The Channel Wire

July 01, 2008

This week Apple released an update to the Mac OS X operating system. OS X 10.5.4 update tackles several issues with the operating system, including upgrades and fixes to the Safari Web browser, AirPort and iCal. Apple recommends the update to all OS X Leopard users in order to increase stability and security of a Mac, according to Apple's Website.

The Safari browser update takes aim at malicious Web sites that may cause application termination or lead to unwanted code execution. The update increases bound checking so that user machines visiting Websites are less likely to fall victim to the attack.

The AirPort update deals with performance issues. The Leopard 10.5.4 update increases reliability with 5GHZ networks. Logic Studio and MainStage had also been affected by slow performance. The upgrade to the operating system will address those issues and speed up performance.

The greatest number of improvements in the latest version of the Leopard OS X are geared toward iCal, its functionality and usability. One issue that is fixed involves deleting iCal events. Before the update, a user who wanted to delete an invite had to notify the creator of the event. With the update, that issue is resolved.

Finding availability has also been updated. In the last version of iCal someone requesting a date was unable to filter dates by availability. A checkbox added to iCal now enables calendars to be free from free/busy look ups. Deleting old events also was difficult for iCal, and events would not expire even though they were set to do so. Finally, the 10.5.4 upgrade allows To Dos to be set to private.