OSX "Tiger"
About version 10.4.x



 
## AN IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL CONSUMERS ##
Apple is quietly reducing support for older (up to 5 years old) digital cameras, external hard drives and other devices within OSX, iPhoto 5 and other Apple applications forcing consumers to purchase the latest devices. You will need to visit places such as http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/cameras.html to learn the devices Apple is willing to support.

This view is supported by The Sydney Morning Herald (Icon Supplement), 2-3 September 2006, page 8 and various Apple users mentioned below.

 

 
About version 10.4.
The upgrade to 10.4 (followed by rumours of an immediate 10.4.1 update as if there is likely to be already problems with the initial release) — known as OSX 'Tiger' — has arrived (retail build number 8A428). The first instalment of this OS has been available since mid-April 2005 (this year it will be before December so it won't seem like Apple is cashing in on the Christmas spending spree from customers this time around).

When installing the upgrade, please remember to give the OS plenty of time on the first restart to do its thing. It can look like it is frozen in the middle of the startup process, but patience will be a virtue for this early release version. Apparently the new Spotlight feature is trying to index all your files which can take anywhere up to 60 minutes to complete. You may also the indexing process will quicken by disconnecting the ethernet cable and turning off the wireless Airport connection (as if the OS is keen to index your network resources).

And what do you get for this extra time and effort? Here are some of the features (and problems) you will inherit:

Spotlight
This is a serious modification of the original Sherlock tool designed to solve the problem of users not indexing their files immediately (probably because it takes too long with the Sherlock system) and therefore making it easier for the right software manufacturer to inspect people's applications and files when the OSX machines are online or brought into an Apple-repair centre. Now the indexing will occur immediately after installing the Tiger upgrade, and taking up to an hour to index for a number of users. When indexing is completed, Spotlight is fast and will search through the contents of files for the relevant information. However, don't try to use it to find invisible files. In contrast to the original Sherlock system, Spotlight may provide a criteria to find invisible files, but it won't work. Apple has stopped users from finding invisible files. Is this an error, or did Apple always intend it to be the case with Spotlight?

Another problem with Spotlight is how much processor time is needed to finish off or update the index when certain files have changed (eg. mailbox folders) causing the OS and other applications to run sluggishly as processor usage spikes for Spotlight. In other cases, some third-party applications trying to create a temporary partition when burning to CD/DVD-R or backing up data (eg. Retrospect) to external disks may suddenly quit or crash in the middle of doing its work because Spotlight wants to dominate the processor usage at an inconvenient time to achieve its indexing work on the temporary partition disk and external disks. A solution to this problem is to go into the "Privacy" tab of the Spotlight pane in System Preferences to specify the disks you don't want to index.

Another annoyance of Spotlight is how a user may temporarily access a network server for a minute or two before removing it, only to find Spotlight wants to stop you from disconnecting the server until it has indexed the entire network contents.

So it would seem like the real reason for having this Spotlight feature available in Tiger is because a large number of users are becoming fully aware of Apple's activities when it comes to rummaging for information off people's hard disks when Apple computers are handed in for repairs. Now Apple has to do it rather more surreptitiously by (i) forcing users to accept the Spotlight's need to index everything and wait until it is completed; and (ii) when the users are online, OS X can be designed to secretly send registration information, IP address, details of applications installed, and any other identifying information (eg. in Apple's Address Book) to Apple and other major software manufacturers.

Very interesting.

Add to this how typing a character or two into the search field of Spotlight just before completing your search criteria can cause the application to suddenly pause for a long period of time, and you would want to get rid of Spotlight altogether (try copying and pasting the criteria into Spotlight instead).

If Spotlight is a pain in the arse, especially if you are going to be online on a regular basis, switch off the indexing process in Spotlight as a minimum or, better still, kill the Spotlight application. This act alone should dramatically increase performance and further improve your privacy. But as one user said:

'Spotlight is supposed to improve productivity, and it may indeed do that if you have an ideal system, whatever Apple may have decided that is. However, for those of us who need systems that perform (ie. have work to do), or just don't wan't the hard drive to spin constantly, Spotlight's nothing but a monstrous drag. Thank you so much for the easy hostconfig method of shutting Spotlight down — we can only hope that Apple provides a software switch in the very near future to turn off this supremely annoying "feature" of Tiger (or that they permit users to restrict indexing only to scheduled indexing sessions, say between 1am and 5am or something unobtrusive.' (MacFixIt.com: Mac OSX 10.4 (Tiger) #16: Spotlight processor usage and performance problems; solutions. 13 May 2005.)

If you don't want to kill the application, there is a technique to reduce the priority of Spotlight for processor usage. Type in the Terminal:

renice -n -p

where n is an integer number between 1 and 20 inclusive for determining whether the process priority should be 1 (for highest priority) or 20 (for lowest priority); and p is the process ID number for Spotlight as determined by the Activity Monitor (located in Applications/Utilities). Look for "mds" as the implicated process and use the number next to it as your process ID number for Spotlight.

For example,

renice -20 -p NNN

Or for those wanting a freeware utility to simplify the process, try the freeware BeNice 2.0.

To completely turn off Spotlight, enter the Terminal and activate the "pico" text editor of OSX to edit the hostconfig file as follows:

sudo pico /etc/hostconfig

Scroll down through the text of hostconfig until you find the line that says SPOTLIGHT=-YES-. Change this to SPOTLIGHT=-NO-. Exit pico, saving the file, restart the computer, and Spotlight should sit quietly doing nothing on startup. Solution permanently solved.

Alternatively, you may wish to try the freeware Disable Tiger Features 1.0.2 by FilKiFan Software to cleanly disable (and reenable if you wish) both Spotlight and Dashboard (more details about the latter Apple application and why people want to turn it off can be found later in this document).

But remember, once you stop Spotlight, the Find file function under the Finder will not work. In effect, you will have to find a third-party search tool to replace Spotlight.

If you do intend to stop Spotlight using the pico text editor, you may wish to remove Spotlight icon from appearing in the menu bar as well. To remove Spotlight from the menu bar, remove the file "Search.bundle" from the folder /System/Library/CoreServices. Restart the computer.

Safari
Safari in Tiger has been updated to version 2.0 (as opposed to the 1.3 version just released in March 2005 which was giving absolute hell to 10.3.9 "Panther" users because of significant changes made by Apple to the Java classes etc). Curious to know whether this latest offering of Safari has solved the Safari-Java problems of 10.3.9?

Safari 2.0 has undergone further changes. Now users cannot copy images in web pages and paste them into another application in the traditional way using Paste command. If you do, a link to the images is shown. You will now have to use the Paste Special command. Or try a third-party internet browser to make it work in the normal way. Apple, of course, has kept this secret for users to work out.

As for the lack of a download manager in Safari (available in virtually all other third-party internet browsers except, remarkably enough, Apple's own browser) and how this Apple's own internet browser hangs during launching of Adobe Acrobat editor/reader when reading PDF files online, it is unlikely Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) will solve this problem with the Tiger update. A lot of users are finding this incredibly annoying such as versiontracker.com user Xeater when he said in April 2005:

'I use iGetter, and it suits my needs. It's pretty lame that Safari has no downloadable manager, and Tiger doesn't appear to solve this problem. I don't know if Apple just thinks nobody downloads or what, but it's d@mn annoying.' (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/26260)

A reasonably effective software to get around this download manager problem of Safari is to use the free 63K-sized OSX program called Friggin' Idiot, Safari! 0.11b or What's wrong with Safari 0.1. Developed by Frequency Technologies, this software will download virtually anything from a web site very quickly where you can casually browse offline in your own pleasure and without Apple trying to restrict people from downloading music and movie files for watching on their computers.

StuffIt Expander
Allume's StuffiIt Expander is another one of those really useful software tools ditched by Apple according to article 301016 (as of May 2005). Users will now be required to enter their names and email address to Allume before they can download the friggin' free StuffIt Expander. Apparently some companies are taking the view it is better to know who and where the users are located when the software is being downloaded and used rather than supplying it free with the OS upgrade to anonymous users worldwide.

Mail.app
Major problems with Tiger's Mail.app. There are sluggish performance issues, not able to import old mail without human intervention, and problems with IMAP servers. To solve the import problem, rename .mbox.mbox to .mbox and move the old Sent and Inbox .mbox files to the new ~/Library/Mail folder in OSX Tiger. Delete the folder ~/Library/Mail/Envelope Index. Restart Mail.app and follow the prompt to import files (ie. direct your Mail software to look at ~/Library/Mail).

QuickTime
Then we come to Apple's next important flagship application (after the OS) known as QuickTime Pro. This tool is under some scrutiny by users.

For instance, we understand Apple could not immediately supply new serial codes for Quicktime Pro 7 after the Tiger install. Customers had to wait for availability and final pricing. In the meantime QuickTime Pro 6 will not work and the serial number for this QuickTime version will not enable QuickTime Pro 7. NOTE: Apple has quickly rectified this problem. This time Panther users who run QuickTime 7 with a Pro key under 10.3.x will discover problems (not for the Tiger users). For example, MacFixIt reader Steve P wrote:

'I downloaded the new QuickTime 7.0 and purchased a new Pro key. Operating in 10.3.9, QT 7 quits when you select Show Movie Properties (Command-J), from the Window menu, for an open movie file.' (MacFixIt.com: Problems with QuickTime Pro 7 and Mac OS X 10.3.x (Panther). 2 May 2005.)

To resolve this QuickTime 7 problem, try creating a new user account. Or try this method from Mike Barron and others:

1. Quit Quicktime
2. In System Preferences->International, change your language to something other than what it is set to.
3. Quit System Preferences (and then some people need to log out and log back in).
4. Relaunch System Preferences and change the language back to your preferred setting.
5. Try Quicktime again. "Show Movie Properties..." should now work.

But that's not all. QuickTime 7.0 components are forcing third-party plug-ins from Avid, Blackmagic and various others to misbehave, causing the Finder to repeatedly quit unless you go into Terminal and tell it to delete or remove the offending plug-ins. Be prepared to do lots of updating and/or upgrading of the plug-ins.

On the positive side, the QuickTime update to version 7.0.1 as of 31 May 2005 appears to be better behaved. Installation was flawless and all key features were said to be working. But do look out for unexpected crashes immediately after the update as some users have noted. The solution in this case appears to be to reinstall the QuickTime 7.0.1 updater followed by the Mac OSX 10.4.1 updater. As Edward Elbers said to MacFixIt.com:

'After installing quicktime 7.01 my wife's powerbook had the finder crashing continuously. We were able to solve the problem by installing the QuickTime update again as well as Mac OSX 10.4.1 again.' (MacFixIt.com: QuickTime 7.0.1: Problems with MIDI instruments; Freezes when using full-screen mode (versions 7.0 and 7.0.1); more. 1 June 2005.)

Also users have noticed sudden Finder freezes and kernel panics when running QuickTime movies in full screen mode. Similar problems may exist when going full screen mode to preview something in iMail or iPhoto. This may suggest an error elsewhere in the system and not in the QuickTime 7.0.1 application and components. But then again, it could well be QuickTime 7.0.1 creating an oddity for Tiger. Or perhaps, as one user suggested, it might be hardware specific in that the PowerMac G5 1.8MHz single processor model could be the only one to be affected by this full screen Finder freeze problem.

The system log for this problem after a forced reboot is said to be:

'abc kernel[0]: AppleSMU waiting over 2 sec for reply AGAIN! !cmd = 0x27, length = 0x01; kernel[0]: AppleSMUsendMISC: FAILURE -- TIMEOUT EXCEEDED on GPIO !'

And, of course, how can we forget the lost sound after installing QuickTime 7.0.1? The solution is apparently pretty obvious: run the application GarageBand, play a few notes, quit the application, and run the QuickTime player or any other third-party application requiring QuickTime to run movies (eg. Microsoft PowerPoint), and the sound in the movies should be properly restored to its former glory.

But as one user quite rightly asked, "Umm, what if you don't have GarageBand?"

Well, you're basically up the creek with this one unless Apple stops this nonsense about going after the pirates who aren't doing the right thing and give everyone a proper Tiger update to permanently fix all problems.

