According to AppleInsider, Apple has begun testing for the 10.5.3 update to it’s OS X Leopard operating system. The update is said to include 75 bug fixes. According to the story:
Among those components in need of evaluation, people familiar with the matter tell AppleInsider, are AddressBook, AppleScript, Audio, Back To My Mac, Dashboard, the Dock, DVD Player, Finder, Graphics, iCal, Mail, Portable Home Directories, Printing, Rosetta, Spaces, Spotlight, Time Machine, and VoiceOver.
The developer community is busy testing the code, and we should see the public release some time in April or early May.
While I’m at it, I’m going to rub something in. Why? Because it is deserved.
Apple releases Leopard 10.5 on October 26, 2007. I, at that point, proceed to buy a Mac Pro. On November 15th, Apple releases the first update 10.5.1. On February 11, 2008, Apple releases 10.5.2. Now we hear 10.5.3 will come out in about a month from now. All the while, Leopard is running much smoother than Vista ever did.
I should also mention that 10.4 Tiger was released on April 25, 2005. So, we had about 2.5 years between major versions of OS X.
OK, onto Microsoft. They release Windows XP on October 25, 2001. Windows Vista was released to volume license holders on November 8, 2006 and released to the general public on January 30, 2007. Vista SP1 update was just released to the general public only 10 days ago (March 18, 2008).
So, let’s see, Apple released 3 updates to Leopard within 6 months. Microsoft took 5 years to develop it’s new OS (it took Apple 2 years) and it took them over a year to get out the first major update to Vista. In the meantime, Vista is annoying enough to cause a lawsuit and a “Save XP” petition”.
Needless to say, I am, at this point in time, glad I am running Apple. One company is staying ahead of the curve. The other company, well, isn’t.
David Risley is the founder of PCMech.com. He is the brains, the thinker, the writer, the nerd.
New study shows MS patches their security faster than Apple:
http://security.itworld.com/4940/microsoft-patches-faster-than-apple-080327/page_1.html
Keep in mind MS is constantly releasing “small” updates via Windows Update instead of waiting to distribute a bunch at once like Apple does.
Hehehe. I haven’t been here for quite a while. (Mr. “document centric” if you don’t recall.) Did I tell you or did I not that Apple is great abut regular updates, especially listening to user feedback? I’m off to see if you ever wrote anything about 10.5.2 restoring the pop-up menus to docked folders like I predicted.
I must begin with saying that I own a macbook and pretty much use it day in and day out. I own a pc desktop but don’t use it all that much.
Amount of money users have spent on an operating system between major upgrades:
MS: whatever their first purchase of XP cost (if they upgraded separately): $150-250 or $300
Apple: at least $500-600, not to mention expensive hardware.
I don’t consider the update from tiger to leopard a major update like XP to Vista. It’s more of a facelift like the other OS X releases (yes, it’s 64bit, but there was a 64bit XP pro as well).
Remember, I’m not a MS fan… this is just what I see.
I hope they fix problem with some USB disks (for example sata disk in CoolerMaster X Craft 360), on 10.4.9 worked well but with 10.5.2 doesn’t.
Interesting that an article about 10.5.3 being released to testers turns into yet another completely unrelated microsoft bashing article. Kudos on forcing the Vista sucks comment into the article.
And for the record. Apple has released only ONE major OS, they haven’t increased the version number. They are still at version 10, like the upgrade from 2000 to XP was regarded as a minor update (from version 5.0 to 5.1).
Brenden, the differences between 10.4 and 10.5 are many, every bit as novel in many ways as XP to Vista upgrade. So, you can get into numerical semantics all you want. My point still stands.
I will say that Microsoft is better at releasing zero-day security fixes than Apple. But, Microsoft is NOT better at releasing updates that make a difference in the usability of the machines it runs on.
Taken from Paul Thurrott’s Super Site..
“Apple and its supporters will tell you that Apple spent the past five years churning out major new Mac OS X versions while Microsoft fumbled around trying to finish Windows Vista. This is completely untrue. Though I use and respect Mac OS X, virtually every version Apple has shipped since 2001 has been a minor update, akin to a Windows 98 SE or Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). Meanwhile, Microsoft has pushed an amazing variety of Windows versions out the door since 2001. Some highlights include Windows XP Embedded, Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), Windows XP MCE 2004, Windows XP MCE 2005, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition (TPC), Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. It has also shipped major updates to its digital media software, including three major updates to Windows Media Player, a major IE release–IE 7–major new client-based security applications and services, including Windows Defender and Windows Live OneCare. And this is just a partial list. The point here is simple: Microsoft hasn’t sat still, contrary to the FUD you read online.”
I run both a Mac and Windows machine at home and love them both, but I have no idea why you would say that the update to leapard is anywhere near as big as the jump from xp to vista. I would say it’s by far closer to windows xp to service pack 2.
I also am really sick of the Vista bashing that goes on from people who have never even touched the operating system or think they know something about it. I’ve been using it on a machine that was actually built for it and it’s been running great for me since installed. Most people who have been having issues with it really don’t know what they are doing and try to stick it on a machine not built for it. Not any different than what happened when Windows XP was released and people tried to install it on Windows 98 machines.
Jimmy, I HAVE used Vista. Used it for several months actually. On a machine which was marketed as “Vista Ready”. When I speak about Vista, it isn’t based on hearsay. But, if it is working great for you, awesome.