Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.2.3

justzisguy writes "Apple has released Mac OS X 10.2.3 for Jaguar via the Software Update utility. The update 'delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for the following applications, utilities, and technologies: AppleScript, Classic compatibility, Disk Copy, Disk Utility, Image Capture, Mail, OpenGL, Print Center, and Rendezvous. It provides audio, disc recording, graphics, printing improvements, as well as AFP and WebDAV networking improvements. The update also provides updated security services and includes the latest Security Updates.'"

WARNING: 51MB download...

[benad]

I'm still downloading it, so I have no idea if it will blow up my computer once installed...

- Benad

Knowledge Base Document

[benad]

http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n107263 [apple.com]

- Benad

Re:10.2.2 Kernel Panic

[Twirlip of the Mists]

I don't know whether this was legit in 10.2.2 or not, but it doesn't cause a panic in 10.2.3.

Just updated. Happy as a clam, so far.

Re:Does it fix the Mail attachments issue?

[Twirlip of the Mists]

Are you talking about the AppleDouble thing? This issue has been put to bed already. Mail.app encodes attachments with the AppleDouble encoding scheme, and some mail readers (notably Outlook) aren't capable of interpreting that encoding scheme. To those readers, AppleDouble attachments look like two separate attachments, one for the data fork and one small one for the resource fork.

This problem doesn't lie with Mail.app or with Apple at all. It lies with the makers of mail readers who don't support documented, open standards for encoding attachments.

Re:Does it remove the carbon and coco libraries?

[lexarius]

Uhhh... that would be like Microsoft removing the MFC libraries from Windows because of the GPL. I believe you are referring to the GNU-Darwin project (not affiliated with Apple), which has some disputes with Apple and so is removing support for Apple libraries and PPC processors.

Re:Mac OS X 10.2.3 for Jaguar?

[Graymalkin]

Version 10.2 IS Jaguar, I also do not understand where people get confused with this. I suppose it could be the fact you see the system refered to Jaguar in some places and OSX in others and then 10.2 in yet other places.

Re:New Widgets

[iomud]

itunes has the older widgets still. Calculator, isync, ical and address book have the newer widgets. I also noticed right clicking produces snappier menu's too, for instance if you have your applications folder in the dock and right click on it, just seems a little quicker after the update.

VPC 6

[Anonymous Coward]

Virtual PC Users -- if you've taken a careful look @ the VPC 6 release you'll notice a * on the "speed improvements" bullet item which states you need a "future release of OS X" for the enhancements to be effective -- this is that release ;).

got it....

[djupedal]

If anyone has remote access to their box, and needs to update remotely:

Software Update found the following new or updated software:

- 3560 Mac OS X Update (10.2.3), 52200K - restart required

Simply issue this command:

softwareupdate 3560

...and wait for a response to restart...it's big. There are segmented updates available from Apple.com for those that don't want the +50mb that this one carries.

Includes CUPS fixes...

[dr00g911]

Some of you may not be aware that MacOS X's printer sharing uses the CUPS system [slashdot.org].

There was a big public disclosure today about CUPS exploits, and there's sample code and methodology available now, for white and black hats alike.

At any rate, it has been confirmed that the 10.2.3 update patches the security holes in the CUPS code in addition to lots of other security and performance-related stuff.

I'm repeating this in this thread because some Mac-types may gloss over the security/unix sections, because they don't think it applies to them.

Bottom line: it does, and it's big stuff, so get your swupdate a-running.

--dr00gy

Standalone Installers

[blb]

Standalone installers are now available for the combo update [apple.com] and the update from 10.2.2 [apple.com].

Most important change

[geek]

OpenGL 1.4!!!! That's why it's a 51 meg download.

All of my games now run MUCH faster, WarCraft3, Alice, Quake3, AvP even the Sims.

Re:OMFG!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I think major os upgrades should be posted, the only thing I mind is random updates on stuff no one uses.

major os upgrades like this tend to break things, and I like to hear about them before I download the patches.

Thing I have noticed

[thatguywhoiam]

Besides the fact that 51 MB is one Bulging Assload of Patch.