So far only a couple of QuickTime 7 users were brave enough to come out of the woodworks to claim QuickTime is working for them. For example, one user said:

'I just installed Quicktime 7.0.1. So far I have have not encountered any issues or problems. The quicktime update appears good.'

But as one of our staff asked the user:

'I couldn't help noticing some problems for other users updating to QuickTime 7.0.1 according to MacFixIt.com yet you have managed to successfully install yours without a glitch of any sort.

'What's your secret?

'Did you have to remove all your third-party QuickTime extensions, applied the QuickTime update, and then reinstalled the extensions?

'Or did you wipe the hard disk clean, reinstalled MacOSX 10.4, then the 10.4.1 update followed by the QuickTime 7.0.1 update?

'Or did you reinstall the 10.4.1 update, ran Disk Utility to fix permissions, and hoped to hell it worked, which apparently it did for your machine.

'I had to ask because curiosity got the better of me today.'

As of 5 June 2005, there had been no reply. It is possibly because the user realised he/she had spoken too soon!

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
17 January 2005
A MacFixIt user named RedClaw noticed how Apple is reducing features in the free version of QuickTime until you pay for the Pro version:

'I remember when QT was a free app. Then one day, Apple decided to make it a paid for version. That was fine, but when they took away many of the features that were available in the free version I was angry. Even the most common stuff like full screen was removed.' (http://www.versiontracker.com.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25645)

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
23 August 2005
Users are noticing a workaround to the full screen problem in the free version of QuickTime — just use iTunes.

CD/DVD burning
Ignoring the QuickTime problems, there is more to report. Tiger's own CD/DVD burner tool in the Finder is behaving atrociously when it comes to the very basic task of recognising CD/DVD burners. If the driver is not recognised, the blank CD/DVD-R/RW disk will be ejected. You will have to use a third-party burning software tool such as Toast 6.0.9 to get around this silly problem. Or try resetting the PRAM/NVRAM. As a final resort, quit the Finder as soon as you see the following error message:

'The disc cannot be used because the disc drive is not supported. (Error Code 0x80020025)'

Also be careful of creating temporary disk images when performing CD and DVD burns — Apple has apparently put a stop to that in 10.4. And if you can bypass this restriction, the Spotlight application will interrupt the CD/DVD burning process when it starts to index the temporary disk images.

Nice one Apple!

AFP
Apple Filesharing Protocol (AFP) is going through a major change. Users can no longer file share OS9 classic Macintosh computers with OSX machines running the Tiger upgrade. As Philip De Simone has discovered:

'Mac OS X OS 10.4 (Tiger) will not allow users to connect to machines running OS 9 for the purpose of file sharing. When you try to connect to an OS 9 machine, you get the following error message 'Connection failed. This file server uses an incompatible version of the AFP protocol. You cannot connect to it.

'This is really terrible for environments with both OS 10 and OS 9 machines. I wonder if there is/will be a way around this.'

We wouldn't count on it. Your best bet is to enable TCP/IP on the OS9 server in order for the OSX machine to be seen as the client. But this technique won't work for OS8.6 machines (forcing really antiquated Macintosh users to upgrade at least to OS9). The only other alternative is to pay US$79 for OpenDoor's ShareWay IP Personal 3.0 single user license version. But given the price, you are better off upgrading to OS9 or start getting a more modern Macintosh computer (ie. go for a second-hand titanium laptop and don't bother about buying a new Apple computer unless you are lusting after one of those mac-minis for under A$1,000).

Could this be the first signs of Apple trying to shake off its old classic environment by getting people to accept only OSX? If so, we wouldn't be surprised if Apple decides to put a bug or two in the Classic Environment to see how many people still use it based on the number of complaints received about it.

While on the networking front, you may wish to rename your computer to a short single word (without spaces or other funny characters). For example, don't try typing "My Computer", "Peter Smith's Computer" or "My incredibly hard di*k". We hear some Tiger users can resolve DHCP address problems with D-Link routers and some AirPort configurations by implementing a name like "MacintoshHD" or "Appleneedsagoodkickupthe***". Come to think of it, the simpler the solutions, the more you start to wonder why Apple didn't do those things in the first place to make the Tiger upgrade and operation more smooth sailing for everyone.

And Apple Remote Access in OSX version 10.4 has suddenly stopped working for a number of users. You should be aware that Apple Remote Access is available in 10.3.x. It is just that something in the programming side of things has taken a slight step backwards in OSX version 10.4. As Eric Bullock discovered:

'I have the new OS running on two machines. A Pismo and a single 1.8 minor issues. The most annoying is how Remote Desktop 2.1 Admin no longer launches. 2.2 coming soon I hope!'

How about trying 1.9 or 2.0 of Remote Desktop Admin? We wouldn't be surprised if this works better.

File permissions
System administrators will also welcome the subtle file permission changes in Tiger not mentioned in any obvious way by Apple until 2 June 2005 when enough users discovered a major problem and Apple decided to let everyone know a fix was coming. If you have set up an OSX 10.3.x server and suddenly upgrade to 10.4.x, clients on the network trying to read, write, move or delete files on the server will complain long and hard about why they can't perform these rather basic and important tasks as they did in the past. In essence, the server no longer wants to serve files because of a new AppleShare policy quietly introduced by Apple. Going back to 10.3.x is a very tempting proposition, and one MacFixIt reader named Robert Gruber had done just that! However, an anonymous person going by the nickname of Question Mark has kindly suggested the solution, which is namely to switch back to the old AppleShare policy of inheriting permissions from parent (ie. the server):

  1. Start Workgroup Manager and go into "Sharing".
  2. Select a share point (ie. a folder).
  3. In the Protocols preference pane, select "Apple File Settings" and switch the option from "Use standard POSIX behaviour" (the default Tiger option after install) to "Inherit permissions from parent" (the default Panther option after install).

But apparently this doesn't work in OSX Tiger Server versions 10.4 to 10.4.1. Apple has acknowledged the problem in Knowledge Base document #301601 as of 2 June 2005. A fix is expected to arrive soon.

As a final check, system administrators should make sure the hard disk on the server has been formatted in the HFS+ (extended) format, not the standard HFS which will not share files and folders. And you could also try setting up Access Control Lists (ACLs) as a way to get around the problem. However, as one user has discovered after using ACLs, Finder file attributes such as comments and labels did not remain intact when users log back in again and when different users are accessing the same files.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
9 June 2005
We will give Apple some credit for coming up with Security Update 2005-006 which hopefully solves the file permission inheritance problem for files copied via AFP. It also solves the issue of ACL-enabled volumes for storage where a temporary ACL is attached to files during the copy process and stopping other users from accessing the files. This update should remove the ACL correctly. The update also comes with further security enhancements for Bluetooth devices capable of accessing files outside of the default file exchange directory, better error handling for applications using PDFKit and CoreGraphics to properly render poorly-formed PDF documents, more secure folder permissions applied to system's cache folder and Dashboard system widgets to reduce vulnerability, and other miscellaneous improvements. Whilst some users have noted a few problems after the update, in general this is a worthy update for all Tiger users and those running Panther 10.3.9. Just remember to clear the Safari cache and .plist files including the QuickTime .plist file called com.apple.quicktime.plugin.preferences.plist in the ~/Library/Preferences/ folder to solve a performance slowdown of Safari and another new Safari problem of not being able to access secure "https://..." sites.

.dmg images
Also information burned on CD/DVDs by Mac OSX 10.3.x (Panther) via DiscRecording 2.1.6 (or higher but below 3.0 which is suitable only for Tiger) cannot be used as the source for creating .dmg disk images in Mac OSX 10.4.x (Tiger). It doesn't matter if the information is ordinary photos burned on CD/DVDs, the way the files are created by DiscRecording 2.1.6 (or Panther) is not compatible with Tiger.

Also be careful with .dmg disk images in Tiger. Not all disk images will open when you double-click on them. Try the Disk Utility in /Applications/Utilities/ as an alternative approach to mounting disk images. Or, duplicate the disk image. Alternatively, try deleting the following files from /System/Library/ folder:

Extensions.kextcache
Extensions.mkext

As a final solution, try Pacifist to mount and install the disk images. Or go back to Panther, it is much easier.

Copying large files
And how can we forget how much Apple loves to stop people from copying large files or if the total number of files exceed a certain size (probably designed to make life difficult for those people wanting to copy large applications legitimately for backup purposes or otherwise such as Adobe Photoshop). Shirley Sanderson reported on MacFixIt and published on 1 June 2005 a problem with the Tiger kernel deciding to chuck a mental (but not with Panther) when copying the files in large quantities or sizes. Try it! Get a folder together with large files or enough files to reach 100 - 200MB or more and try copying it to another part of your hard disk using the drag-and-drop approach with your mouse. The results are said to be hilarious!

We can only wonder the reason for this kernel panic problem? This is very similar to the way OS9 Finder behaves when copying a large number of files from one disk to another — it tends to suddenly quit.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
26 July 2005
Apple has now progressed in the solution to this problem under the OSX 10.4.2 update with a sudden unmounting of FireWire drives right in the middle of copying large files to an external disk as if it needs to draw more power from the computer or just does so because of the way the OS is designed. For further details, click here. We appreciate this thoughtful solution.

Widgets
Another major concern is the Widget architecture vulnerability thanks to some excellent observers such as stephan. Widgets are small tools supplied by third-party developers and business operators which the Safari user can install automatically and run in the background using Apple's own Dashboard application. Widgets are a recent invention by Apple for the Tiger upgrade. They help users with snippets of information they may need such as the weather, currency exchange rates, dictionaries, travel information and heaps of other uses. But it also helps Apple by getting users to connect and stay online to help with its own activities.

The only problem with widgets is that they could be made to quietly download a malicious Javascript program when visiting a Web site which can do more than what the widget had originally intended. Apple has denied users a simple means of quitting and removing widgets in the same way as cookies. As a result, you will have to use a utility such as Activity Monitor to kill the widget process. A more permanent solution is to go into ~Library/Widget/ and delete the offending widget. Better still, Apple resellers actually use a technique to stop widgets being installed on an OSX machine. The technique is simply to use the Get Info command and change the write permissions to the ~Library/Widget/ folder. In other words, click the check box that denies write privileges to the folder.

If you want to know whether widgets are being installed, use OSX's built-in folder action to give you alerts when a new widget is being installed. The technique, as kindly published by MacFixIt.com, is as follows:

1. Control-click (accessing the contextual menu) anywhere in a Mac OS X Finder window or on any folder and select "Enable Folder Actions."
2. Navigate to the ~/Library folder and select the "Widgets" folder.
3. Control-click on the "Widgets" folder and select "Attach a folder action."
4. Select the script "add - new item alert.scpt" (located in the folder /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/ which should appear immediately by default) and press the "Choose..." button.

More problems for the unweary OSX user with the advent of 10.4. Now Contact and Up-to-Date 4.5.3 is Now definitely incompatible with Tiger. The makers of the software say people must wait for version 5 and pay for the upgrade (that's right, you heard it, no updates. Just a lousy upgrade to lighten up your wallet!). As the company kindly puts it:

'Now Up-to-Date and Contact version 5 is in the final rounds of beta testing. Version 5 supports Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4 ("Tiger") and will be available by June 2005.

'The current shipping version, 4.5.3, is not Tiger compatible. We recommend that customers who rely on Now Up-to-Date and Contact wait until version 5 has been released before installing Tiger...

'We are working on subsequent versions which adds many Tiger-specific features, such as Dashboard Widgets for QuickDay and QuickContact, Spotlight support, and full support for Sync Services. These features will be provided free of charge to those that purchase or upgrade to version 5 and will be available later this year.' (MacFixIt.com: MacOSX 10.4 (Tiger) #2. 25 April 2005.)

How about going back to version 4.5.2? Some users are suggesting the older version of Now Up-to-Date and Contact 4.5.2 does work under 10.4. Why is that so? Interesting to see how the company has kept quiet on this discovery.

