I generally wait at least 72 hours before installing any operating system updates from Apple but yesterday’s announcement of 10.5.2 made me throw caution to the wind. I figured that I had a solid backup (as Apple recommends) and I wanted to see if the new update from Cupertino would play nice with the MacBook Air.

The Mac OS 10.5.2 Update weighs in at a hefty 341MB and is available via Software Update. A 10.5.2 Combo update (343MB) is available as a standalone download that will update both 10.5.0 and 10.5.1 and is convenient for IT folk and people that may be updating multiple Macs. (I don’t have any HP printers so I skipped the 84MB driver update.)
I highly recommend running Disk Utility > Repair Disk Permissions on your hard drive before installing the 10.5.2 Update. If the repair find lots of bad permissions on the first go around, run it again. Apple has posted several important tips in knowledge base Article 307109 that should be heeded before installing 10.5.2:

• It is recommended that you back up your system prior to installing any updates.
• The installation process should not be interrupted, even if the progress bar remains unchanged for several minutes. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Support Downloads to update.
• You may experience unexpected results if you have third-party system software modifications installed, or if you’ve modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
• If issues occur during installation–for example, if Software Update quits unexpectedly–please see this article.

The software update downloaded fairly quickly over a standard cable connection but takes a decent amount of time to complete. You have to “restart and install” and your Mac will restart between one and two more times before the process completes.

Be patient. The 10.5.2 update took the better part of an hour to install on my MacBook Air. Keep the AC adapter plugged in and don’t panic if there are long periods of time where nothing seems to be happening. Don’t interrupt the procedure for any reason (for example by force quitting or powering down) as doing so can render your drive useless and lead to data loss.

Installing the 10.5.2 update on my MBA was fairly painless – other than the multiple reboots and long waits which will make any Mac user bite their nails after a while. Clicking on the software version number in the “About This Mac” dialog box reveals a build number of 9C31, which is the build that was seeded to developers on 06 February 2008. Clicking on it again displays your motherboard serial number.

Advice for the impatient: After you’ve clicked Ok and Agree buttons the requisite amount of times, go grab a coffee, walk the dog or use one of your other Macs for a while. Nothing is worse than watching grass grow.

After successfully installing the 10.5.2 update on my MBA I ran Software Update again (just an old habit) and to my surprise, there was an almost 50GB “Leopard Graphics Update” waiting to be installed. Little is mentioned in the knowledge base article about the Leopard Graphics Update other than: “Leopard Graphics Update is recommended for all users and improves the stability and compatibility of your Mac. This update requires Mac OS X 10.5.2.”

Ok, guess I’d better install that one too…

No noticeable changes after installing the LGA, but hey, what the heck.

After the jump, some 10.5.2 fixes and a poll…

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Microsoft said Monday that they’re acquiring Palo Alto, CA-based Danger Inc., maker of the T-Mobile Sidekick QWERTY smartphone.

Sidekicks feature a novel flip-up screen that reveals a full-size keyboard making easy work of texting and email. It could even be argued that the Sidekick (which the company brands “Hiptop“) was one of the pioneers of the QWERTY smartphones. Wikipedia has a good history of the device.

So what’s Microsoft’s interest in Danger, Inc.? Their Windows Mobile platform conflicts with Danger’s proprietary OS. According to Danger’s developer Web site:

Danger has written its own operating system and JVM for the hiptop. The Operating system has preemptive multitasking and a soft real-time scheduler, and it has been tuned specifically for running our JVM. All end-user applications are written in Java, as is the overwhelming majority of the high-level operating system. Arguably, Danger has the premiere “Java Operating System” on the market today.

Microsoft said the acquisition will align Danger’s expertise in the mobile-consumer space with Microsoft’s focus on expanding its mobile offerings.

“The addition of Danger serves as a perfect complement to our existing software and services, and also strengthens our dedication to improving mobile experiences centered around individuals and what they like,” said Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s president of entertainment and devices.

Full coverage of Robbie Bach’s keynote address at Mobile World Congress 2008 in Spain is on MSN Money Central.

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Apple late Monday released its Mac OS X 10.5.2 update, which addresses many annoying bugs as well as tackling a number of interface issues that bugged longtime users.

According to the technote on the release, users should backup before installing the update (this is really important). And Apple suggested that customers be patient with the updater software.

The installation process should not be interrupted, even if the progress bar remains unchanged for several minutes. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer from Apple Support Downloads to update.

Here are a few interesting fixes in the update:

Addresses legibility issues with the menu bar with an option to turn off transparency in Desktop & Screen Saver preferences.
Adjusts menus to be slightly-less translucent overall.

As I mentioned in previous posts, Leopard brought back translucency with a vengeance. Now, we can make it less so. A good thing.

