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TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 17 October 2011

iPhoto ’11 9.2 — In the massive iCloud-related set of software updates, Apple released iPhoto ’11 9.2. Along with providing compatibility with iCloud’s Photo Stream feature, iPhoto 9.2 adds left and right swipe gestures for navigating between photos in Magnify (1-up) view, displays previously imported photos in a separate section of the Import window, and enables you to choose book/calendar/card themes from a pop-up menu in the carousel view. Several bugs have also been fixed, including one that could cause pages of books to print incorrectly and
another that could lose saved slideshows and books when rebuilding a library. It’s easiest to get iPhoto 9.2 via Software Update or the Mac App Store. ($14.99 new from the Mac App Store, free update, 357.18 MB)

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Aperture 3.2 — Along with the iCloud-enabled iPhoto, Apple has pushed out Aperture 3.2 to provide compatibility with iCloud’s Photo Stream feature. A number of other minor changes round out the release, notably support for left and right swipe gestures for navigating between photos, the pinch-to-zoom gesture activating Zoom mode in the Viewer, relaunching into Full Screen mode if the app was in Full Screen mode when last quit, support for Microsoft Outlook for sending photos via email, and an option in the Import window to delete photos from an iOS device after import. Bugs have been fixed too, including a crashing bug
when using brushes to apply adjustments, problems with Loupe displaying magnification levels between 50 and 100 percent, incorrect color profiles on externally edited images, and incorrect cursor icons when using the Lift & Stamp tool in Split View and Viewer Only modes. ($79.99 new from the Mac App Store, free update, 635.76 MB, release notes)

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Safari 5.1.1 (Snow Leopard) — Although Safari 5.1.1 for Lion, which comes as part of the 10.7.2 update, now supports syncing of Safari bookmarks and the Safari Reading List to your devices via iCloud, 10.6 Snow Leopard isn’t currently compatible with iCloud. Thus, Safari 5.1.1 for Snow Leopard gains no new features, but it does boast improved JavaScript performance, and Apple took this opportunity to fix problems with excessive memory usage, along with stability issues related to Find, dragging tabs, managing extensions, and the Silverlight plug-in used by Netflix and other sites. Other bugs fixed include problems with
printing, entering East Asian characters into pages with Flash content, History items appearing incorrectly, and automatic updates to the Google Safe Browsing Service. In Snow Leopard, Safari 5.1.1 requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 and Security Update 2011-006. (Free, 47.05 MB)

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Security Update 2011-006 (Snow Leopard and Snow Leopard Server) — To bring the security fixes from Mac OS X 10.7.2 Lion back to 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple has released Security Update 2011-006 (Snow Leopard) and Security Update 2011-006 (Snow Leopard Server). The security vulnerabilities addressed are many and varied, with numerous affected components. Plus, Apple has updated a number of root SSL/TLS certificates. We recommend these updates for anyone still running Snow Leopard; it’s easiest to let Software Update install the
correct version for you. (Free, 136.28 MB for Snow Leopard / 144.91 MB for Snow Leopard Server)

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Lion Recovery Update — It’s not a small download, but all Apple says about the Lion Recovery Update is that it improves Lion Recovery and fixes a bug related to Find My Mac when using a firmware password. Hopefully you won’t have to rely on Lion Recovery, which enables you to perform some troubleshooting and to reinstall Lion by booting from a special hidden partition on your hard disk. Software Update is the easiest way to get and install this update. (Free, 431.91 MB)

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GraphicConverter 7.4 — Lemkesoft has released GraphicConverter 7.4, a new version of its graphic conversion and editing utility that comes with a number of new features. These include support for several new formats, like JPS, PNS, and MPO, with a particular focus on 3D graphics. The new version also adds conversion options, and many image browsing and manipulation functions. Several existing features have also received minor improvements; these include color profiles, file management, some export tasks, and much more. A number of bug fixes round out the update. ($39.95 new, free update, 100 MB, release notes)

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Sparrow 1.4 — Sparrow has released version 1.4 of its eponymous email app. This update primarily involves performance and user-interface improvements, with everything from composing to synchronizing receiving a speed boost and some polish. Sparrow 1.4 also adds a few welcome new features, such as integration with the file sharing service CloudApp, pull-to-refresh, and support for proper first-to-last message sorting in conversation view. Several bug fixes round out the update. If Sparrow 1.4 prompts for your password at every launch, Sparrow suggests some possible workarounds until version 1.4.1 appears. ($9.99 new from the Mac App Store, free update, 12.0 MB, release notes)

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