Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.8 [u]

Apple today released Mac OS X 10.4.8, an update to its Tiger operating system that brings many bug fixes as well as several security fixes, which are also available for Mac OS X 10.3 (Client, Server). Mac OS X 10.4.8, available for both PowerPC (Client/Server) as well as Intel-based Macs (Client/Server), improves support for printing, Finder, applications, networking as well as modem connectivity, third-party software, and other miscellaneous items including Rosetta and system security. Mac OS X Server 10.4.8 for PowerPC systems addresses Apple File Service, NetBoot/Netinstall, NFS, Password Server, networking, Windows File Service, and miscellaneous items. Mac OS X Server 10.4.8 Universal improves AFP Server, Filesystem NetBoot/Netinstall, networking, NFS, QuickTime Streaming Server, and Xsan support.

In addition to the fixes below, the PowerPC-based Mac OS X 10.4.8 update brings fixes for connecting to wireless networks using the EAP-FAST protocol; Apple USB modem reliability; using OpenType fonts in Microsoft Word; compatibility with third-party USB hubs; scanner performance; RAW camera support; printing documents with Asian language names; performance of the Translation widget; and broadband network performance.

Printing

• Adds support for CDSASSL (Common Data Security Architecture Secure Sockets Layer) printer connections.
  
• Addresses an issue for Mac OS X 10.4.7 in which some documents containing some Chinese or Korean language characters might not print as expected.
  

Finder and Apple applications

• Resolves an issue in which a Finder alert message with the buttons "Initialize", "Ignore", and "Eject" might not appear after connecting a partitioned FireWire hard drive.
  
• Addresses a potential issue in which Preview may unexpectedly quit.
  
• Improves reliability of iTunes syncing with certain iPod models.
  

Networking and modem

• Resolves performance issues that could occur when connecting to a Comcast network.
  
• Improves security by adding support for EAP-FAST for AirPort wireless authentication.
  
• Improves Express Card behavior for portable Intel-based Macs.
  
• Improves reliability for connections made in Ireland with an external Apple USB Modem.
  
• Improves connection reliability for external Apple USB Modems when resuming an Internet connection after answering an incoming call.
  
• A computer restart is no longer needed to restart nfsd.
  
• Improves Apple File Sharing client performance by changing the default AFP WAN quantum size.. More...
  
• Windows File Sharing now generates only one process, avoiding an issue that could cause a Mac OS X computer to become unresponsive if it won a master browser election.
  
• Improves reliability when faxing in France or Belgium via an external Apple USB Modem.
  

Third-party

• Resolves an issue for Microsoft Word in which Word might stop responding when saving a file that uses certain OpenType fonts.
  
• Adds RAW image decoding support for these cameras: Sony DSLR-A100, Nikon D2Xs, Fuji FinePix S2 Pro, Fuji FinePix S3 Pro (+Highlights) and Konica Minolta 7.
  
• Resolves an issue in which thumbnails may appear blank when importing RAW images from a Canon 30D camera.
  
• Resolves an issue for Microsoft PowerPoint in which the display resolution might not change as expected after switching from a PowerPoint presentation to a different application via Command-Tab.
  
• Improves compatibility for Canon EOS Utility software after connecting a Canon EOS Kiss Digital camera to a PowerPC-based Mac.
  
• Improves compatibility for the TV Tracker 2 Dashboard widget.
  

Other

• Includes recent Apple security updates.
  
• Improves the accuracy of Rosetta numerics and addresses Altivec translation issues on Intel-based Macs.
  
• ColorSync matching no longer fails when using a V4 ICC profile in an application opened with Rosetta on an Intel-based Mac.
  
• Addresses an issue in which some USB devices connected to a PCI card may not be recognized after starting up or waking the computer.
  
• Resolves an issue in which external USB-based video cameras may not be available after quitting the application that is using it.
  
• Reduces time needed to transfer data from a USB-based image scanner.
  
• Improves responsiveness of the Translation Dashboard widget.
  
• Addresses an issue in which text typed with the Hangul input method may not be visible while the Caps Lock key is active, on PowerPC-based Macs.
  
• Adds support on Intel-based Macs for multiple cores to LAPACK and BLAS routines in the Accelerate framework; the maximum number of threads used by Accelerate BLAS routines is now limited by the environment variable VECLIB_MAXIMUM_THREADS; addresses an issue with some complex BLAS routines in the Accelerate framework that were encountering an illegal instruction.
  

Filed under: software