Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.3 update for Snow Leopard via Software Update and the company’s software downloads page.

The update offers several hundred fixes implemented since the release of Mac OS X 10.6.2 last November and an interim security update issued in January.

The 10.6.3 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

- improve the reliability and compatibility of QuickTime X
- address compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
- address an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail
- resolve an issue that prevented files with the # or & characters in their names from opening in Rosetta applications
- resolve an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows file servers
- improve performance of Logic Pro 9 and Main Stage 2 when running in 64-bit mode
- improve sleep and wake reliability when using Bonjour wake on demand
- address a color issue in iMovie with HD content
- improve printing reliability
- resolve issues with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server
- improve the reliability of 3rd party USB input devices
- fix glowing, stuck, or dark pixels when viewing video from the iMac (Late 2009) built-in iSight camera

Apple has also released Security Update 2010-002 for users on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

- Security Update 2010-002 (Leopard-Client) (78.39 MB)
- Security Update 2010-002 (Leopard-Server) (361.40 MB)

Source : Apple , Macrumors

Click here to get the Mac version

Click here to get the Linux version

VMware today announced the October 27th launch of VMware Fusion 3, a significant update to the company’s virtualization solution that allows Mac users to run Windows applications right alongside OS X applications. The new version reportedly brings over 50 new features and improvements, including Snow Leopard optimization and full Windows 7 compatibility.

Key highlights include:

- Optimized for Snow Leopard. Built from the ground up for the Mac, VMware Fusion 3 leverages Mac OS X Snow Leopard’s advanced architecture with a new 64-bit core engine and native support for the 64-bit kernel, delivering even better Windows on Mac performance.

- Ultimate Windows 7 Experience. VMware Fusion 3 will be the first to enable the full Windows 7 experience, side-by-side with your Mac, complete with Windows Aero and Flip 3D.

- Switching Made Easy. VMware Fusion 3 will make it easy for users to bring their entire PC to their Mac in a few easy steps – wirelessly or with a simple Ethernet cable – allowing customers to protect investments in existing Windows software, and to keep using the programs they still need.

- Best-in-Class 3D Graphics. Support for OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 will enable users to run their favorite 3D Windows games and applications – all without rebooting.

VMware Fusion 3 is now available for pre-order at a suggested price of $79.99, with upgrading pricing of $39.99 available to current VMware Fusion users.

Check out Vmware Fusion 3.

The ex58 chip set is not supported under Leopard 10.5.0 and our installation DVD is 10.5.0 so we can not just install leopard as we did previously with our EP45 build. Here we need a different route. First let us gather our parts.

Steps:

First we connect the hard drive we want to install leopard on to our working Mac system. You can accomplish this by directly connect to any available SATA port or to the USB to eSATA dongle to your laptop. Open up disk utility from Applications/Utilities and select the disk you have connected. Then Click on the Partition tap and select your desired partition scheme. For our drive we selected 1 Partition.

Put a name for it and make sure it says Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in the format drop down menu.
Now click on options and button and make sure that the GUID partition option is selected and then click OK. Click Apply and Disk Utility will start format the drive according to our selections.

Now we need to install Leopard on our fresh new drive. We start by inserting our Leopard DVD into our working Mac laptop or desktop and it should pop up a windows with an icon that says Install OS X. Fire up terminal from Applications/Utilities and type the following: Note that each line is separate.

cd /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/
cd System/Installation/Packages/
open .


A finder windows will pop up with lots of packages to choose from.
We need only one, the OSInstall.mpkg. Double click on that file and it will start the Mac OS X Installer. We go through the option we want and when you get to the destination part we simply select the hard drive we prepared earlier. About 20 minutes later we have Leopard 10.5.0 installed on our fresh drive. Now we find the Combo updater we downloaded and double click on the dmg file, and run the installer but also making sure to select our fresh drive as our destination.

Final steps:
After the OSX installer and the combo updater we now have 10.5.7 or 10.5.8 depending on your selection installed and ready to boot. If you remember correctly, our build used eVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX275 and so we need to install the correct drivers for it. Navigate you browser to the Nvidia’s site to download these drivers or to eVGA’s site. We used these ones here from eVGA. Double click to mount the dmg and install the drivers.

Now we shutdown the mac and remove the hard drive and install it in our build machine. We also plug the EFIX(tm) Module in the first USB header. Booted up the machine and went into bios to set the EFIX(tm) to boot first and we have a working Mac.

Problems:
The X58 chipset and the core i7 for some reason run the clock fast when booting with EFIX(tm) version 1 but not with version 1.1. So if it is 9:00 pm in about 2 minutes real time it would be 9:04 and not 9:02 so time is twice as fast. This messes up a lot of programs like Growl and QuickTime.

In Part 3 we get rid of EFIX(tm).

Here are also pictures of the unboxing of Leopard.

And finally, here are pictures of my Macbook Pro undergoing a Hard Drive transplant.

Enjoy and as always, comments and suggestions are always welcome!