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Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4

By | June 15, 2010, 9:33pm PDT

Summary: Apple released Mac OS 10.6.4, but if you don’t need it immediately, I recommend that you wait a few days before installing.

Just when you thought that Apple had forsaken its desktop OS completely, it comes out with an update. Today Apple pushed Mac OS 10.6.4 out via a 639MB Software Update.

According to the release notes 10.6.4 includes Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

  • resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
  • resolve an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
  • address issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
  • improve reliability of VPN connections
  • resolve a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
  • resolve an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
  • improve compatibility with some braille displays
Before pulling the trigger on the update completely back up your Mac. Time Machine is fine but I’d recommend a full, bootable clone to an external hard drive with either Carbon Copy Cloner (free) or SuperDuper ($28).I also recommend installing 10.6.4 via the “combo updater” (887MB), which while larger, will upgrade any version of Snow Leopard from 10.6.0 on up. The combo updates have a history of working better than the deltas in my experience.

Lastly, if you don’t need the update today (and who does, really?) wait a few days for all the kinks to work themselves out. Let others be the ginuea pigs and keep an eye on sites like The Apple Core and MacFixIt for potential fallout. Once the coast is clear, say Monday, then install the update.

More information can be found in the About the Mac OS X v10.6.4 Update knowledge base article.

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Topics

Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Apple Mac OS, Desktops, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Jason D. O'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
Dalece 16th Jun 2010
@kenosha7777
Reading all the posts about the DULL Mac OS 10.6.4. Yep I went to sleep, woke up a while later and everything is done. It just works. I did backup to time machine first as a matter of habit from Windoze days based on Murphys law that if something could go wrong with Windoze, it did.
I dumped windows except for financial software. I simply cannot find good financial software such as Sage Peachtree Complete, or Sage Peachtree Manufacturing. Then there is Sage Act Contact Management which I have not found anything comparible for Mac OS.
So if anyone knows of any besides Quickbooks and MYOB which are only basic business tools, let me know.
View in thread
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
kenosha77a 15th Jun 2010
Oh come on! You should read the Apple info blogs more often. It was reported that this OS X upgrade version had been released recently (to developers) with no known issues before given the general public distribution "green light" today.

I installed it and my system remains just fine. (Like previous OS X upgrades).

The general opinion regarding OS X upgrade caution has historically dealt with major "point upgrades". For example, from Leopard (version 10.5) to Snow Leopard (10.6)

Honestly, when was the last time an incremental upgrade has shown unexpected results during the last five years after the OS has reached the 10.X.3 level?

I can't remember any. Nor have I experienced any on my two home Mac systems. (Actually, three ... but I gave one away as a High School Graduation present)

Mike
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
lschumacher@... 16th Jun 2010
@kenosha7777 Actually, OS10.4.3 (or maybe it was .4) broke the ability of Adobe CS files to be worked on over a network connection. Files were corrupted like crazy. There may not be any Apple issues, but you never know with third party software.
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
kenosha77a 16th Jun 2010
@lschumacher@... You have a long memory! Thanks for that correction.
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
creep144 16th Jun 2010
@kenosha7777
You must not use those Macs very much. Every update since 10.3 has either messed up one thing or another and/or taken some totally great function away. For instance, what ever happened to the ability to click the volume icon in the menu and adjust the level with the scroll wheel on the mouse? The function is still there, but now you have to have the pointer hovering above the slider whereas it used work no matter where the thing drifted to. One more example is the Safari 5 upgrade. The second day of use it for some reason would only generate one cache file for flash movies, no matter what page I'd try, it wouldn't show any more than one file that can be saved instead of downloading the movie. Everything worked ok, but those files would just get written over. Not sure how I fixed it, permissions maybe. The bad part is that after every update that messes up my machines, I swear I'll never update the first day, but I seem to forget about that when an update comes along.
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
Dalece 16th Jun 2010
@kenosha7777
Reading all the posts about the DULL Mac OS 10.6.4. Yep I went to sleep, woke up a while later and everything is done. It just works. I did backup to time machine first as a matter of habit from Windoze days based on Murphys law that if something could go wrong with Windoze, it did.
I dumped windows except for financial software. I simply cannot find good financial software such as Sage Peachtree Complete, or Sage Peachtree Manufacturing. Then there is Sage Act Contact Management which I have not found anything comparible for Mac OS.
So if anyone knows of any besides Quickbooks and MYOB which are only basic business tools, let me know.
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The only fix I'm looking for is...
olePigeon 15th Jun 2010
The only fix I'm looking for is for Time Machine to stop freezing when I set up my client machines to back up to the Server. Right now I'm using rsync without the nifty Time Machine interface, but I'd really like to have Time Machine available to my teachers. It makes it really easy for them to recover files.

Server backup hasn't worked since 10.6. sad
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It must be your fault
NonZealot 16th Jun 2010
@olePigeon
After all, Macs "Just Work".

Right now I'm using rsync without the nifty Time Machine interface

Tinker, tinker, tinker! I'd rather use stuff that I didn't have to tinker with.
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I'm not tinkering anything...
olePigeon 16th Jun 2010
"After all, Macs 'Just Work'."

From my experience, it "just works" more often than Windows. So if I have to choose between administering an OS X/UNIX server and clients over a Windows Server and Clients, I'll take OS X any day. Management, deployment, etc. is obscenely easier to tackle on OS X than Windows.

"Tinker, tinker, tinker! I'd rather use stuff that I didn't have to tinker with."