- Canadian English Dictionary, about fekkin' time.
- my G4's FireWire Port, which had a tiff with my iBook about 6 months ago (via Target disk mode) and weren't speaking, have reconciled and are now working things through
- there's strange flattened aqua widgets in metal-skinned cocoa apps.. minor tweak
- G4's insomnia was cured (and identified - File Sharing. Always the File Sharing.)
- OpenGL 1.4 Noticeable difference in speed. This applies to QuartzExtreme as well.. I'd say a good 15-25%
- basic FTP support in the Finder works well now
- fixed the stupid Keychain bug

Re:10.2.2 Kernel Panic

[TiMac]

Well,

Then that's your decision, and IMO, your mistake. But don't slam HFS+ unless you know all the info. UFS has some advantages yes, but Apple does not recommend its use for OS X except for Development and compatibility...HFS+ is preferred for several reasons.

Perhaps you should read the paper [mit.edu] by Wilfredo Sanchez, who was at the time a lead developer on Darwin/OS X. The first section is called "File systems" and discusses HFS+ vs UFS. A good read..and you might find that you could have incompatibilities with some files and programs that base themselves on the old Mac Toolbox (and Carbon to some degree). Just a thought.

Re:10.2.2 Kernel Panic

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes it does. I had tested "mkdir ~/mydir; cd ~/mydir; mkdir mydir; mv mydir .." when it was 10.2.2, it crashed. After updating to 10.2.3, it works w/o any problem.

Don't suffer "Go Fever" with any Apple update

[Spencerian]

(Reposted from my blog, but I couldn't say it any better.)

Trust me: Don't blindly install everything that Apple provides via Software Update.

Specifically, you need to read the instructions for all updates before you begin any update.

I've been reading lots of readers caught in gotchas caused by the Power Mac G4 Mirrored Drive Doors Firmware Update, the Mac OS X 10.2.2. update, and other installations. For many of these users, the problem comes down to neglecting to think about what you're doing. Hell, even I've been guilty of doing this a few weeks ago when I updated my MDD Power Mac to 10.2.2, knowing that it would hose my computer due to a bug with the HP printing software that causes its drivers to hog processing time until your Mac slows to a crawl or kernel panics.

And why did I do it? Because I wasn't thinking. I was caught in that Macintosh mode of thinking where we expect the moon and the stars from anything that Apple provides to us, especially if it's a freebie. It's a different psychology than what some PC users may understand, where caution is much stronger than in the Macintosh world. When most Mac users buy software, we rip the CD from the case, install the software, and damn any manuals or instructions that come with the program. In the earlier years of the Macintosh, this wasn't as much of a problem because of the simpler design. However, this ain't your dad's Mac. It's your Mac, and it's running not only a different Mac OS, but likely has a dramatically different hardware design that requires a little more care.

Professionals and home users need to use some common sense steps for any software update or install:

1) READ the instructions about any software installation or update.
2) UNDERSTAND what the update or install is supposed to do. If you don't understand the purpose of a particular update, don't install it until you find someone that knows and can explain it to you.
3) WAIT several days after an update is introduced before you even THINK about installing an update. If there are real problems with the software itself, this problem will show itself from the many trouble reports you'l see on the Internet. In other words, let other more careless people "beta-test" the updates for you in advance.

Two good places to visit for trouble reports are MacFixit [macfixit.com] or Apple's Discussion Boards on their Support Page.

4) READ the instructions for the update again.
5) PRINT a copy of the instructions BEFORE you begin.
6) DETERMINE A PLAN to revert the change (if the update allows it)
7) DECIDE if the update is really worth installing.

Remember that users who have tweaked their Mac OS X installation dramatically (read: against Apple's recommended configuration) may experience a bad time. If you have hacked an old Mac (read: not an original G3 or G4) to run Mac OS X, you should already know that you're running the bleeding edge of compatibility.

It's a good thing that we have BSD underneath our Mac OS GUI. It leaves many more possibilities for repairs or changes, unlike in the old Mac OS 9 days where we'd have to wait for Apple to get with the problem and provide a fix. A good example: after the HP printer software problem appeared with the 10.2.2 update, several enterprising people developed several workarounds and temporary fixes while Apple and HP slowly find an official solution.
[Update: The fix is part of the 10.2.3 update.]

Your mileage may vary with any update. Don't experience "Go Fever" [space.com] with your Macintosh, or things could blow up real good.

Re:A Classic-killer?

[o_kenway]

It works fine for me - it wanted to update some stuff in my system folder when I first stated it but that's all.

