10.4.8 Seeded

[MacRumors]

An anonymous source claims Mac OS 10.4.8 has been seeded to developers. Among the preliminary list of changes in the new seed are fixes to AFP Server, WebCore, LoginWindow, CUPS and CDSASSL, and ImageCapture.

Also reported is a list of known issues (including double reboots, long reboots, and no localization in some areas). Testers are asked to focus on the following:

- AFP
- DVD Player
- Graphics and Graphics applications
- iCal
- iPhoto
- Mail
- Microsoft Word & OpenType fonts
- Modem usage
- Networking
- Printing
- Safari
- USB

The build weighs in at 305 MB for intel and 147 MB for PPC. If left as-is, the updates would be some of the largest in history (Mac OS 10.4.7, released in June, was only 133 MB intel and 64 MB PPC). However, many of Apple's early builds are significantly larger than when they are released to the public.

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[WildPalms]

The updates are bound to get larger in packaged size as the apps and services continue to mature. Better loads of patches than none.

[bousozoku]

Eeek. They're touching USB again. I expect another round of kernel panics coming from hot plug issues.

[bowens]

Sounds good. Last update before Leopard?

[jessica.]

I think I'll wait to download this as I see they're touching things that I seemed to have problems with last time around. I'll let someone else be the beta tester.

[Chundles]

Originally Posted by bowens

Sounds good. Last update before Leopard?

Doubt it, probably one around MWSF and another just before Leopard.

10.4.8 - sometime in October, big one.
10.4.9 - January, little one
10.4.10 - March, last one

10.5.0 - April...

[Scarlet Fever]

Originally Posted by bowens

Sounds good. Last update before Leopard?

they might release one to cope with the Merom/Conroe chips which are due in the MBP/iMacs. Remember they released 10.2.8 to use 64 bit with the G5 chips?

I don't use it a lot, but DVD Player doesn't need a lot of work, does it?

[thejadedmonkey]

Originally Posted by Scarlet Fever

I don't use it a lot, but DVD Player doesn't need a lot of work, does it?

It seems like they're always updating it

[AeronPrometheus]

...Which is funny, cause isn't there a new version already slated for Leopard? I'm guessing the 10.5 version will allow the app to play Blu-Ray and HD-DVD?

What's wrong with the Login Window? Or Image Capture?

[dr_lha]

Good to see they're fixing the font issue. I'd noticed after 10.4.7 that I'm getting stray pixels all over the place in both MS Word and Camino. Annoying.

[dextertangocci]

YAY!!

One step closer to Leopard!!!

I hope Steve surprises us and releases it at MW in Jan

[jmmo20]

Holy cow!! 300mb for intel.
Can anyone explain why updates are larger for Intel? Maybe they release the changes as universal thus doubling the size?

[danman]

So, no updates to OpenGL - so no threading a la current Mac Pros.

[deejemon]

Originally Posted by jmmo20

Holy cow!! 300mb for intel.
Can anyone explain why updates are larger for Intel? Maybe they release the changes as universal thus doubling the size?

The Intel version of the operating system is only 4 versions old. Yes, they've been building it for ages alongside the PowerPC version, but the biggest reason for updates is customer feedback from real-world use, which has never existed until the Intel version came out as 10.4.4.

It's not just a matter of turning on the Universal build option and compiling. The hardware, the architecture; different from PowerPC models to Intel, both in the common equipment, and that the Intel machines often have even more equipment than the PowerPC ones. There's bound to be a few Mac Pro-specific fixes in there (to patch whatever version ships on the Mac Pro).

Another possibility: many of the open-source projects that are leveraged into Mac OS X may be ironing out their Intel compatibility, where their PowerPC version might be rock-solid.

There's a whole bunch of reasons, so it's not really that's surprising.

[Chundles]

Originally Posted by jmmo20

Holy cow!! 300mb for intel.
Can anyone explain why updates are larger for Intel? Maybe they release the changes as universal thus doubling the size?