Upgrading third-party plug-ins and applications
As for third-party applications installed on Panther, upgrading to Tiger may require a number of changes to make them work. For example, you may have to delete .plist files for selected software products and/or the software applications have to be re-installed. Other classic examples of software requiring re-installation to resolve problems under the OSX 'Tiger' upgrade is Adobe Photoshop CS and Microsoft Virtual PC 7. For Adobe PhotoShop CS users, you might be able to save time by following the advice of Bryan Schappel:

'This happens because the Archive and Install option does not copy over a necessary folder for Photoshop. The critical folder is called 'ScriptingAdditions' and is stored in the main Library folder. This folder contains one file 'Adobe Unit Types' that makes Photoshop open files that have been double-clicked or dragged to the PS icon in the Dock.

'Simply move this folder (and file) from the 'Previous System' backup to the Library folder, relaunch Photoshop and all is well again. No need to completely re-install.'

Not all users are entirely happy with this suggested solution from Schappel.

Any other problems with 10.4 should resolve itself once the indexing of Spotlight is completed (approximately 1 hour after the upgrade).

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
28 April 2005
For the amount of updating, upgrading and errors, all requiring fixing of permissions, clearing of .plists files, re-installing applications, re-naming and moving files and folders, re-registering software (which can happen when clearing some .plists files), and other problems facing OSX users (unless you decide to fully reformat your hard drive and do a brand new spanking clean installation of OSX which we hear poses less problems), it looks like Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) must have discovered something from the hard disks of Apple computers (ie. the ones brought in for repairs during the warranty period such as the latest aluminium G4 PowerBooks). Did Apple find suspect files and applications warranting Apple to give users headaches with regular updates and upgrades to third-party software (and waiting for Apple for updates to its own software) following the update to 10.3.9 and upgrade to 10.4.0?

Now the latest evidence supporting this view suggests the highly reliable, stable and effective Alsoft DiskWarrior 3.0.2 and a handful of other popular third-party disk repair utilities are no longer able to properly fix Apple hard disks on OSX version 10.4 because of a change in the HFS+ file system format. Using an OSX version 10.3 system disk to start up and check for and repair errors will not work as the files contain additional flag information that disk utilities don't understand. Incompatible disk repair utilities will report an unusual number of errors. You should not attempt to repair these errors if you are able to do so. Any attempt to repair the errors could cause serious file damage. People must wait for a third-party update (or upgrade) for the disk repair utilities to work properly.

Sounds like a lot of users have been keeping illegal copies of third-party disk repair utilities without paying for them.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
29 April 2005
The emergence of numerous interesting quotes from third-party software manufacturers and developers are suggesting they are trying hard to work closely with Apple to ensure their own updates for software are provided in time for the latest Tiger release and the 10.3.9 update. However, Apple has not, on this occasion, given enough time and/or information to others about the significant changes done to OSX. Now it seems third-party software makers have been caught out and are playing the catch up game just to keep up with the latest changes to OSX version 10.4 and 10.3.9.

Or is it all part of a ploy to help software makers determine how many users have to update or upgrade and check this against the number of software titles actually sold to determine the exact extent of software piracy?

Whatever the truth, the first piece of evidence is this official quote to MacFixIt.com by the makers of Alsoft Disk Warrior 3.0.2:

'The current version of DiskWarrior (3.0.2) will not cause any harm when run on a disk with Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger) installed. Of course, it is always recommended that you rebuild your directory before doing any operating system install, especially a major upgrade such as 10.3.x to 10.4.x.

'In many instances DiskWarrior will rebuild the Tiger directory successfully. In certain configurations, DiskWarrior will return the message: "This disk appears to have a newer version of the Mac OS disk format than this version of DiskWarrior." Older versions of DiskWarrior may simply indicate that the disk cannot be repaired.

'We have addressed the Tiger-specific issues and will have more information once Mac OS X 10.4 is officially released. Please check our website after the coming weekend.' (http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20050427205930976#comments)

Still waiting? MacOSX version 10.4 has already been released to the public for nearly two weeks. It is being delivered in advance of the official Apple date to customers via airmail. Of course we won't ask how much longer it has been out for the developers while it was in the alpha version! An important company such as Alsoft having to wait for the official release to get more information sounds like pretty lousy service from Apple. So much for companies working closely with Apple for up to a year before the next major OS upgrade.

For example, Thursby — the makers of DAVE 5.1 — claims:

'We have been working closely with Apple for the past year to ensure a timely delivery of our new releases. The vastness of Apple's enhancements to critical parts of the system (both the kernel dealing with network transports and the file system) are requiring a major effort to obtain compatibility.

'Our target dates for FCS of ADmitMac v3.0 is August 8, and for DAVE v6.0 by the end of August. These dates are also dependent on a future release of the Mac OS that includes a critical bug fix that has been acknowledged by Apple.' (http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20050427205930976#comments)

In other words, by not giving information to software makers in advance has meant this company can only provide an update upgrade (there will be a cost to consumers) to its software in August 2005, or roughly 4 months after the release of the Tiger upgrade. In the meantime anyone using DAVE 5.1 will be twiddling their thumbs trying to look professional to clients or will have to start looking for a competitor to provide the software requirements and compatibility in a quicker time. Or why not get a refund from Apple for purchasing OSX 10.4 given all the incompatibility problems?

Not smart from a customer service point-of-view, Apple.

We wonder whether this is because too many people have OSX but some are not doing the right thing so Apple needs to try another technique to force people to get legitimate in their software applications?

Partly as a result of the fiascoe with the Tiger upgrade (not to mention hardware problems of the iBook), the Henrico School Board in the US has unanimously approved purchase of 15,800 Dell laptops to replace the iBooks for students costing US$18 million (or US$1,130 each). This contract will last 4 years. The other reason is because the schools need students to be familiar with the Windows environment since it is being used more extensively by industry and government than the latest OSX.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
11 May 2005
Following all the commotion from early adopters of 10.3.9 and 10.4 update and upgrade for OSX respectively, not a great deal of professional users in the business world are jumping on the bandwagon. Consequently Apple has tried to get some incentive in place for these users by providing a Pro Application Support 3.0 for MacOSX 10.4 and Mac OSX 10.3.9 (around 3MB). This update allegedly "improves general user interface reliability for DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Logic Express, Motion and Soundtrack" according to MacFixIt.com. Of course, the update will only work if you have OSX version 10.3.9 or 10.4 (what's wrong with 10.3.5?). Hopefully this will get the professional users to see the value of upgrading most of their software in the new OSX environment and give Apple a chance to see who is downloading the update/upgrade.

Boy have Apple stuffed up bigtime! Now Apple has to make up ground to attract the professional users because they focussed too hard on the young amateurs who may or may not be doing the right thing.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
12 May 2005
News has emerged in March 2005 of a Canadian student who originally signed up as an Apple developer to test the alpha version of Tiger OSX 10.4, but has prematurely released details of the OS and the installation files online. Not a good idea if he was contractually engaged to protect Apple intellectual property. Never mind. Fortunately Apple has given him a firm warning not to do it again. But given how much we already know about Tiger from the above discussion since the official release of the software, we can't imagine why any developer would want to release information about OSX before the official date. We already know what to expect from Apple: more headaches and a waste of money!

 
Conclusion
All in all, Tiger 10.4 is an absolute shocker of an upgrade from Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.). If users thought all the fuss with OSX was behind them, they are in for a rude awakening. Whatever improvements lie hidden underneath OSX (eg. security updates of a socially-useful kind without all the hidden agenda from Apple) is masked by an enormous range of issues affecting Apple software and third-party applications. Users are not going forward with the latest OSX. Users are now required to make a heap of updates and upgrades of software to make them compatible. And that's just to get them to where they were before the upgrade. All this from the Tiger upgrade which ought to have been practically flawless by now.

A true eye-opener in anyone's language.

We can begin to see how the Panther update was designed more to slither and slink around the system to see what people were doing. Now the Tiger is designed to pounce on people with a range of software updates and upgrades to force everyone to spend more money in the hope they will do the right thing by the software companies.

Will this mean the next OSX 10.5 instalment be called the "pussycat" to keep users onside with Apple (especially the professional users)?

Tiger is clearly not meant to do the right thing with users. It is designed to get people to buy legitimate software while learning more about you. The beginnings of such a system is already emerging thanks to the advice from users of a tiny and highly useful utility called Little Snitch. These users have noticed the Tiger upgrade is trying to run an Apple application called dnotifyd designed to call home to Apple and send user information and various statistical information.

As Jim Czech wrote to MacFixIt.com:

'Since my upgrade last night to Tiger, I have noticed something going on in the background. This was never observed in the past, but thanks to Little Snitch I 'caught' this one.

'This particular app is attempting to contact 'configuration.apple.com' every few minutes. I don't have a packet sniffer, but am curious just exactly why Apple needs to 'check my configuration' every few minutes.

'After the upgrade, I started testing all my apps, one by one, to see if there were any compatibility issues making the move from 10.3.9 to Tiger. When I applied the Little Snitch update, I then noticed this "dmnotifyd" app was phoning home. I thought it was possibly related to running each app and then Apple was gathering stats for compatibility, etc.

'However, even with no applications running, 'dmnotifyd' is still contacting Apple.

'I have allowed several requests (since I have nothing to hide) thinking it would stop. It doesn't matter whether the request to send is allowed or denied, it runs non-stop.' (MacFixIt.com: Problems with QuickTime Pro 7 and Mac OS X 10.3.x (Panther). 2 May 2005.)

Apple claims this daemon "dmnotifyd" is nothing sinister. It is about contacting Apple servers under the Tiger upgrade for the purposes of helping users of .Mac services and membership. Users can examine the contents in /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DMNotification.framework/Versions/A/Resources/dmnotifyd'.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Apple's trustworthiness in these matters considering all the other problems and techniques being used by Apple to learn about its users.

 
About version 10.4.1...
We were not surprised by this, but quick on the heel of its debut Tiger release was, as expected, the 10.4.1 update. It came out on 17 May 2005, barely a month after Tiger's initial release.

If you want our recommendation, here it is:

(i) You've already purchased and upgraded to 10.4 Tiger since April 2005? You would be wise to move onto 10.4.1 (better still, try to go for 10.4.2) to reduce many of the most common Tiger annoyances experienced by users. After stuffing around users with heaps of problems in the initial release, anything provided by Apple at this stage would be seen as an improvement. If you still have problems, try re-installing the standalone Mac OSX 10.4.1 updater (39 MB), fix file permissions, use OnyX to clear font caches and logs, create clean .plist files, then see below for other possible solutions.

(ii) You haven't purchased the upgrade to 10.4 Tiger? You are one of the really smart and lucky ones indeed. You have chosen wisely to wait until Apple gets its act together, something which we consider absolutely critical in this era of high profitability for virtually little gain or improvements in the products we receive from public companies such as Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.). Because 10.4.1 update is not a serious attempt by Apple to fully repair all bugs and bring OSX back to a level of stability and reliability as we have come to expect after OSX Panther version 10.3.5, you should not take it seriously at all.

The update reminds us of a company that has been hit hard by complaints from customers who weren't happy with the upgrade and now the company is trying all it can to cut out or block some features from operating properly or give quick and dirty solutions for other bugs to help minimise the complaints.

You will need the host of additional Security Updates from Apple to address some of the problems.

Ignoring the Security Updates, the only improvements, if we may call it that, are in the following areas:

  1. Widget vulnerability
    Apple claims to have provided a fix to this vulnerability by given users a notice asking whether to proceed with downloading an installing the widget. If users give their express consent to accept the widget, it will be downloaded. Unfortunately this is a very quick and dirty solution from Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.). The problem with this approach is how many unsuspecting users may not know whether a widget is bad or has done its dirty work until it is downloaded and launched. If Apple is truly in the business of helping its customers, it should have provided a window to show all widgets and an option to remove selected or all widgets at the users' own discretion (just like the cookies of a browser), and not just get the users' permission to accept them. Even better should be a security feature from Apple to test each widget to see what they do. If any widget tries to do something it shouldn't, Apple should give a clear and unmistakable warning and let users decide what to do with it.

  2. Mail.app
    Those unfortunate fortunate enough to be using this application for sending and receiving emails will appreciate some improvements. The improvements include characters properly displaying in the Reply window, stop an annoying alert when opening an attached Pages document, better sync of the Address Book with .Mac services, no longer tries to unexpectedly quit when pasting large graphics into a message, no longer moves deleted text to the beginning of the message (it now actually deletes properly), some interface improvements such as removing a second unnecessary horizontal scroll bar from appearing in a Mail message, deleting a link now no longer deletes the entire line of text, fixes problems with importing email from an earlier version of Mail.app (Apple has decided to stop plug-ins from loading to solve this problem), and some other improvements.

