Mac OS X 10.4

Mac OS X version 10.4 Tiger, is the fifth major update to Mac OS X for Apple's Macintosh computers, and was released on April 29, 2005.

10.4 Tiger follows recent Mac OS development code names 10.3 Panther and 10.2 Jaguar.

Version History

 * Mac OS X 10.4.0 (released April 29, 2005)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.1 (released May 16, 2005)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.2 (released July 12, 2005)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.3 (released October 31, 2005)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.4 (released January 10, 2006), the first Universal binary version to support both PowerPC and Intel processors.
 * Mac OS X 10.4.5 (released February 15, 2006)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.6 (released April 3, 2006)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.7 (released June 27, 2006)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.8 (released September 29, 2006)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.9 (released March 13, 2007)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.10 (released June 20, 2007)
 * Mac OS X 10.4.11 (released November 14, 2007)

New features
Mac OS X 10.4 contains over 200 new features. Apple CEO Steve Jobs previewed Tiger in his keynote speech at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 28th, 2004. The previewed features include:


 * Spotlight, a powerful full-text and Metadata search engine which can search everything from files to iCal calendars, as well as any text within a PDF file. The feature is also used to build the concept of Smart folders into the Finder.
 * iChat AV that supports up to 4 participants in a video conference and 10 participants in an audio conference.
 * Reader for RSS and Atom web syndication feeds built into the Safari web browser.
 * A new mini-applications layer based on HTML, Cascading Style Sheets, and Javascript called Dashboard, which returns desk accessories to the OS, and has been widely compared to Konfabulator, a third party product.
 * A scripting tool called Automator to link applications together to form complex automated workflows (written in AppleScript and/or Cocoa)
 * VoiceOver, a spoken interface allowing the OS to read from the screen, and to permit operation of the OS by voice command.
 * Improved and expanded .Mac syncing features
 * An upgraded Kernel with optimised kernel resource locking, support for 64-bit memory pointers and access control lists.
 * New versions of cp, mv, and rsync which will support files with resource forks. Command-line support for features like the above-mentioned Spotlight are also planned.
 * Xcode 2.0, including visual modeling, an integrated apple reference library and a graphical debug remote.
 * Full 64-bit architecture, with backward support for 32-bit programs.
 * A new graphics processing API, Core Image, leveraging the power of the available accelerated graphics cards.
 * A new data processing API, Core Data, that makes it easier for developers to handle structured data in their applications.
 * QuickTime support for H.264/AVC which offers better quality and scalability than other video technologies (QuickTime 7).
 * An included Dictionary and thesaurus.
 * Grapher, a powerful mathetical program

New applications and utilities

 * Dashboard
 * Grapher
 * Spotlight

International features
New with this release is the inclusion of new, enhanced Japanese fonts.

Known issues

 * Finder:
 * slow when dealing with network shares like iDisk.
 * doesn't accurately calculate the total size of a folder as files are added to or removed from it
 * not a spatial file manager [1]; its an AMAZING one.
 * uses an unusually wide range of user interface looks, including various combinations of Brushed metal, Aqua, and custom Spotlight-related controls and window decorations.
 * reference: John Siracusa, Ars Technica, 10.4 Review

Installation
Installing Mac OS X 10.4 is easy for users of Mac OS X 10.2 and Mac OS X 10.3. These systems can be upgraded directly. However, users of earlier versions of Mac OS X, up through to version 10.1.5, require a more complete installation.

Release dates
Apple introduced Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger internationally on April 29, 2005.


 * Mainland China: Official copies of Tiger did not arrive before the end of the May Day week-long holiday.
 * Germany: Tiger release parties were held.
 * Hong Kong: Began selling at 6 pm local time (1000 UTC).
 * Taiwan: Authorised outlets on the island itself (not in outlying islands) sold Tiger as of 6 pm local time (1000 UTC).
 * United States of America: Tiger was made available at 6 pm local time across the entire United States. New York and the East Coast are first, with Hawaii and Alaska last in the 50 states. As expected, long lines formed outside the store, including noticeable ones in New York and San Francisco.

Tiger and Longhorn
Tiger is said to possess features to make Mac OS X competitive to the also long-rumored Microsoft Windows project Longhorn. Apple made fun of this at the WWDC presentation, with large posters with slogans such as “Introducing Longhorn“, “Redmond, start your photocopiers“, “Redmond, we have a problem“, and “This should keep Redmond busy“.

Reaction
David Pogue of the New York Times says that Mac OS X Tiger "is the classiest version of Mac OS X ever and, by many measures, the most secure, stable and satisfying consumer operating system prowling the earth." Pogue singles out Spotlight, Dashboard and the new Parental Control features as "humdingers".