Intel is newer and thus requires a bit more work.

A Universal application is not double the size, it's not two copies of everything - one for PPC and one for Intel. A Universal application includes a PPC version of the binary and an Intel version of the binary, the resources remain common, therefore a Universal app is only very slightly bigger than a PPC-only app. Binaries aren't all that big, it's all the resources and stuff that make up the app that take up the most room.

[mkrishnan]

Exciting!

It's a long, unlikely shot, but I wonder if some future version of Tiger will get iCal Server support (to be a client -- not to be an iCal Server). Apple's modus operandi says they probably won't bother, but it would be a good move for them if it is not prohibitive with respect to the APIs of Leopard vs. Tiger, since the more computers out there that can harness iCal servers, the more likely it is to take off.

[MatthewCobb]

Originally Posted by MACRUMORS

- Microsoft Word & OpenType fonts

Arggh. So that means Word will give me the spinning beachball of death once again as it tries to optimize its font men, until I trash all those stupid library files it insists on making, fiddle around with Fontbook, reboot reboot reboot. Still the beachball. And then suddenly it will work again, for no apparent reason.

Or maybe this will actually FIX that problem..

[puckhead193]

i hope with the new login window, you can log off but still have apps running in the background so no one has access to your computer...that's the one feature i like about XP

[mkrishnan]

Originally Posted by puckhead193

i hope with the new login window, you can log off but still have apps running in the background so no one has access to your computer...that's the one feature i like about XP

So when you FUS, do all applications stop cold in the switched-out user? For your needs, can you set password for screen saver and use the screen saver to lock your computer? That way you can just hot-corner or dock a screen saver icon, and then just flick to it when you want your computer secured while you're gone. Would that help?

I do actually like how ctrl-alt-del locks the station in Windows.... What I personally want actually is for an option to FUS to the login window on sleep or screen-save, so that instead of the screen saver password window, you get the login window....

[maverick808]

Originally Posted by puckhead193

i hope with the new login window, you can log off but still have apps running in the background so no one has access to your computer...that's the one feature i like about XP

You've been able to do this since Panther. Just go into System Prefs - Accounts Preference Pane - Login Options. Then set fast user switching on. After that you can simply use the menu widget that appears to switch back to the login window while still being logged in.

[SilentPanda]

I hope it fixes a problem I've been having since 10.4.7. On my secondary screen if it's rotated 90 degrees or 270 degrees (maybe 180 but why make a screen upside down?) certain programs lock the computer up... not a kernal panic but I have to reboot. SSH'ing in and killing processes doesn't even fix it.

Safari, some quicktime, certain screen savers... just weird stuff... oddly enough Safari has the problem but Firefox doesn't... it strikes me as weird since I'm pretty sure they display almost the same thing... ah well. Come on 10.4.8!

[simonthewolf]

Originally Posted by Chundles

Intel is newer and thus requires a bit more work.

A Universal application is not double the size, it's not two copies of everything - one for PPC and one for Intel. A Universal application includes a PPC version of the binary and an Intel version of the binary, the resources remain common, therefore a Universal app is only very slightly bigger than a PPC-only app. Binaries aren't all that big, it's all the resources and stuff that make up the app that take up the most room.

Ah, that post makes me feel all nostalgic for the days of fat binaries!

[brepublican]

Originally Posted by bowens

Sounds good. Last update before Leopard?

I want to see atleast a 10.4.9. This is definitely good news though, hope they can fix some outstanding Safari issues, and if they touched on Finder, all the better

[chairguru22]

Originally Posted by AeronPrometheus

...Which is funny, cause isn't there a new version already slated for Leopard? I'm guessing the 10.5 version will allow the app to play Blu-Ray and HD-DVD?

you wish.

[sickracer2015]

The large updates are the combo udates, 10.4.x to 10.4.8
there are probably smaller "Delta" updates that update 10.4.7 to 10.4.8