  3. Dashboard widgets
    Enables more third-party mouse devices with scroll wheels to work in this application. Extra option to choose three font sizes in the Dictionary widget.

  4. .Mac, iSync and syncing
    Problems with not being able to login to the .Mac sync server at unexpected times seems to be resolved, greater compatibility to Motorola mobile phones in iSync 2.0, permits users to use an "&" in the computer name for people wanting to register their computer name for access to .Mac services.

  5. Safari, iLife etc
    No unexpected quits when clicking on a PDF document or graphic within a Safari window, no unexpected quits when hiding iDVD while it is burning a DVD or saving a disk image, no unexpected quits for an unspecified issue within iPhoto, no unexpected quits in DVD Players when change the language in International preferences, removed a block from Apple originally designed to stop people from printing a PDF document downloaded via Safari (a grey bar is printed instead of the original PDF information), no unexpected quits in iCal after you receive an iCal invitation in Mail.app, and greater compatibility and reliability with Dreamweaver MX 2004 and Motion 2.0.

  6. FileVault
    Shows the correct message "Deleting old Home folder" instead of the silly "Unmounting FileVault" (care still needs to be taken not to force-restart the computer when FileVault is attempt to secure delete the folder).

  7. Miscellaneous enhancements
    Improved the security at the password prompt on waking the computer or stopping a screen saver where it would be possible for a user to read the documents on the screen behind the prompt, better disk image mounting when the image is shared by a different computer, clicking a Help button or choosing an item in the Help menu now takes you to the correct Help pages instead of the main page for the application's Help content, you can now use long computer names while still allowing third-party wireless DHCP servers to provide an IP address to a computer (ie. wirless communication will be better), and improvements to the Mac OSX 10.4 Keyboard Setup Assistant.

    ## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
    26 July 2005
    The OSX version 10.4.2 update now changes your TCP/IP DHCP setting without your consent to another configuration of its own choosing. You will have to manually change the setting back to DHCP to get your computer to re-recognise the existence of your ethernet cable and addresses. This extra manual work must also include all TCP/IP location specific DHCP settings you have created. Fixed internet addresses are not affected.

    Also note that the update to 10.4.2 causes older ISDN modems not to be recognised irrespective of what you do to install the correct modem script or performing other things. Only 10.4.1 can recognise the devices.

  8. Moved applications can now be updated!
    An interesting behaviour, which some might consider an improvement, is how Apple now allows applications moved from their original location in the Applications folder to be updated. Why wasn't this feature available in earler OSX versions? Or has Apple realised people could be keeping an older copy of say Safari in an attempt to escape the bugs in the latest application versions from Apple?

However, Apple has chosen not to fully activate or repair properly the following features:

  1. System Profiler crashes when checking the Firewire option in the menu.

  2. A number of users are still complaining about sleep problems after upgrading to version 10.4.1. Problems seem less apparent after quitting a few applications and clearing the following .plist files:

    /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.PowerManagement.plist
    ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver.plist
    /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.AutoWake.plist.

    More clearing of .plists might be required for Bluetooth devices such as com.apple.Bluetooth.plist. It is emerging these devices could be causing some problems. Try turning off Bluetooth, remove the abovementioned .plist file from /Users/[Your name]/Library/Preferences/, restart, turn on Bluetooth, turn off the option "Allow Bluetooth Devices to Wake this Computer" and uncheck "Discoverable" in the Bluetooth pane of System Preferences. Otherwise remove or turn-off the Bluetooth device. Sleep and waking from sleep should now be restored to your computer with some semblance of predictability as you wanted.

    As another suggestion, this time by MacFixIt reader Brian Sheppard, use MacJanitor or other freeware tools to run OSX's built-in cron tasks (normally set by Apple to run in the early morning hours). It is claimed by Mr Sheppard that this eliminates the sleep problems. As Mr Shappard said:

    'I'm not sure why, but after using MacJanitor to run the cron tasks, my computer now sleeps just fine. I had tried all the other suggestions (I don't have Bluetooth on this computer so I knew that wasn't an issue) and none of them had worked. However, I ran MacJanitor and left the room for awhile to let it do it's thing. When I came back, my computer was asleep and has worked fine ever since.' (MacFixIt.com: Mac OS X 10.4.1 (#7) - Spotlight: Choking on Finder.DAT files? Problems with sleep: more potential solutions. 26 May 2005)

  3. AirPort connectivity disrupted and copying large files has dramatically slowed down compared to the Panther upgrade. The monitor will show a connection speed as you would expect of around 35Mbps, but the actual speed when copying large files drops to around 10kbps. Clearing the following cache files may help to improve this situation:

    /System/Library/Extensions.mkext
    /System/Library/Extensions.kextcache.

    In the worse case scenario, obtaining a copy of Apple's AirPort 4.1 updater package and using the Pacifist utility to open the package, extract the following files, and place them in System/Library/Extensions folder should work:

    AppleAirPort.kext
    AppleAirPort2.kext
    AppleAirPort3.kext

    Just remember to give your administrator password when you do this (you do have an administrator password, don't you?).

  4. Preview application could be playing up.

  5. Keyboard Setup Assistant is allegedly coming up with an annoying message asking the user to specify the keyboard. It seems to occur on logging out.

  6. Limited, if any, compatibility with SCSI cards and peripherals. Apple would rather have users upgrade their hardware to the USB/FireWire variety. It really doesn't cost Apple anything to maintain SCSI compatibility, but it will cost a lot for consumers if they are still using a PowerBook G3 Series "Pismo" to run OSX.

    NOTE: There are enough "Pismo" users able to run OSX 10.4.x. With this in mind, it is in the interest of Apple for the sake of keeping a loyal Apple fan base to maintain SCSI support on these older machines. Either that, or entice third-party software makers to ensure SCSI drivers are available. But if SCSI drivers are not being made available or updated by third-party software makers, Apple should make sure all Apple computers able to run OSX have drivers for all their available ports.

  7. Unexpected Tiger OSX to Airport connection drop-outs not easily reproducible in the Panther OSX version. The best solution so far for Tiger users is to configure all Airport base stations to 802.11g instead of the older 802.11b and uninstall third-party 'Panther compatible' software products that make use of the Airport Card such as Coconut WiFi, AirTrafficControl and so on on OSX Tiger. Also consider changing the wireless security protocol from say WEP to WPA2 or vice versa. Also restart the router such as Linksys WRT54G. As a final resort, delete any old AirPort Base station names and duplicates of currently used Base stations. You can do this by opening the Network system preference pane, select "AirPort", click Configure and in the "By default join:" menu select "Preferred Networks". Now delete the little data rascals believed to be creating the dropouts. Oh! And one extra thing. It is claimed Apple is no longer making it easy for users to know the part number of the AirPort card in case you want to swap the thing for another (to eliminate hardware problems or to add it on for those users whose computer didn't come with one). According to an anonymous reader:
    'Seems that Apple has changed the Airport card in newer G5s and does not have a part number that is easily found. The Apple article indicates that Airport upgrading is not a Do it yourself upgrade. I have not actually done this, but I did a little digging and it seems that the part is available basically as a repair item and is quite easy to install.' (MacFixIt.com: Late-2005 (dual-core) Power Mac G5 (#4): Adding an AirPort + Bluetooth card -- not DIY; Power problems; more. 22 December 2005.)

    In other words, Apple wants you to bring in your computer to an authorised Apple repairer. Don't forget to have your hard disk inside as Apple doesn't like working on computers without all the parts inside (despite what the Apple manual might say about removing the hard disk), and your wallet of course unless you happen to have the extended warranty option up your sleeve (Apple wishes you didn't!).

  8. No immediate and official explanation from Apple why users were suddenly faced with two different 10.4.1 updates (one is 19MB and the other 37MB). One day later (18 May 2005), Apple mentions the smaller update is machine specific. Apparently Apple wants to see which Apple computers are still in use by the users.

  9. Still some iSync with Motorola mobile phone incompatibility problems.

  10. Can't run bundles, or third-party add-ons, for Mail.app. Apple wants to disable this feature to minimise complaints about another issue of Mail.app instead of properly fixing the problem. It sounds like major work required here.

  11. Accessing stored mail in POP accounts through Mail.app after the upgrade still a problem for users.

  12. Software conflicts between iChat 3.0 and iCAR auto-reply utility (apparently users weren't complaining before the upgrade).

  13. The "spell-as-you-type" feature of the Tiger upgrade can cause applications to unexpectedly quit, create nonsense characters and so on unless you trash the com.apple.LaunchServices cache files in /Library/Caches/. Remember, you have to restart the computer before you can properly trash the files (We wish to apologise to all those newbie users out there who thought a Macintosh computer running OSX Tiger was worth a try for the first time but are not techno whizz kids).

  14. Photoshop CS incompatibility issues.

  15. Spotlight still cannot find purely invisible files unless, as one user claimed he could achieve, you specify "visible or invisible" in the Visibility criteria. Certainly not obvious. Apple has pretty much kept quiet on this issue, hoping people will accept it. Add to this the problem of not preserving Spotlight comments on files backed up to non-HFS+ (ie. non-Mac OS Extended) removable media such as CDs and DVDs burned using UDF, ISO9660 and so on, and we pretty much have a Clayton application from Apple.

    ## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
    Although Apple has not officially stated the reason for removing the "invisible file" feature in Spotlight, MacFixIt reader Adam Williams claims he has spoken to a friend working at Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.). It would appear the reason for removing this feature is because the process used by Spotlight for indexing called mdimport (the process for Spotlight is mds) has a list of additional privacy folders on top of those already defined by the user in the Privacy tab designed to stop the prying eyes of users from finding and investigating invisible files in the system folders. As Williams kindly stated to MacFixIt.com (which we have reproduced below for the benefit of our readers):

    'I talked with a buddy of mine that works at Apple about the spotlight invisible file issue. More specifically I was trying to locate files in usr directory and other system directories.

    'He told me this is why spotlight wasn't finding invisible files: mdimport (the process used by Spotlight for indexing) has a built in list of privacy folders on top of those defined in the Spotlight System Preferences pane. This prevents Spotlight from indexing these system folders. He told me it is apples wishes to keep system files from appearing to the common user who might type in a phrase that could pull up system files that a less experienced user could harmfully alter.

    'There is also a noted issue about spotlight performance he brought up. Anything spotlight has indexed, will be reindexed every time file is modified. With how often system is changing it's files, caches, installing updates, etc. Image spotlight spiking CPU constantly for this. The speed hit would be hideous. A user can force an index of system folders using the mdimport command, but it is not recommended at all. He did inform me that Spotlight reverts to filename/catalog b-tree search if an index isn't present. However, it still follows it's privacy defaults so still ignores system folders.' (MacFixIt.com: Mac OS X 10.4.1 (#3): Spotlight: Disable for backup target volumes, invisible files; Mail.app 2.0, iSync 2.0 solutions; more. 19 May 2005.)

    But as a MacFixIt reader nicknamed "MacHound" said:

    'This nonsense of Spotlight refusing to search the System folder is presumptous on Apple's part. How much additional time will it take a person to track down all the .plist and other files left behind by a deleted application if we can't search for them?

    'This new "feature" negates any potential gains of the new search engine. Now we have to wait until someone writes a search program (or front end) that works across the ENTIRE hard drive.

    'Bad idea, Apple, to assume your users can't discern the difference between a system file and a non-system file, or at least not include a back door to the functionality we had in 10.3.x. Not everyone likes having a childproof plug in their AC outlet.'

    It is presumed this modification to Spotlight for invisible files is Apple's way of saying "a security enhancement".

