expect to get switchers by bashing Vista, instead talk up how flawless and totally reliable 10.5 has been.

[bobber205]

It's nice to see Leopard coming along. Me thinks the iPhone kind of threw off the development team... :D

[adrian.oconnor]

I don't think that will happen. OS X at its worst is legions better than Windows, and Linux is like computing back in 1985. Anyone who's switched to the Mac knows that. If finding the cheapest computer is important to them, they would have never considered the Mac in the first place. Come to think of it, I don't know anyone who's switched back. Do you?

That's a pretty disingenuous thing to say. We all know Windows isn't great, but it certainly gets the job done, and that is what most people need from an OS. As for Linux, it fairly rocks. It is simple and efficient. All it needs to be more successful is a small design team (with a strong leader to keep things on course) to create consistent and beautiful overlays for all of the major applications and it'll be there. Anybody can use Linux today, unless they need Flash, InDesign/Quark, Photoshop, Visual Studio or one of a handful of other applications.

Apple have built a good base - Cocoa is fantastic, Quartz is best-of-breed and the OS X interface in Leopard is stunning. But they (and they already know this) need to build on that by improving the areas where they don't do so well. In particular, they really need to integrate with Windows networks better.

Rubbishing the competition out of hand is no way to keep ahead of the game.