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Being somewhat of a data packrat, the MacBook Air’s tiny 80GB hard drive was probably its biggest problem for me. I got accustomed to having a fairly heavy Aperture (20GB) and iTunes library (30GB) at my fingertips on my MacBook Pro’s spacious 320GB HDD. The teensy MBA hard drive makes this impossible.

Read more about data thinning strategies:

• Putting your HDD on an 80GB diet (Redux) 06 Feb 2008
• Putting your HDD on an 80GB diet - 16 Jan 2008

The reality is that, just like Apple taught us with the advent of flash-based iPods, you don’t need to have all your music with you all the time. The same is true for photos and data, and heck, applications for that matter. I’ve already gotten used to the MBA’s small storage capacity (I’ve got 25GB free!), but I’ve enlisted some help.

As I mentioned in my “80GB Diet” pieces, I archived the contents of my Movies, Music and Pictures folder to an external HDD, and I also made a reference copy of my Applications folder and only installed my mission critical applications on the MBA.

A good, high capacity, lightweight external USB drive is a nice addition to the MBA and I am really digging the Western Digital Passport 320GB (Model: WDXMS3200, US$199). The passport is a perfect companion to the MBA because it’s USB 2.0 only (no need to waste money on those pesky Firewire and eSATA interfaces), lightweight (3.7 ounces/104 grams) and ships with the same snappy, 320GB, 5400RPM, SATA Scorpio mechanism that I used to have in my MacBook Pro (I reviewed “the mother of all notebook drives” on 16 Nov 2007).

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A recent Apple technote details the correct MagSafe adapters for various flavors of MacBooks. While most look alike, some have different power ratings.

Released on Sunday, the support document shows the part numbers and images of the MagSafe adapters, AC plugs (the “duck head” adapter) and power cords.

Until the latest “Late 2007″ model, MacBooks used the same 60-Watt MagSafe adapter. Saving a bit of confusion, all of Apple’s notebooks, including the MacBook Air, use the same power cord and duck head plug.

However, the document isn’t really clear about the 85-Watt adapter used on the MacBook Pro. The first versions used the 4259 adapter. The Core 2 Duo models went with the 4339 adapter.

The low-power MacBook Air uses a small 45-Watt adapter.

It’s only for U.S. notebooks, Apple said.

Check out the recent article: Keep your MagSafe power plug clean.

Boy I am I glad I didn’t pony up an extra US$1,000 for the Solid State Drive (SSD) option in my MacBook Air. While the temptation was there, sticker shock at the upgrade price led me to stick with the traditional HDD option.

The MBA hard drive has its share of problems: it’s small, slow, PATA, etc. (but that’s a topic for another blog post.) According to benchmarks posted by ArsTechnica the flash/SSD option in the MacBook Air may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.

In their tests they pitted the MacBook Air HDD against the pricey SSD model and the results are surprising. The MBA SSD took 28.5 seconds to boot, 12 seconds faster than the HDD model and 11.5 seconds faster than the Santa Rosa MacBook but 2.5 seconds slower than the Santa Rosa MacBook Pro. Eeek!

In sequential read and write tests the HDD model outperformed the SSD model:

The overall disk test scores aren’t much different—29.37 on the HDD and 34.30 on the Air. But the SSD performs a fair amount worse than the HDD model when it comes to sequential read and write tests. The SSD was able to write sequentially between 14.67 and 13.86MB/sec, and sequentially read between 7.29 and 49.59MB/sec (the first and second numbers are differentiated by the size of the blocks being written). Comparatively, the HDD model sequentially writes between 31.35 and 33.33MB/sec, and reads between 6.32 and 32.74MB/sec for the same-sized blocks.

(emphasis mine)

But these results aren’t totally surprising…

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Like the Japanese car in the Dearborn auto plant parking lot, Macs and iPhones must create problems for switchers working at Apple competitors as well as companies with a PC-or-die IT policy.

The other day, I heard a tale from a longtime Mac user who has worked for very-antiMac companies in the computer industry. He said he recently took a meeting deep in the corporate headquarters of an Apple competitor and got a call on his cellphone. Of course, it was an iPhone.

He said he had to cover the iPhone up and turn around to answer the call, shielding the iPhone from view, so that the business partners wouldn’t be offended by the technology. His yoga lessons came in handy.

It’s tough for switchers in the enterprise, sometimes having to go head-to-head with IT management dead set against the Mac or iPhones. Last year before the release of the iPhone, I wrote about the IT culture clash over technology introductions.

Take the poll below: Do you have to hide your Mac or iPhone at work?
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The MacBook Air is so tiny that you’ll be tempted to just toss it into a portfolio, briefcase, backpack or whatever you happen to be carrying at the time–but I have to caution against this. With miniaturization come inevitable tradeoffs in durability and ruggedness. The MBA should never be mistaken for a Panasonic ToughBook and will not be able to take the abuse that even a normal five pound notebook can withstand.