  16. Some widgets or possibly in the Dashboard itself may suffer from memory leaks causing memory usage to swell to over 60MB in a couple of days, forcing some users to think it is time to upgrade the RAM card. Also the Dashboard application itself isn't free of errors. It is claimed by a number of users that Adobe's Helvetica Neue font creates a font problem for Dashboard with all widgets displaying an unreadable outlined text. No other application is affected by the font and no other fonts are affecting Dashboard in the same way. To disable the font, launch the Font Book application in /Applications/ folder, highlight the offending font (ie. Helvetica Neue), and click on the button that says "Disable Selected Fonts". Log out and log back in for the changes to take effect. As for other users, some of them are suggesting any changes to your network location where you want to change from say an Ethernet connection to a wireless connection using the switch facility in the Network pane of System Preferences causes Dashboard to crash the system rather badly. And it ain't the occasional crash; it is a very repeatable event and something Apple can't ignore.

  17. Mac OS 9 users wanting to open and save files stored on a Tiger OS X server will get an error message suggesting the file is corrupt. Using the original application the file was produced to open and save will not work. Users will now have to copy and save the file onto their own local OS 9 machines and transfer the file later to an OSX client Mac which can then properly save the file onto the Tiger OSX server.

  18. A conflict between the third-party internet browser Firefox and Tiger's Spotlight application has been observed by users where the FireFox folder through ~/Library/Application Support/FireFox/ is constantly being indexed by Spotlight when FireFox is quit causing a new bookmark file to appear in the user profile. Disable Spotlight's indexing feature for this FireFox folder via the Privacy tab of the Spotlight pan in System Preferences. This should solve the problem.

    ## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
    A host of unexpected errors have appeared in FireFox 1.5 running on Tiger 10.4.3. Wait until an update arrives for FireFox to resolve these errors. We hope Apple is not trying to stifle the alternative internet browsers competition market.

  19. It looks like Apple was saving the best til last with the release of the updated Apple iTunes 4.9. Apple's latest iTunes released on 30 June 2005 does more than it should be doing. As part of Apple's attempt to stop people changing the files in some way so the company can impose certain restrictions on how the files can be played, the company has quietly introduced a technique of getting iTunes to recognise any files containing the file extensions ".mp3", ".m4a" and so on as QuickTime files and therefore should be run as Apple's own proprietary files together with the restrictions needed to stop people doing things with the files they probably shouldn't (although not illegal for personal use).

    So not only can you re-record audio and video files on even the most restricted commercial files to help bypass the restrictions for personal use (after you've made a payment), but now you must change the file extension to fool iTunes into thinking it is a third-party file not owned by Apple. Nice one Apple!

    Ignoring the visualizer of iTunes 4.9 which apparently doesn't work (switching to visualizer forces iTunes to suddenly quit for no good reason), a fair bit of work is required by users to reestablish and fix up lost iTunes libraries following the upgrade to iTunes 4.9. If the iTunes library folder from previous iTunes versions can be recognised (make sure you have a backup), you will have to do a bit of cleaning up of duplicate music lists (mainly from non-AAC-protected files purchased outside Apple's music store) in the latest iTunes version. Apparently iTunes does some funny things to the old lists.

    And if you need to check the help section of iTunes 4.9, be prepared for the problem of reading up the help file from previous iTunes versions. The newly-installed iTunes 4.9 help file does not display itself properly. We recommend re-installing iTunes 4.9 from the standalone installer to solve this problem or go back to iTunes 4.7.1. If all else fails, send to the trash and delete (before running iTunes 4.9) the iTunes and iTunes Music Store Help folder.

    NOTE: Apple has recommended upgrading all the iLife tools. In particular, use QuickTime 7.0.1, and the latest iMovie and iPhoto. Yes, this company would suggest this. It is the only way to get people to live with the latest restrictions to music and video while forcing people to upgrade the OS to Tiger.

    And finally, don't try to burn to CD your MP4/AAC-protected files through iTunes. Some users have complained of gaps in the music where they shouldn't be. Try a third-party CD burning software such as Toast 5.2.1.

    And did we mention downloading PDF files with Safari creates the same file type problem? Double-clicking the files will open them in QuickTime 7.x, not the Adobe Acrobat Reader as you would have expected. Using QuickTime 6.5.2 or earlier does not create the problem. Why? You either have to Get Info one of the downloaded PDF files and select the application to Open With, or go into System Preferences and open QuickTime. In the Advanced tab, click on Mime Settings. Open Still Images and remove the option to open PDF files as PDF images in QuickTime. So why the extra work for users?

    But after one too many problems with iTunes 4.9 (and QuickTime 7.x), one user commented:

    'Can't Apple EVER release an update without a bug or two (or more) in it??? Are WE the Apple QA department?? I am REALLY getting fed up with this. I'm reinstalling iTunes 4.8' (MacFixIt.com: iTunes 4.9 (#3): Solution for MP3/AAC files being recognized as QuickTime movies; more. 30 June 2005.)

Again we can only reiterate our opinion based on our experiences of OSX, the experiences of others using OSX, and the reports we have read about and listened from others, is that you are at the mercy of Apple if you follow the latest trends by blindly and immediately accept anything Apple releases to the public.

But if you can be patient, read up a little, ask yourself what is it you need to do today and in the next 5 years and determine whether you need to update or upgrade to do the same work, and just play it smart, then you will survive any kind of onslaught a company such as Apple can dish out to its customers.

 
Apple putting a positive spin on the Tiger fiascoe
On 6 June 2005, after much fanfare of Tiger's initial release in April 2005 and numerous problems encountered by users (see above), Apple has announced it expects to deliver 2 million copies of Mac OS X version 10.4 (Tiger) by the end of the week. The figure is based on a combination of retail sales, delivered under maintenance agreements, and copies bundled with new Mac computers.

As Steve Jobs said in the press release:

'The response to Tiger is off the charts. Critics are raving, customers are delighted and developers are creating hundreds of widgets and applications that take advantage of Tiger's incredible innovations like Spotlight, Dashboard and Automator.'

In other words, the problems experienced by users in this section in Tiger are isolated incidents and only affect a few.

Now that the hardware side of the latest aluminium G4 PowerBooks and G5 PowerMacs appear to be showing some stability, we would not be surprised if most of the Tiger copies came from bundling with new Apple computers and as part of certain agreements. Consumers probably didn't have much choice but to purchase a new computer and as a result have to be given the only OSX Apple is prepared to provide (ie. Tiger).

Why not bundle the latest Panther version instead? Do consumers have a choice?

However, if we were to assume this is due mostly to retail sales, then this would have to be described as Apple's fastest selling OS release ever. Perhaps we should ask consumers whether they would purchase the next OS just as fast as they did with Tiger?

Apple's press release said:

'Developer support for Tiger is also setting new records with hundreds of developers including Microsoft and Adobe announcing support for Tiger. To date third-party developers have released more than 400 Dashboard widgets, 550 Automator actions and 40 Spotlight plug-ins for Tiger.'

Nothing like trying to attract a few more developers and consumers to Tiger with a quote like this one.

Seriously, notice how the two main players of Microsoft and Adobe are spearheading the support for Tiger. They need to if consumers are to buy Microsoft and Adobe software products for Tiger and to get more people onboard. Every other developer who depends on these two companies or are looking for support from the big players will simply have to follow.

As Microsoft's general manager of the Macintosh Business Unit, Roz Ho, said and quoted in Apple's press release:

'With the new technologies in Tiger, we worked closely with Apple to ensure that Office 2004 customers would benefit by making it even easier to search, share and manage information. Whether searching for an Office 2004 document using Spotlight or synchronizing data in Entourage to another supported device, the innovation in Tiger means Office for Mac users will be more productive now and in the future.'

Notice how earlier in this page other developers were caught off guard by the new features in Tiger and required time to update or upgrade their flagship software products? It would appear Microsoft wasn't one of them.

Adobe has joined in, with Shantanu Narayen, president and chief operating officer of the company, stating:

'Tiger is an excellent release and will be relied on by millions of Adobe customers who, as creative professionals, change the way the world looks every day. The combination of Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Tiger delivers a powerful design and publishing platform that will accelerate creative workflows worldwide.'

So why wasn't the recent Apple Pro Application Support 3.0 for 10.3.9 and 10.4 update to its interface for key professional software programs such as Final Cut Pro (which naturally requires Adobe software to help these professionals) available only for 10.3.9 and 10.4? What's wrong with 10.3.5? It would appear Apple is trying to bring onboard more professionals to the latest OS. Given the problems of 10.3.9, professionals would have no choice but to upgrade to 10.4 after the update. Only to receive more problems in the Tiger OS.

And still no rest for the wicked. It seems more upgrades await everyone in the land of the great Apple with the announcement from CEO Steve Jobs that Apple will move to Intel processors starting in 2006.

 
Apple testing legitimacy of OSX software?
It looks like Apple wants to test the legitimacy of users 10.4 "Tiger" software by creating directory damage during installation, forcing users to run the OSX system disk (hopefully the original Apple CD) in the CD-ROM drive and launch Apple Disk Utility from the CD. The errors could be repaired after OSX is launched on your hard disk, but you will have to remember the technique of restarting in Safe Boot mode. Otherwise the errors will cause hanging in the middle of the normal full startup process for users.

Adobe appears to be assisting in the problem with the discovery that the Version Cue component of Adobe's Creative Suite 2 package is causing a stalling problem during startup and shutdown of OSX 10.4.2 systems.

Could this be an example of Apple showing a concern about the number of people having the Tiger software and how not enough of them are buying the software from Apple?

Or maybe the sales of Tiger isn't too crash hot for Apple and is thinking the lower sales represent evidence of software piracy?

Perhaps Apple shouldn't be focussing on the OS so much. All it takes is one person to purchase a second-hand Apple computer and discover how easy it is to get a DVD/CD copy of OSX version 10.4 included with the machine. Because every Apple is entitled to have a free OS system disk. The version of the OS doesn't really matter (come to think of it, how many people have kept their original OS9 system disks?).

Unless Apple has secretly changed this policy in recent times, Apple should be concentrating on the other software it produces such as Final Cut Pro to see if they are legitimate. Forget about the OS.

NOTE: The OS should be more like Linux: everyone can see what is going into the OS; and is very stable, fast and lean. The only thing Apple had to do is put on a decent interface, which it has thanks to OSX.

 
Increasing the stability of Tiger?
If you must go for Tiger (yawn!), we strongly recommend updating to version 10.4.2 using the Combo updater (58MB).

If you use Safari a lot and can't stand the numerous problems it creates (1), you may benefit from using FireFox 1.0.7 and Firefoxy to give Firefox the ability to use widgets and Java Embedding Plug-in 0.9.4 to allow Firefox and other non-Apple internet browsers the chance to use the latest Java capabilities.

A Java Security Update 4 (still not perfect or well-tested by Apple, but a big improvement in the speed of loading most web pages using Java or running Java applications) and, if necessary, put on the Security Update 2005-007 v1.1 (ignore Security Update 2005-007 v1.0 because it breaks support for 64-bit applications) and perhaps the Safari Update 2.0.1 (although Safari will load web pages more slowly in return for greater system stability, see footnote below). However, making these updates may cause problems to TCP/IP and ethernet networking. Until Apple makes yet another update to Tiger (possibly version 10.4.3), you will have to live with at least one major annoying bug.

Security Update 2005-008 is another one designed to do more than plug security holes. Apart from problems with the Keychain (you will need to delete the Keychain and reenter passwords to create a new Keychain), Apple states:

'A corrupt GIF image could potentially create a buffer overflow in ImageIO (an operating system component for rendering images used by Safari and other applications), which could enable an attacker to execute arbitrary code. No known exploitations have occurred, and Security Update 2005-008 fixes the problem. A similar issue with PICT images is fixed in the operating system's QuickDraw component.'

Now uncorrupted or clean PICTs and animated GIFs will no longer work in Preview after this update is applied. You must now use QuickTime or a third-party graphics software tool to read the graphic files.

You will also get rapidly bloating of Mac OSX log files in the invisible folder /var/log. If you want to delete these logs under OSX, (i) choose Go-->Go to Folder in the Finder, (ii) go to /var/log/; and (iii) delete log files named "System.log.x.gz" where x is equal to 1, 2, 3, etc.

And the Apple Security update also causes erratic problems with Microsoft Office after having been updated to SP2. Either Microsoft hasn't done its quality control check, or Apple hasn't. Or both are not communicating to each other to explain there is an update coming so both can do the quality control work.

