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   OS X 10.8.4 Mountain Lion Finally Fixes Messages

   Josh Centers

   Apple has released the [1]OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.4 update, along with
   Safari 6.0.5, fixing a number of lingering bugs that were missed by the
   10.8.3 update back in March (see '[2]OS X 10.8.3 Mountain Lion Fixes
   Nagging Bugs,' 14 March 2013). The free update is available via the Mac
   App Store, with [3]delta (342.33 MB ' from 10.8.3) and [4]combo (809.98
   MB ' from 10.8) updaters ready for download from Apple's Web site.
   Though we haven't heard of any problems with the update, it's always a
   good idea to wait a few days to see if any arise.

   [5][tn_Mountain-Lion.jpg]

   The most welcome fix is for an issue that caused iMessages to appear
   out of order in the Messages app. This was a long-standing issue that
   often jumbled messages and made conversations hard to follow.

   Enterprise users will be glad to hear that compatibility has been
   improved when connecting to certain enterprise Wi-Fi networks. Other
   fixes for enterprise users include improved Active Directory login
   performance, improved Wi-Fi compatibility with ActiveDirectory
   networks, and fixes for file saves over SMB, Xsan, and NFS volumes.

   Calendar's compatibility with Microsoft Exchange has been improved.
   Also fixed in Calendar is a bug that caused birthdays to appear
   incorrectly in some time zones.

   Other miscellaneous fixes include an issue that prevented scheduled
   sleep after using Boot Camp, a bug that blocked FaceTime calls to
   non-U.S. phone numbers, improved VoiceOver compatibility with PDFs, an
   issue that reset desktop wallpapers on restart, a problem that
   prevented files from being opened after being copied to a volume named
   'Home,' and unspecified improvements to mobile account compatibility.

   Included with the update is [6]Safari 6.0.5, which improves stability
   for Web sites with games and chat features. Also, 24 memory corruption
   issues with WebKIT were patched, which could lead to crashes or
   exploits. Also fixed were three cross-site scripting vulnerabilities.

   While these changes are welcome, and possibly the last bug fixes that
   OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will see, as we stated above, it's always a
   good idea to hold off on updating briefly. However, those who use
   Messages often will be tempted by the chance to fix one of OS X's most
   irritating bugs.

References

   1. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5730
   2. http://tidbits.com/article/13637
   3. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1658
   4. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1659
   5. http://tidbits.com/resources/2013-06/Mountain-Lion.png
   6. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5785

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