That being said, a quality padded sleeve is a requirement for the MacBook Air. Like some of you, I got swept up in the hyperbole surrounding the MBA announcement in San Francisco last month and couldn’t resist plunking down my US$30 for the AirMail sleeve from Manila Mac. It’s that padded sleeve that looks just like the manila folder that uncle Steve’s pulled the MBA from during his keynote address. The problem is the it’s delayed and I can’t wait around for them to ship.

The best sleeve case for the MBA, hands down, is the MacBook Air SleeveCase from WaterField Designs. The size 13-2 SleeveCase is designed specifically for the MacBook Air and fits it like a glove. They brought sample cases to the first day of Macworld Expo anticipating a new subnotebook and hastily put them into production after they confirmed the fit. The Waterfield 13-2 SleeveCase began shipping on 25 January 2008.

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(This is a follow-up to my original piece from 16 January 2008–Putting your HDD on an 80GB diet).

As I pointed out last month:

80GB is not 80GB. It actually formats down to a paltry 74.3GB. Add to that an 11.4GB full Leopard install and you’re down to around 63GB of effective free space.

The MacBook Air’s tiny 80GB hard drive requires dramatic measures to fit the average user’s data onto such a small platter. Here’s my approach:

Before migrating to the MBA, I archived my Music, Pictures, Movies and Downloads folders to a portable USB hard drive. Then I made a backup of my Applications folder to the same external USB hard drive. I recommend making a second backup to another hard drive, but then again I tend to obsess about my backups).

If you use Apple’s Migration Assistant to move your data to the MBA I recommend that you read MacBook Air Diary-Day 3: Migration assistance and following these tips: 1) use Ethernet, 2) just migrate “Library,” not “Files and Folders” and not “Applications.” Curiously, “Library” includes your Documents folder in addition to your Library folder (which contains the Application Support folders that allow you to run most of your applications).

Install your key productivity apps from CD or DVD over Remote Disk or the USB SuperDrive (which is much faster). These are the applications that have to “just work” or that have stringent copy protection and don’t usually tolerate a drag copy to a new machine. For me these applications were Microsoft Office 2008 and Adobe Creative Suite 3. Surprisingly Aperture and iWork ‘08 tolerated a drag copy to the MacBook Air, presumably because I had already migrated my Library.

Resist the urge to install the “kitchen sink” standard installations of any software–remember space is precious. I customized my Office 2008 to install just Word and Excel, I don’t need PowerPoint because I use Keynote and I don’t need Entourage because I use Mail.app. I customized my Adobe CS3 install to only install Photoshop, InDesign and Acrobat Professional. Then I trashed Adobe Bridge, Device Central and Stock Photos which came along for the ride with my CS3 install, saving me another 600MB.

Make sure that you “customize” every piece of software that you install and uncheck options for bloatware like companion applications, extra fonts, languages and printer drivers.

The next thing to do is to install the excellent freeware program Disk Inventory X, which is a MacBook Air owner’s best friend. In fact, send a donation to Tjark Derlien to encourage him to keep developing this amazing little piece of code.

Run Disk Inventory X click on the “Select Folder …” button and choose Macintosh HD > Library > Application Support and decide if you really want 3GB of bloat that ships with Leopard:

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In an interview at Melbourne’s linux.conf.au conference, Linus Torvalds called the standard file system of Mac OS X “complete and utter crap.” Mac fans are only slightly outraged, pointing out that HFS+ isn’t really “complete and utter crap,” rather, it’s just slightly crap-ish.

In the Sidney Morning Herald online, Nick Miller reported his Q&A interview with the originator of Linux. He asked Torvalds about the hype surrounding the releases of Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard.

According to Torvalds, “An o/s should never have been something that people (in general) really care about: it should be completely invisible and nobody should give a flying f*** about it except the technical people.”

It’s stupid - when you make a big deal about something like Vista or Leopard a lot of it is about things I don’t consider to be the operating system. It’s about the visual shell around it.

The fact Microsoft tied the two together so much actually caused them problems, not just the legal problems. If you manage a thousand clients, or a hundred thousand clients which is not at all unheard of, you sure as hell don’t want to point and click at them. In many ways Microsoft has had to fix the design mistakes they made when they thought the graphical approach should be a very intimate part of (Windows).

To Microsoft and Apple the o/s is important as a way to control the whole environment, from a marketing and money-making standpoint, to force people to upgrade their applications, and your hardware.

When asked to choose between Leopard and Vista, Torvalds came down on the side of Leopard. Still, he said Windows was easier in some ways to program.

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