However, if you don't need the updates for Safari, the Combo updater on its own should be enough to provide the most stable Tiger version yet. But remember, for the least problems when installing the Combo updater, try to boot off from a separate startup disk and apply the Disk Utility to repair all permissions before going back to your original OSX 10.4.2 startup disk containing your latest updates. And also consider reinstalling some third-party applications in case some non-Apple approved plug-ins or preferences have been changed.

As a word of warning, Apple wants users to have the original Apple OSX DVD disk to repair permissions during and, most importantly, after the updates. So keep this in mind.

Once you've finally got it all stable again, make a carbon clone of the startup disk to a backup disk for use as a reference or if you have to revert back to this system when Apple decides on issuing another poorly-tested update.

NOTE: Security Update 2005-007 v1.1 (can also be applied to Panther) is still causing problems for users. Problems range from AirPort connectivity issues, AppleTalk over Ethernet broken for some users, bluetooth connectivity lost, login items lost, Mail.app issues, problems with startup after updating, Safari issues, Sherlock issues and third-party application problems. The update is also causing problems to users of older Apple computers such as the titanium PowerBook and Quicksilver G4 computers. The newer mini's and G5 computers are not experiencing any problems. Is this Apple's way of enticing people to upgrade Apple computers to the latest (non-OS9 bootable) versions?

However do what the experts do and wait until the next major OS X instalment comes out — whether it will be called Leopard, Pussycat or some other creative name — after 10.4. Then you can choose to have the most stable and hassle-free Tiger OS you want (purchase it from eBay.com where everyone will be trying to get rid of Tiger). Leave it to the young naive consumers to go for the latest OS (the Internet is littered with messages about how many problems are found on the OS).

Come to think of it, what's wrong with Panther?

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
1 November 2005
Apple releases the 10.4.3 update of the infamous or famous (depending on how many bugs you had to endure) OSX. This one fixes up some annoying features of Apple-specific software in Tiger such as those in mail.app and a few bugs in the Finder. Most importantly some stability improvements for Safari appear to be incorporated into this update. Yet you will still have to use Microsoft Internet Explorer to access some web sites, only to find this third-party browser will behave more unpredictably under the latest Java improvements. This is probably due to the fewer people using the Microsoft product and the decision by Apple to start ditching the software in favour of Safari.

Or perhaps Apple has received word from Microsoft of its eagerness to ditch Microsoft Explorer for OSX and therefore needs a little enticing of the users to move to Safari with the help of Apple? Now that the Macintels are coming and Microsoft knows its Virtual PC software will run at full speed on the new Macs, why supply a Macintosh version of Microsoft Internet Explorer when the PC version will do?

Could Apple be putting in the bugs now, or incorporating sufficient changes to OSX, to force people to use certain commercial products (eg. Apple's own) or to see what people are doing?

As for other non-Apple third-party programs trying to keep up, you may discover an increase in security bugs now that Apple has decided to make some fundamental changes to Tiger OSX. In particular, the popular Symantec AntiVirus program reveals a big security and system corruption bug. As MacFixIt.com and Secure OSX reported in December 2005:

'Secure OS X reports on a "highly critical" flaw that has been discovered in Symantec's AntiVirus software for Mac OS X.

'The vulnerability occurs when AntiVirus is decompressing files compressed in the RAR format for scanning. When AntiVirus is performing this operation, it is susceptible to to multiple heap overflows allowing attackers complete control of the system(s) being protected...' (MacFixIt.com: "Highly critical" Flaw is discovered in Symantec AntiVirus. 21 December 2005.)

Secure OSX further elaborated on this issue when it said:

'These vulnerabilities can be exploited remotely without user interaction in default configurations through common protocols such as SMTP.

'Successful exploitation of Symantec protected systems allows attackers unauthorized control of data and related privileges. It also provides leverage for further network compromise. Symantec implementations are likely vulnerable in their default configuration. In default configurations users are likely vulnerable regardless of whether they choose to open or read the email.' (Secure OSX: "Highly Critical" flaw in Symantec AntiVirus. 21 December 2005.)

Continuing with the quote from MacFixIt.com:

'The only solution at this point is to filter RAR archives at email or proxy gateways, or disable and uninstall Norton AntiVirus...

'This flaw is the latest in a bevy of other issues caused by the AutoProtect component of Symantec's Norton AntiVirus under Mac OS X 10.4.x including apparent corruption of Mac OS X temp files that can result in spiking processor usage and complete system unresponsiveness.' (MacFixIt.com: "Highly critical" Flaw is discovered in Symantec AntiVirus. 21 December 2005.)

The security concern was allegedly first reported by researcher Alex Wheeler. Original report can be viewed from here.

Moving on to other areas of the OSX 10.4.3 update, we can see Apple is trying hard to reduce the heat in the G5 microprocessors. After extensive months (or possibly years) of careful deliberation, Apple has come up with the best solution and one that doesn't cost the company anything. The solution is simply to have the inbuilt fans of nearly every Mac run more regularly and faster. Expect this update to be a noisy one as your laptops start sounding like a helicopter about to take off. As one user said:

'Updated G5 iMac and now the fan runs at high speed constantly, great for cooling the processor, now approximately 31deg celsius. But extremely noisy. Did all the usual repair permissions before and after, no luck there.' (MacFixIt.com Mac OS X 10.4.3 (#2): First restart may be longer than usual; General purpose fixes (try these first); Mail 2.0.5 issues; more. 1 November 2005)

You'll be also glad to know third-party Safari plug-ins may need further updating to make them compatible under OSX 10.4.3. The same is true of a number of third-party utilities such as OnyX 1.6.4, Thermograph X, FireFox 1.5b2 and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Generally the people who have the least problems updating to 10.4.3 tend to be the ones who don't have third-party software (and certainly not the ones Apple doesn't like people to install), plug-ins, extensions and control preference panes (how useful is that?). Now that's speaking volumes for the stability and compatibility of Apple's Tiger OS!

Some devices attached to PowerBooks may also draw more power causing some laptops to lose Airport connectivity and in some cases suddenly fall into sleep mode after a period of time. Other sources of AirPort connectivity drop outs include too many Base stations in the Network system preference pane, and greater sensitivity to interference by local equipment near your computer or AirPort Base Station.

Apple's own iDisk, the file synchronisation software tool for backups of the latest files and applications to an external drive, is now under scrutiny by users as complaints emerge of excessive hard disk space usage (up to 80GB taken up after a short period of use) and very slow file transfer rates despite having the fastest possible network speed or firewire/USB 2.0 cable connection. A third-party backup solution may be in order for those serious about this task (aren't we all?). As Rudy Fabre said:

'I stopped using iDisk because iDisk syncing caused my entire operating system to slow down to a crawl. I sync'ed iDisk between a PowerMac G5 at work and iMac G5 at home, both computers had the same problem. At first, I couldn't figure out why my OS's were slowing down, I thought there was a problem with a system update; I had updated to 10.4.3. Turns out, the iDisk was appropriating around 85 gigs of hard drive space during the syncing process, and it was taking hours to sync. I have stopped using the iDisk, unfortunately it has proven too unstable to depend on for work purposes. Address book, Bookmarks and iCalender syncing has worked flawlessly. I have been a .Mac subscriber for two years.' (MacFixIt.com: More iDisk Issues: Consuming hard disk space when synchronizing; Failed scheduled backups. 20 December 2005.)

We hope iDisk isn't trying to provide a copy of the files online for Apple to inspect, which could explain the slow speed? Perhaps iDisk wants to store the files it has copied in a temporary file (what for?) and later if the computer is online, try to transfer the files elsewhere without the user knowing?

You should be aware that some third-party backup software tools may routinely fail to do its job on occasions. Sometimes you will have to make a second or third attempt to copy files. An example of this is Backup 3.0.

The initial startup screen immediately after the OS update will take a few minutes longer than you would expect. Please be patient. If it stalls for more than 10 minutes, get the hammer and... give it a reboot.

Widgets, those relatively useful little things that spring up on your screen with potentially useful information (nothing like Apple forcing you to stay online as much as possible as they probably gather information about you through your OSX), will require repairing of file permissions which hadn't been the case prior to this update.

To top off yet another amazing update to Tiger, Apple has decided to record the time and date for each time you use the "Command-Tab" keys to switch between applications. This information will be stored in /var/logs/windowserver.log. In the present update, the name of the application you have selected will not be stored. Did Apple forget to include this information? Well don't be surprised if this changes in the next Tiger update. Despite leaving out the application name, as one user has noted, the log file will swell in size quite dramatically. Sounds like another job for the tool Onyx to clean up.

And Apple is making it harder for users in OSX 10.4.3 to backup the entire startup disk (with installed applications) on FireWire 800 drives because it is harder to mount the drives on the desktop. USB drives are less problematic. As for burning information onto DVD-R/RW disks under OSX version 10.4.3, inserting the disks after the first time may not show up on the desktop of OSX Tiger. We know it isn't a disk error because they will work perfectly first time, every time on any PC or Mac running OS9 and OSX versions 10.0 to 10.3.x. Also burning DVDs on Panther may fail to mount on Tiger systems.

Supporting other users of the same DVD-R/RW problem, MacFixIt reader Mike Bartley said:

'I have the same problem - no DVD of any kind - including commercial will mount - DVD player grinds away but no mount on desktop. CD's mount and play as normal. The computer is a mirror drive door Dual 1 GHz Power PC G4 1.25 GB DDR SDRAM Mac OS X version 10.4.3 - updated from Software update. Was working normally 4 weeks ago - no DVD used until today - no joy.' (MacFixIt.com: Problems mounting burned DVDs under Mac OS X (#2): Pioneer 106D SuperDrives particularly prone to problems; Solutions; more. 12 December 2005.)

Some observers claim the problem is not the responsibility of Apple or Tiger itself, but the choice of a DVD-R/RW drive put into the Apple G5 computers — namely the Pioneer DVR-106D. Even so, you would think a choice of a different drive should have rang bells for Apple to at least test it. Not so on this occasion. Apparently there is a time delay before the problem emerges as MacFixIt reader Remko Strobel said:

'I've had my system for almost 2 years now, and the Superdrive worked fine in the beginning. Then it stopped accepting self-made dvd's (all other media worked fine), expensive brands as well as el-cheapo's. When Toast has finished burning a dvd it will verify it correctly and it will also mount it. But after ejecting the system will keep spitting it out. Also booting with the dvd inserted will spit it out. There was still some warranty left, and the service center replaced the 106d with another 106dD This one worked fine again in the beginning, until some time ago. Now it won't accept any self-made dvd, from whatever brand, regardless of +R or -R. Exactly the same problems as before. Even my 7 year old iMac will accept the DVDs the 106D won't.' (MacFixIt.com: Problems mounting burned DVDs under Mac OS X with Pioneer 106D SuperDrives (#3): Symptoms, Possible solutions. 13 December 2005.)

However, other users of the same burner claim no such problem exists on Panther or previous OSX versions. It is a unique problem for Tiger users made more prominent by this latest update. Is this a software problem of Tiger? Or is it the drivers/firmware for running the Pioneer 106D drives on the latest OSX requiring an update? Either way, it suggests a software-related problem. As Eric Garrison said on 13 December 2005:

'I have been having struggles with the Pioneer 106D drive mentioned in your recent article of 12 December. The drive will inexplicably stop working and fails to mount any disk at all including the Apple system disk for Tiger. It will on occasion begin working as well though not for long. The drive is detectable by System Profiler and no errors are reported by other utilities. I have checked the cables and there do not appear to be any hardware struggles with them. Working in fits would seem to indicate some sort of loose connection internal to the drive or maybe heat issues, but this does not fit with the evidence that the problem occurs after an upgrade to Tiger. Considering the machines I have control over have only displayed this problem after such an upgrade, I would rule out the simple hardware error.' (MacFixIt.com: Problems mounting burned DVDs under Mac OS X with Pioneer 106D SuperDrives (#3): Symptoms, Possible solutions. 13 December 2005.)

Or maybe the burning speed should be slower and the laser heads cleaned (in particular the reading head)? Yet this won't explain why people on non-Tiger Macs and PCs can read the DVD-RW/R disks at normal burning speeds.