Apple Developer releases too

[frankie]

Downloadable, requires free online registration [apple.com]:

• 2002/12/11 - December 2002 Mac OS X Developer Tools - 300MB
• 2002/12/19 - Java 1.4.1 Developer Preview 8 - 25MB

Please don't go there for another 30 minutes though; the connection is partly Slashdotted already and I'm only 18% done.

The Whole "Security Announce" blurb for X.II.III

[Anonymous Coward]

Just got this in this morning's e-mail:

---

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
http://www.lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/securi ty-announce
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
[e-mail]

You can reach the person managing the list at
[e-mail]

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of security-announce digest..."

Today's Topics:

1. APPLE-SA-2002-12-19 Mac OS X 10.2.3 (Apple Product Security)

--__--__--

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 19:25:54 -0800
Subject: APPLE-SA-2002-12-19 Mac OS X 10.2.3
From: Apple Product Security
To: [e-mail]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

APPLE-SA-2002-12-19 Mac OS X 10.2.3

Mac OS X 10.2.3 Software Update is now available. It contains fixes for
the
following potential security issues:

* fetchmail: Fixes CAN-2002-1174 and CAN-2002-1175 which could lead
to a potential denial of service when using the fetchmail command-line
tool.
fetchmail is updated to version 6.1.2+IMAP-GSS+SSL+INET6

* CUPS: Provides fixes for the following potential issues that could be
exploited remotely when Printer Sharing is enabled. Printer Sharing is
not enabled by default on Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server.
CAN-2002-1383: Multiple Integer Overflows
CAN-2002-1366: /etc/cups/certs/ Race Condition
CAN-2002-1367: Adding Printers with UDP Packets
CAN-2002-1368: Negative Length Memcpy() Calls
CAN-2002-1384: Integer Overflows in pdftops Filter and Xpdf
CAN-2002-1369: Unsafe Strncat Function Call in jobs.c
CAN-2002-1370: Root Certificate Design Flaw
CAN-2002-1371: Zero Width Images in filters/image-gif.c
CAN-2002-1372: File Descriptor Resource Leaks

In addition, Mac OS X 10.2.3 provides the following enhanced security
features:

* Random initialization of TCP Timestamp: This enhancement was submitted
by
Aaron Linville through the Darwin open source program. It prevents a
remote entity
from discovering how long a machine has been up based on the ID in the TCP
packets.

* Disk Utility now provides the option to zero data on the disk,
providing an
additional method for securing information.

Mac OS X 10.2.3 Software Update may be obtained from:

* Software Update pane in System Preferences

- OR -

* Apple's Software Downloads web site:
Updating from Mac OS X 10.2:
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n120164
The download file is named: "MacOSXUpdateCombo10.2.3.dmg"
Its SHA-1 digest is: 46df611279b9981425be2cff23c3b3ed868d1809

Updating from Mac OS X 10.2.2:
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n120165
The download file is named: "MacOSXUpdate10.2.3.dmg"
Its SHA-1 digest is: a51ed65311ad59879db7e728779e9cd4084057b5

Information will also be posted to the Apple Support web site:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?art num=617 98

This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key, and
details are available at:
http://www.apple.com/support/security/securit y_pgp .html

Re:Knowledge Base Document

[tim1724]

One of the cool features added to Software Update a few versions back is the ability to have it save downloaded packages to your desktop (as opposed to its default behavior of putting them in /tmp/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate and deleting them when it finishes)

Just select the update(s) you want, then choose the "Download selected updates" menu item instead of clicking "Install" .. it will download the update as an Installer package which you can then copy to other machines.

Note that if you do this, your Software Update log file won't be updated with the time and date of installation because Installer.app will actually be installing the update.

So there's no need to wait for Apple to post a link to the file on their website anymore! (Unless you forget and accidently click "install" .. there's no way to go back and download updates you already have.)

Re:Most Important Enhancement

[dadragon]

Before, we had US and UK English spell check dictionaries. Canadian English is a mix of US and UK English. You used to have to pick one and add the correct spelling to it for words it didn't recognize.

Re:None of my programs run now

[didlybom]

It might seems obvious, but... did you reboot? I couldn't launch applications during the update process. After rebooting, everything was working fine again.

Re:Most important change

[geek]

There is more to it then just that framework, the opengl 1.2 downloads on the net are in the 30 meg range depending on platform.

1.4 plus all the other changes would easily add up to 50+ megs

Re:does anyone know

[Anarchitect]

Build 6G30