That rules out every major operating system on the planet. What are you going to use? A typewriter? No, wait, you'd have to tinker with white-out.
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
betanet 15th Jun 2010
I have installed directly without taking any backup. Its working perfectly ok... no errors, it upgraded MAIL app also and that too without disturbing any single mail. Using around 12 accounts and it upgraded easily. No backup needed.

Also, Safari and other things are perfect. So no need to worry for backup, it wont harm any of your existing data. all the general applications are working fine... no issue...

About the keyboard and touch freezing issue... will update it as it requires time to monitor. But as apple said that this issue is fixed.. i trust it is.

So any one if confused for upgrading ... please do not... just upgrade it...

Ashish Parikh
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Any news on if this updates Bootcamp?
NonZealot 16th Jun 2010
I don't use OS X on my MBP since that OS sucks so much but I'm curious, did this update improve any of the Windows 7 drivers in Bootcamp?
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
TheOSXone 16th Jun 2010
@NonZealot
When Youre windows side gets a virus, slows down to a crawl and so many other things remember your running OSX. I had to join just to tell you how much of an idiot you are. Windows will eventually be extinct Microsoft is even create a new operating system (not windows). Windows is 25 years old OSX is 9years old and i can tell you when the world realises windows sucks there be a lot less computer techs as problems will be a lot less common.
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
martin23 16th Jun 2010
Why do people keep flagging Nonzealots posts. Sure he is a troll but his rants are so funny to read.

As a long time Windows user who finally bought an Apple a while ago. I find them boring no tinkering no nothing they work even this latest upgrade has just installed without a flicker no blue screens nothing. Dull dull dull.

Now if only I could get my Vista machines working like they should. Even simple things like asking Vista to back up the home "premium" versions over the network would be nice getting them to understand printer IP addresses can change occasionally and have the brains to work out whats happened would be nice. How do those pesky Apple sorts write drivers which tell me the paper is about to run out soon rather than waiting to say paper out.

Guess you can find fault in all things.

The only disappointed I have with NonZealot is that he's gone very quiet on the phone front. No longer does he tell us Windows Mobile will dominate and did everything the iphone does years ago. Maybe it will all change when Mobile windows 7 is released.

Oh well must go and see if MS has produced a Vista driver for an iPad
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No, WM7 looks terrible
NonZealot 16th Jun 2010
@martin23
Sorry to hear you can't get something as simple as Vista working. sad (this was the response I got when I claimed that OS X didn't work right, so I thought I would use it on you, always great to use Apple zealot logic against Apple zealots!!!)

No longer does he tell us Windows Mobile will dominate

Links please!!! I've never claimed WM will dominate, only that it was better. I stand by that claim. We'll see how much of a fail iOS4 is but WM6 is better than the garbage Apple has released so far. However, just because something is better doesn't mean it will dominate. I'm sure you would agree with me considering how much you love OS X and hate Vista. Vista dominates over OS X though. happy

and did everything the iphone does years ago

Everything in iOS4 has been in Windows Mobile for nearly a decade. So yeah, I'll stand by that statement. happy

Maybe it will all change when Mobile windows 7 is released.

Nope, the closer we get to launch, the more apparent it is that WM7 is going to be an epic fail. They don't even have the compass working yet and it won't be working for the launch.
http://wmpoweruser.com/?p=17154

The funny thing is that the 2 times MS has copies Apple (WM7 and brick and mortar stores), they have been epic fails (or, with WM7, look to be an epic fail). Luckily, MS very rarely copies Apple. When Apple has copied MS though, they have had far more success (iPod, iPhone, OS X, tablets, etc.) I guess Cupertino's photocopiers "Just Work"! happy
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
jeff.fostermedia@... 16th Jun 2010
Lol, he's the Troll King. I think he sleeps in a glass Windows palace filled with slim.

No Os X problems, but the ability to run iOS apps would be tremendous. happy
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
comp_indiana 16th Jun 2010
All good advice, and I generally follow this sort of procedure, but I have to say I have had really no install or data corruption problems with OS X at all and I have been running it since the public beta.
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RE: Apple releases Mac OS 10.6.4
dheady@... 16th Jun 2010
I updated to OS 3.0 and lost the contents of my entire 20MB serial port hard drive. Haven't had much trouble since, though your point is well taken. Apple has been pretty good about distributing betas in recent years before going golden to the general public.
By the way, that was a serious issue in that OS version, which I ran on my Fat Mac 512KB machine back in '86. And for those of you old enough, ok, technically it was System version 3.0 and OS 0.7. Apple quickly came out with 3.1, but it was too late for my lost data.
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I've never had any issues with OS X updates
Laraine Anne Barker 16th Jun 2010
so I'm off to get it right now. Not that we're suffering any of the problems the update addresses.
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10.6.4
Tanstaafl56 16th Jun 2010
flawless on my MP and MBP. No complaints.
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SuperDuper is appropriately named
bizcad 16th Jun 2010
Apple Care for my MacBook Pro 3,1 expired this week. I took the plunge and upgrade from 2GB memory and 140GB 5400rpm to 6GB memory and 500GB 7200. I backed up the entire disk to a usb drive with SuperDuper. Made the memory upgrade. Fixed a few problems. I waited 3 days, backing up incrementally with SD and made the hard disk upgrade this afternoon. I made 3 partitions OSX, Ubantu and Win7. I booted from the usb and restored to the OSX partition. It booted right up. I am downloading Win7 and Ubantu now. I already downloaded rEFIt and will upgrade to 10.6 before I install Ubantu and Win7. Thanks SuperDuper.

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