And still other people have claimed the laser heads simply wear out. Funny idea considering users of the PowerBook G3 Series "Pismo" and titanium laptops with their DVD burners have not experienced this problem as we speak.

Then to make things slightly confusing, this CD-R/RW disk mounting problem may extend to the Matshita (please, this is serious!) DVD-R UJ-845E drive according to one MacFixIt.com reader:

'I have an Aluminum PowerBook G4 17" with a 1GHz CPU and 2GB RAM. So, I have been having this problem for a while now and thought I might have used some bad/cheap media and it had resulted in bad DVD-Rs however after reading your report, I realized I wasn't alone and that it wasn't me or my media. Only catch is I checked system profiler and it lists this as my superdrive: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-815.

'I am having the very same issues with my AL PB 1.7 GHz with a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-845E drive. Problems started after applying the 10.4.3 update. Interestingly I have a bunch of alignment error messages in system.log. This may indicate a faulty device, but anyway I thought that relevant to report in the context of the current discussion.' (MacFixIt.com: Problems mounting burned DVDs under Mac OS X with Pioneer 106D SuperDrives (#6). 21 December 2005.)

If this is true, then it is suggesting OSX 10.4.3 is doing something strange to the laser head alignment forcing manufacturers (or more likely hackers) of some burners to issue a new firmware patch. Either that, or the hardware has to be modified slightly to handle the new head alignment requirements.

Of course Apple is recommending people purchase the extended 3-year Apple warranty program to have the burner replaced. No doubt the company would say this. Nothing like an opportunity to inspect people's hard drives when the Macs are returned for repairs while making a little bit of extra money on the side. If this ain't true, then why is it that Apple refuses to repair a computer without the original hard drive presently especially if the official Apple manual claims the user can remove it for security purposes?

You are better off getting a new DVD/CD burner. Some users claim Pioneer DVR-109 is much more reliable and works as it should. Well, any burner should work fine. Just don't use Pioneer DVR-106D, or at least get a firmware update for this drive. If all else fails, delete the following preference file:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.DVDPlayer.plist

It is likely this file could be corrupt and interfering with the mounting process.

And &151 we are not quite there yet — people running OSX10.4.3 Server edition on Macintosh computers may notice the system maintenance scripts normally triggered by the Launchd process may not consistently run every time. Perhaps immediately after the update to 10.4.3, the script might be activated. But afterwards, and on some Macintosh models (or it could be a random situation), the scripts may never automatically run again. The problem is fairly consistent and common among those techos who run OSX servers for a living and have more than a few servers to run simultaneously.

Finally, and probably not the last problem by any means, any hiccups in starting up Classic Environment in OSX 10.4.3 may be solved by removing the DivXNetwork folder from /Library/Application Support. If you don't use DivX in QuickTime, also remove the DivX plug-in from /Library/QuickTime. Also Apple wants you to use OS9.2.2 (not OS 9.0 or 9.1) for Classic Environment to work, even though technically speaking there shouldn't be a problem running older OS9 versions.

If you intend to install this update (welcome to "guinea pig" land), make sure you disconnect all firewire and USB devices from your computer; install the full Combo updater (not the Software Update approach); clear caches, preferences and log files; check file permissions with Disk Utility; and possibly re-apply the Combo update if necessary. For improved Airport connectivity to third-party 802.11 cards and access points, install the AirPort Extreme 2005-001 update as well.

In summary, anyone who is sufficiently annoyed by the instability of Safari in previous OSX updates and upgrades and in other Apple-specific software tools such as mail.app will benefit from the update. If, however, you are looking for a stable Tiger OS, the ability to switch off the indexing feature of Spotlight when you want to, and to run a large range of the popular third-party software and devices previously compatible with earlier versions of Tiger or the latest Panther update, you may be disappointed.

This is not Apple's best update ever.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
8 November 2005
One user has suggested setting the processor performance to maximum in the Energy Saver system preference pane seems to reduce excessive fan activity for G5 PowerMacs and G5 iMacs. Worth a try.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
14 November 2005
The reason for affecting Classic Environment in the latest release of the OSX 10.4.3 update seems to be because the company is assessing whether enough users benefit from having Classic Environment. Since the period of relying on users as guinea pigs to test OSX is coming to a close, Apple is looking to ditch Classic Environment altogether when the first Macintels come onto the market in late 2006.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
22 November 2005
MacFixIt.com released the results of a survey looking at the user stability of OSX versions 10.4.0, 10.4.2 and 10.4.3. Almost 1,500 people responded to the survey. A good initial overview of how Apple is doing with its products and how well they are behaving in the marketplace. Well, the most telling aspect of this survey was that nearly a third of all respondents had something to say about the instability of OSX. While Apple might want to focus on the positives by saying two thirds of respondents are happy, the reality is that for critical work in business and for scientific pursuits, OSX lags behind the competitors including Windows XP Professional (when installed with the latest Microsoft updates).

When the remaining one third consisting of up to 15.2 per cent of all respondents claiming serious problems such as improper startup or a loss of data after the update to the latest 10.4.3 version, and 23.1 per cent reported minor issues, this is not good for Apple. If Apple is only interested in selling OSX to the young, naive customers with money to burn and older newbies trying out the Mac for the first time, then that's fine. These people may come to expect problems with their system.

But when people have years of experience on the Macintosh and other customers choose a Mac for more serious work (beyond playing 3D adventure games and watching DVDs), OSX 10.4.3 is a disappointment.

Some experienced Mac users are saying the installation of OS7-9 was easier and frought with less danger than the latest OSX 10.4.3 update. Not the kind of thing Apple wants to hear. Although if it is making a profit, the company probably doesn't care. It still prefers to use its customers as guinea pigs to see what can be got away with within the OS through various scripts and hidden programming features and what people want or are still using so Apple can decide how the OS should develop.

All in all, version 10.4.0 is possibly the worse example of poor quality control ever seen from Apple with at least 63.6 per cent of users in a separate MacFixIt.com survey claiming some form of problem on upgrading and using Tiger OSX.

Things appeared to have improved with the update to 10.4.2 when a survey of approximately 1,200 respondents showed around 24.5 per cent had minor problems and 11 percent experienced major problems. The update to 10.4.3 may have fixed some issues in 10.4.2, but it seem it has created new ones, with MacFixIt.com suggesting that "our most recent user poll indicates that overall susceptibility to hardware and software conflicts has slightly increased in this incremental release."

In 10.4.3, 23.1 per cent claimed minor problems and 15.2 per cent claimed major problems according to the latest MacFixIt.com survey.

The situation for OSX 10.4.x can be best summed up by one user going by the alias of Macsure. He said to MacFixIt.com in no uncertain terms:

'Judging by the "chatter" about issues arising from installing 10.4.3, as well as by MacFixit's reporting - it is clear that "Tiger" is not yet ready for primetime. Meaning: Especially for those using their Macs for business and other mission-critical purposes! Installing this upgrade is like playing Russian Roulette when the revolver has only three cartridge cylinders - ONE of which contains the live round which will "blow your Mac's brains out.

'Greater than 1:3 probability of having serious issues which require users to spend their time on "fixes & workarounds" is NOT acceptable to those needing to get on with business. Computers are supposed to enhance and improve productivity, not stymy us.

'Apple will never submit to the indignity of doing what is necessary with OS X - pull the Tiger release and start over. That leaves only one alternative to users who MUST have reliable Macs: go back to the last version of OS X which ran reliably on your Mac.

'I didn't adopt OS X until v. 10.2.6. I stopped upgrading at 10.3.6 (which works great on my eMac). I've been as eager as anyone to go ahead with Tiger - but will not do so until (probably) 10.4.5 (or .6) is released. Already I have saved myself hours, days, perhaps weeks of delay and frustration and "who knows" how much money by this strategy and I remain "a happy Mac user" because of it.

'The above benefits of going slow work when users follow "normal maintenance" and diligently back up both their system and data files. Always monitor for problem reports for a week or more before committing to the system upgrade Ð (in some "famous cases" this applies to Apple applications, too). Keep a printed list of potential problems and their remedy procedures at hand when running any upgrade.

'Still - it's good to see that 2/3rds of those adopting 10.4.3 have come through successfully. I just wish the proportion of "successes" was closer to 100%.'

We hope Apple is listening...

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
30 November 2005
Apple quickly released Security Update 2005 number 009. This one still does not stamp out all Safari and other OSX problems. Well, at least it is better than a kick in the pants! Anything for Tiger users to get some real stability. There is also a noticeably speedier responsiveness in starting up and running OSX (both 10.3.9 and 10.4.3) this time.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
6 December 2005
One user has noticed on exiting the screensaver of three different Macintosh computers running OSX10.4.3 how the password dialog box does not always show itself. Instead, the user can sometimes find him/herself having unimpeded access to the files and applications of the current user account when the screensaver disappears. As a MacFixIt.com user going by the name of George claimed to have discovered:

'I have three different Macintosh computers, all running 10.4.3, that have lost their screen locking capability some time in the past week. The three systems are a G4 tower, G4 Powerbook, and a snow iBook. All three will enter sleep mode or their screensavers correctly, but as soon as I hit a key or move a mouse they wake up with full access to the system.' (MacFixIt.com: MacOSX not asking for password when exiting screensaver, waking from sleep; solution. 6 December 2005.)

In another example, a password dialog box may appear after waking up from sleep mode where a person with administrator privileges can unlock the system using the Administrator Password and have access to the current user's files and applications. As:

'We share the computer among 5 accounts, and have set Energy Saver to lock the system during sleep or while a screensaver is active.

'I can repeatedly demonstrate this situation: My wife is logged in, does not use the computer for a while and it goes to sleep. When I move the mouse, the password prompt appears: When I now type in my user name and my password, the system returns to the desktop of her account.' (MacFixIt.com: Mac OS X not asking for password when exiting screensaver, waking from sleep (#3). 12 December 2005.)

On hearing this, some other users have claimed this is normal behaviour. For example, Greg Neagle wrote:

'This is normal behavior if Bernd's account has admin privileges. Administrators can clear the screen saver with their username and password. This has been the case in OS X since 10.1.' (MacFixIt.com: Mac OS X not asking for password when exiting screensaver, waking from sleep (#3). 12 December 2005)

Well, is it? Because the observation has been around for some time and appears on Windows XP doesn't mean it is right. If Apple is serious about security, the last thing you want to do is leave some sensitive work on a multiple user account Macintosh computer in sleep mode and come back later only to realise somehow that the Administrator or someone else who knows the Administrator password can access your current user account and see what you were doing. Not exactly good security policy.

If it is to check for software piracy or some other illegal stuff, this may be okay. But if it is important commercial-in-confidence material or even something personal, the last thing you want is someone else not personally authorised by you to be inspecting and copying your work. This is not good security at all.

How it should work is for the current user to properly log out of his/her account on the computer before allowing any other user (including the Administrator) to access his/her own individual account on the same computer. If not, the option to force a log out should be available causing the computer to properly close all files and securely lock them away until the current user returns. Then the files can be opened and for the user to decide when it is time to save and possibly encrypt the files, and/or make sure the files are backed up somewhere (probably onto a detachable and portable external backup drive) where the work can be taken away. And if files have to be trashed on the computer after the work is completed, OSX should do a proper secure emptying of the Trash (ie. permanently delete the files by writing over the files with random information several times).

Now that's the industry-standard of security most business professionals come to expect of an OS these days.

Is this another error of OSX, one of a number still persisting to this day? Not a major one for most consumers (as Apple might say). But if you are working for the Department of Defence or a business where protection of commercial-in-confidence or secret information is critical, it is a major fault.

Again we can only reiterate the view that OSX in its current form is not geared up for professional work within government and business industries requiring real stability, security and high performance.

It is more than just good looks, as Apple is known to be good at. It goes down to the core of the products the company manufactures. They have to have the resilience and industry-strength to handle a wide variety of situations including different software from the past to the present.

If you are a professional deciding on PC or Mac, stick with a PC. The first truly stable, high quality and possibly secure Macs won't arrive until 2007 (at least 12 months after the first Macintels have been released to the public). And even then you won't know what Apple will come up with for the unsuspecting user.

