Mac OS X 10.4.9 Special Report: Release notes

On March 13th, Apple released Mac OS X 10.4.9, a major iterative update that includes vast improvements and is available in both PowerPC (client, server) and Intel (client, server) editions.

Briefly, improvements have been made to the following areas:

• RAW camera support
• Handling of large or malformed images that could cause crashes
• Image capture performance
• Mouse scrolling and keyboard shortcuts
• Font handling
• Playback quality, and bookmarks in DVD Player
• USB video conferencing cameras for use with iChat
• Bluetooth devices
• Browsing AFP servers
• Apple USB Modem
• Windows-created digital certificates
• Open and Print dialogs in applications that use Rosetta on Intel-based Macs
• Time zone and daylight saving for 2006 and 2007
• Security updates

Mac OS X 10.4.9 also provides a slew of security enhancements, addressing several flaws identified by the "Month of Apple Bugs" campaign among others. For a full list of resolved vulnerabilities, see Apple Knowledge Base article #305214. For Panther (Mac OS X 10.3.9) users, these fixes are contained in Security Update 2007-003.

The new release is available via Software Update and through the following standalone download links:

• Mac OS X 10.4.9 Update Intel, Delta (will only update Mac OS X 10.4.8) [160MB]
• Mac OS X 10.4.9 Update Intel, Combo (will update any iteration of Mac OS X 10.4.x) [310 MB]
• Mac OS X 10.4.9 Update PowerPC, Delta (will only update Mac OS X 10.4.8) [72MB]
• Mac OS X 10.4.9 Update PowerPC, Combo (will update any iteration of Mac OS X 10.4.x) [163MB]
• Mac OS X Server Update 10.4.9 Intel, Delta (will only update Mac OS X 10.4.8) [249MB]
• Mac OS X Server Update 10.4.9 Intel, Combo (will update any iteration of Mac OS X Server 10.4.x) [350 MB]
• Mac OS X Server Update 10.4.9 PowerPC, Delta (will only update Mac OS X 10.4.8) [127MB]
• Mac OS X Server Update 10.4.9 PowerPC, Combo (will update any iteration of Mac OS X Server 10.4.x) [216MB]

Index:

• Release notes
• Update procedure recommendation
• Common workarounds for when things go wrong post-update
• Downgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.8 (uninstalling Mac OS X 10.4.9)
• Files modified by this update

• AirPort: Loss of connectivity, card not recognized, more
• Application launch problems
• Bluetooth device issues
• Classic: Will not run, other issues
• Desktop icons missing
• Disk images not mounting
• Eject key issues: Longer duration before action takes place
• External optical drives: hardware errors
• Final Cut Pro/Express: Capture issues, performance concerns
• Finder persistently crashes and re-launches
• Frozen windows
• iSync issues/general synchronization problems
• Mail.app: junk filters not working
• Microsoft Office: Various issues
• Networking problems with Mac OS 9 systems
• Persistent booting into Windows
• Printer problems, fixes
• Problems starting up
• Quicken: .Mac backup failure: Fixes
• Resolved issues
• Secure site access broken: fixes
• Segmentation faults
• Server connection drops
• Third-party device issues (Nikon Capture NX, Griffin AirClick, more)
• Update to Final Cut Pro 5.1.4 for best performance
• Volume significantly louder: boon for some, drawback for others
• VPN connectivity issues
• WWAN update included, how to remove

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