Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Preps for Lion
With the sound of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion roaring in the distance, Apple has released Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update. The update addresses some bugs, improves some networking features, provides additional security improvements, and paves the way for the release of Lion next month.
Among the bugs that Apple states have been resolved in this update, according to the linked support document, are the following:
- Resolves an issue that may cause Preview to unexpectedly quit.
- Corrects timezone data in iCal for Lisbon-Portugal.
- Fixes an issue when saving documents from Xcode or TextEdit when using an NFS home directory.
- Fixes an issue when importing certain media files into Final Cut Pro.
The update also tosses in raw image support for additional digital cameras.
On the networking front, the update improves VPN reliability and, especially important given the imminent exhaustion of the IPv4 address pool, provides improved support for the new Internet protocol, IPv6. Although this fact is in Apple’s release notes, Contributing Editor Mark Anbinder tells us that 10.6.8 also resolves a significant problem related to compatibility with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 that had prevented some organizations from migrating from Exchange Server 2007.
As is common with this sort of update, there are numerous security-related fixes addressing vulnerabilities in the App Store (where your password could be logged to a local file in certain circumstances), ATS, Certificate Trust Policy, CoreFoundation, CoreGraphics, FTP Server, ImageIO, International Components for Unicode, the kernel, MobileMe, MySQL, OpenSSL, patch, Quick Look, QuickTime, servermgrd, and Subversion. Mac OS X 10.6.8 also provides all previous security enhancements released to date, and it detects and removes all known variants of the MacDefender malware.
For those who were troubled by 10.6.7’s font-related problems (and who might have stayed with 10.6.6 as a result; see “Apple Releases Snow Leopard Font Update,” 26 April 2011), the 10.6.8 update includes all of the fixes provided in the Mac OS X v10.6.7 Snow Leopard Font Update.
The most tantalizing feature of 10.6.8, however, is the first one that Apple mentions in its support document: “Enhancements to the Mac App Store to get your Mac ready to upgrade to Mac OS X Lion.” We’re not quite sure what these enhancements are, but given that the Mac App Store is the only venue by which existing Mac OS X users will be able to obtain Lion upon its release, we’re reassured to know that Apple is working to make the multi-gigabyte purchase and download process as smooth as possible.
As usual, Apple suggests you back up your system with Time Machine before applying the update, and notes that the update provided by Software Update varies in size depending on the Mac you are running.
If you wish to install the update manually, the following versions are available:
- Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update (474.2 MB)
- Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server Update (542 MB)
- Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo (1.09 GB)
- Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server Update Combo (1.27 GB)
- Server Admin Tools 10.6.8 (for remote administration of Mac OS X Server 10.6.8; 255.9 MB)
And once again, just like when Apple released 10.6.5, 10.6.8 breaks the boot.efi file for those of us running PGP Whole Disk Encryption.
Make sure you download the PGP Recovery CD from Symantec before running the upgrade. It was a pain in the rear to find, but I was eventually able to download it here: http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH152610
Wondering why Software Update version is 275 MB while downloads page version is 474 MB - a whopping 200 MB larger.
Software Update provides the delta version designed for your particular hardware/software configuration. The Downloads page version is more generic, including stuff for a wider variety of systems than yours.
Updated my first gen intel 15" laptop. Now the monitor won't stay off. I have it turned all the way down and it keeps turning on and off. :(
I've gone so long without any serious issues with OS X Updates I've gotten complacent. However 10.6.7 broke my printing due to the font issue bug and now 10.6.8 has again broken printing for myself and a number of other users (a lot, but not all of whom are using Xerox printers). This time around the issue seems to involve updates to the way the CUPS printing system works.
See "Updated to 10.6.8, now I can't print" on the Apple discussion boards.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3137602?tstart=0
Since updating to 10.6.8 on July 2, 2011, I can no longer obtain a valid password login to my home network or guest network with my iphone or MacBook Air. My iPad is connecting fine and my iMac has no problems with wireless connection to my Airport Extreme, which has a green light. Rebooting the router and cable modem did not help.
This has got to be the most glitch-laden OS Update in Apple History. Mac elder and expert user—and I applied the Update 2 weeks apart on 2 diff MBPros ... and *both* times it ate ALL my sent POP mail! Astonishing! I've got backups, of course, but this takes the cake!