As for temporarily solving this problem until the next update permanently fixes this password security problem, one user has suggested resetting the option to "Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screensaver" in the Security preference pane. If this fails, delete the following file:

~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.screensaver.[hostid].com

repair permissions and reset the security preferences.

Good luck!

NOTE: Could this be a new approach from Apple to make it easier for some authorised Apple service repair centres to inspect customer's hard disks (eg. check for software piracy problems, obtain commercial advantage etc)?

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
9 December 2005
Not only are third-party software manufacturers dropping SCSI driver support on the latest OSX version 10.4.3 software, but Apple will not include the drivers to make sure people running the latest OSX on PowerBook G3 Series "Pismo" computers or SCSI cards in newer Macs are able to make backups to their favourite SCSI external drives etc.

Problems such as kernel panics could become a normal part of your life using certain SCSI cards and backup software under the Tiger environment.

This MacFixIt.com article published today confirms the third-party manufacturer of the popular Adaptec SCSI cards is not compatible with the backup software solution Retrospect from Dantz. More precisely, Adaptec will no longer update the SCSI drivers for compatibility even though there are Apple computers still having SCSI ports from Adaptec which are able to run the latest OSX. As Dantz reported on its web site:

'Dantz does not support any Adaptec SCSI adapters for use in any Macintosh Computers running Mac OS X 10.3 or 10.4. Adaptec is no longer developing SCSI drivers for the Mac OS.

'Adaptec has issued a driver compatibility statement at:

http://adaptec-tic.adaptec.com/cgi-bin/adaptec_tic.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=11052' (http://kb.dantz.com/al/12/1/5642.html)

Since Dantz made this statement, Adaptec has officially removed its own statement confirming no further development into SCSI drivers for the Tiger environment.

Apple has not provided support of its own in the latest OSX release either.

The user will now be required to purchase alternative SCSI adapters (eg. ATTO) or purchase new computers and external drives (fortunately Dantz can safely say its backup solution Retrospect can run on the latest computers using FireWire or USB despite not being able to work entirely retrospectively with Adaptec SCSI cards).

Or as a possible permanent fix for the problem, MacFixIt.com has kindly suggested performing the following changes to OSX to help reduce the incompatibility problem:

'...[remove] the following files from the /System/Library/Extensions folder:

Adaptec 290X-2930.kext
Adaptec 29160x.kext
Adaptec 39160x.kext

but leaving the file

Adaptec 78XXSCSI.kext.' (MacFixIt.com: More on kernel panics with SCSI devices: Alternative backup solutions; Confirmation for fix. 12 December 2005.)

However, not all users were confident of this suggestion. Worth a try anyway.

NOTE: Apple could be determining how many people are likely to be affected by a loss in SCSI drivers.

 
OSX becoming more friendly to Windows-specific devices
If there is any consolation in all of these changes, one could say the latest Tiger update has provided an unexpected bonus: purportedly Windows-only devices are more likely to run on the latest OSX.

The key to the success of any Windows-specific device running on OSX is wholly dependent on the level of compliance the devices exhibit with respect to the Open Host Controller Interface or OHCI. If the devices are fully compliant with OHCI, the device is said to be fully compatible with your Macintosh computer running the latest OSX.

Nothing like enticing more users to Tiger for the extra benefit (and headaches).

 
Tiger update to version 10.4.4
The much awaited improvements to Tiger via the latest 10.4.4 has arrived! Early days, but it seems the only problem this update poses for aluminium G4 PowerBook users (1.67MHz) is a sudden loss in RAM for the lower memory slot after the update (even if the memory is Apple factory approved). Suggestions of removing and reinserting the faulty RAM card have been made and may fix the problem.

Please note that this problem has been recognised by Apple as a manufacturing defect. You may be entitled to participate in Apple's worldwide PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.67/1.5GHz) Memory Slot Repair Extension Program. Please visit your local Apple reseller for further details.

There is also a suggestion the audio volume controls on the function keys for the latest aluminium PowerBook G4 computers could be broken. Controlling the volume may require the user to go directly into the System Preference Panes and open the Sound Manager control panel to make the adjustments.

In general the main improvements have been in Spotlight's now lightning fast searching and in showing results compared to previous incarnations of the Tiger OS. Although admittedly one could download the freeware Laserlight 1.0.6 from One Left Foot. This utility bypasses the slow, as-you-type search method presented by Spotlight by allowing you to type the search string directly into Laserlight and once you are happy with the information, click Search where the utility automatically inserts the entire search string into Spotlight. This brings back the versatility and speed of searching via Panther and all other previous OS versions.

In addition we see how Apple is trying to ween users off Classic Environment by stopping users of the utility RCDDefaultApp 1.3 from setting their preferred classic applications for launching as the default applications under OSX. Expect more attempts by Apple in the near future to stop people from using Classic Environment.

Beyond that, there are general improvements (we hope!) to iTunes, QuickTIme and other core Apple software tools included with the OS. Time will tell whether these improvements are to the liking of nearly all users.

## SPECIAL UPDATE ##
13 January 2006
There has been a number of new bugs appearing in the latest iTunes 6.0.2 in what were thought to be bug-free features of previous iTunes versions. Such bugs is forcing a number of users to downgrade. Further details can be found in this MacFixIt.com report.

Slightly less annoying is iTunes 6.0.4, except the some users are reporting frequent re-buffering of media downloads even when the streaming buffer is set to "Large". All iTunes version prior to 6.0.4 don't exhibit this problem.

We can also report the Pro license key for QuickTime 7.0 may or may not work in the latest QuickTime 7.0.4. To get greater reliability in activating the Pro features of QuickTime, you may be required to purchase a new license key. Further details can be found from this MacFixIt.com report. Actually this QuickTime update has allegedly been removed by Apple and a new version posted recently. Unfortunately the latest version of QuickTime causes Alsoft DiskWarrior to crash when running from one volume on another (not from the CD), and there could be video recording problems using the H264 codec.

To keep things on the positive, a MacFixIt reader can happily report the following:

'On a a lighter note iTunes' newfound ability to play from multiple speakers is just great! I now have my 5.1 H-K surround system for ambient sound via AirTunes and my H-K SoundSticks for the left & right front sound. That makes for a much fuller & yet focused sound than I ever had before. It's all nicely in synch and it works perfectly on both of my Macs. I did not need to do the "open UDP ports 6001 and 6002" workaround for the 'unknown error' problem reported by several people in Apple Discussions. Way to go, Apple!' (MacFixIt.com: QuickTime 7.0.4 (#3): Problems with Pro key; DVD Player problems -- try downgrading, then re-upgrading; more. 13 January 2006)

We think more users would appreciate simple and stable software that works on any system rather than having extra fancy features added.

 
Tiger update to version 10.4.5
Although not all errors noticed by users have been removed in this update (Apple must be fixing up the noticeable errors at their own pace), OSX 10.4.5 is a better update. However, if you own older models of G4 (and new Intel) computers, this update may be characterised by a slow down in network (eg. page loading in Safari, uploading files etc) and FInder performance, forcing some people to consider buying a new computer. This is not due to an error, but a decision by Apple to turn on certain features. The decision to slow things down never appeared in previous updates suggesting this could be a way for Apple to encourage people to purchase the latest, slighty faster Intel-based MacBook Pro (only to be disappointed when they realise the problem persists in the new model).

Our best recommendation to minimising this problem is to go into the Network preference pane, choose TCP/IP and turn off "IPv6 configuring..." This should speed up network performance unless you already use IPv6 addressing to access network resources, in which case it won't make any difference whatsoever.

Here are the steps:

(i) Open Network preference pane
(ii) Select "Built-in Ethernet" (or the currently used network port such as AirPort) from the Show popup menu
(iii) Click on TCP/IP
(iv) Click the "Configure IPv6..." button
(v) Select "Off" from the pop-up menu
(vi) Click the "Apply Now" button
(vi) Do the same for IrDA and Internet modem options in the Show popup menu.

This may also solve your music streaming problems on AirPort. MacFixIt reader Johan van Emmerik writes:

'I had problems streaming music to my stereo via Airport Express. The music would stop for a second every 20 seconds or so. Since I turned the IPv6 setting to 'off' the music stream is flawless.' (MacFixIt.com: Try toggling IPv6 for network slowness; dropouts in streaming connections. 28 March 2006.)

If this doesn't work, reapply the full Combo Updater (125MB, not the 16MB delta update). As MacFixIt.com rwader Fred Moore whas discovered:

'After much thrashing about and wasted time, I appear to have solved both the slow web page loading as well as my email sending problems in one stroke. Guess how: download the Mac OS X 10.4.5 combo updater and reapply it. This nonsense has cost me a lot of time but everything seems to work now. IPv6 is set back to Automatic, there is no entry in the Network prefs DNS server field, and my email sending works perfectly (so far, I've sent a bunch of tests). Why didn't I just download the combo updater and apply from my hard drive at the beginning? Well, Software Update should (yes, I know, I know...) work. I'll never again use Software Update for a system update.' (MacFixIt.com: MacOSX 10.4.5 (#9): Another fix for network slowness - re-applying the combo updater; SIIG FireWire card not working; more. 24 February 2006.)

As for the Finder speed problem, try turning off Quartz 2D Extreme feature. Use BBEdit to open up the text file known as "com.apple.windowserver.plist" located in /Library/Preferences. Look for "Quartz2DExtremeEnabled" and set it to NO. If you don't have the file, it means you don't need it for your computer (probably an older machine). And check your startup items for those that might be slowing the Finder. It appears Apple has found some incompatible startup items (eg. Keystrokerecorder X and Default Folder) which need users to weed them out. You'll need to check two folders for this: startup items (the folder where items are loaded universally for all users), and login items (the folder where items are loaded after entering your username and password for your particular account).

Go into the Accounts preference pane, click the Login Items tab, and remove all items. Restart your computer. If there is a significant performance boost to your Finder, go into the Accounts preference pane and add on a one-by-one basis the login items, relogging into your account each time an item is added. Then hopefully the culprit can be found (ie. when the Finder is suddenly slow to operate).

Finally, restart your computer after the OSX 10.4.5 update to maximise performance. It can sometimes make a difference.

Owners of some Adobe applications such as Adobe InDesign and GoLive may also experience screen redraw problems. And we can also report that Photoshop CS users are experiencing regular freezes under OSX 10.4.5. If Adobe is not nice enough to provide free updates to their software to fix these minor annoyances, you may have to live with them (or get rich as Apple is trying to tell us). Sorry guys!

However there is one Adobe problem you can fix yourself. As incredible as this may sound, the annoying dialog box asking for administrator password everytime you launch Adobe Acrobat 7.0.7 for users without administrator privileges can be resolved as follows:

(i) Log in as the Administrator user.
(ii) Use a text editor to edit the file "CS2ENUDistSelfHeal.xml" in ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/ folder.
(iii) Search for instances of "AdobeBibUtils.framework" and change it to "AdobeBIBUtils.framework".
(iv) Save the file.

Loss of sound in embedded Flash players (eg. running in Safari) and other third-party applications under OSX 10.4.5? It is possible Apple has set the Audio Output Format to 96,000Hz instead of the standard 48,000Hz. Open "Audio MIDI Setup.app" and change this option to reestablish sounds.

And, of course, that perennial problem of burning DVD disks under 10.4.x. It doesn't seem to get fixed permanently under Tiger for some reason. As one user named Jay Galvin has noted, he allegedly had to spend 10 minutes erasing his DVD RW but failed half of the time (out of 8 tries) using his Toast 7.0.2 application.

And anyone trying to access drives connected to an Acard PCI Ultra-ATA 100/133 card will realise there is no bug fix to permit the drives to boot on any version of OSX higher than 10.4.3. You will have to install OSX 10.4.3 or less on the disk drive for you to have any hope of booting off the drive.

Did you install Security Update 2006-001 from Apple? Noticed anything unusual about accessing Windows servers on OSX 10.3.9 to 10.4.5? You've probably noticed how connectivity is lost especially behind a firewall. Or if you do have connectivity, the Windows browsing feature really sucks! The solution:

(i) Open System preferences
(ii) Select the "Sharing" pane
(iii) Select the "Firewall" tab
(iv) Cl