If last time I was "a bit wrong", now it's for real - Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" finally got its update, bringing the current version number up to 10.5.2! Of course that any useless chatter has no space to fit in here, so let's get straight to the new features and fixes, shall we?


The general description of the update says "The 10.5.2 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.", but that's not enough, I bet you think exactly the same, so let's dig in...

If you didn't apply the 10.5.1 update, then you should know that 10.5.2 also includes those, but let's see the highlights of the last version now, shall we?

This is what Apple says:

- Addresses issues which could hinder or prevent binding Mac OS X 10.5.x clients to Active Directory domains.

- Adds a menu bar option for accessing Time Machine features (the menu extra can be enabled in Time Machine preferences).

- Improves backup reliability when computer name contains slash or non-ASCII characters.

- Fixes an issue in which the backup disk displayed in the Finder may be out of sync with the disk chosen for Time Machine.

- Addresses issues in which some external drives are not recognized by Time Machine.

Apart from the above, there is a pretty long list of fixes and improvements, which can be checked here. Also, you may want to check the Mac OS X 10.5.2 Fixes, Bugs and Problems guide, and that's all, because I am sure you know how to use the Software Update tool...

This time, I am waiting for good news from you!

When I hear official news, or even only rumors, about Apple's prices, the only thing that comes in my mind is "Are they making them cheaper?", and now it's exactly this case. Unfortunately, nothing is official yet, but rumors say that the iPhone and iPod touch may get smaller price tags in less than 2 months (at least with the latest iPods, this is "a must", given the competition on the market).


The reason for dropping the iPhone price even further is obvious - Apple has a sales target to reach, and I am sure they don't want to sale the iPhones later with prices lower than the production one, just to get rid of them. After all, competition releases new models all the time, and the latest iPhones only have increased storage capacity, and nothing more. Well, they still have that "cool factor" they had more than a year ago, when Steve Jobs has shown the first iPhone to the world!

According to anonymous sources, Apple will drop iPhone and iPod touch prices with $100, bringing them down to $399 (16GB iPhone) and $299/$399 (16GB/32GB iPod touch). Also, it is rumored that the 8GB iPod touch will be discontinued, while no word was heard about the 8GB iPhone (hopefully, they will keep it on the market, for a lower price, too).

While the price cuts above are expected by mid-April, in the worst case, the optimistic version is that this is going to happen at the end of this month, at the same time with the release of the iPhone SDK to developers.

Well, we'll see what happens pretty soon, but my only hope is to see some decent prices for the iPod touch, because, you probably know Cowon dropped its prices too some time ago, and their products... now, that's what I can really call "serious players"!

Since Apple doesn't really rely on third-party merchandisers to sell its products, the key in conquering new markets or increase the market share it already has in a certain area is to have Apple retail stores placed strategically. While the network of fully-loaded Apple shops is not really huge, having only over 200 locations open all over the world, it's good to see Apple does the right thing and expands its network in Western Europe.


So far, the iPhone sales in Germany were made by their local carrier for the Apple phone, Deutsche Telekom. From now on, people in Munich will be able to get iPhones right from Apple's store, together with iMacs, MacBook Airs, and the rest of the Apple product line.

At this time, there is no accurate information about the location of this store, because all we know is this store will open soon, according to an advertisement on Apple's German website. Even more, Georg Albrecht, Apple spokesman, confirmed that "The store will be located in Munich.", but this is all the info he gave us so far.

These being said, we'll remember to get back to this subject as soon as we know exactly where and when and, hopefully, next time we'll have some pictures with the first Apple retail store in Germany!

One of the things people forgot or simply didn't heard about is Apple's Pippin, selected in May 2006 as one of PC World's "25 Worst Tech Products of all Time". To make a longer story short, it's enough to say that the Pippin was a small step made by Apple between 1995 and 1997 into the multimedia platforms world, trying to create a cheap computer aimed especially at playing CD-based titles, but not limited to that. Unfortunately, that step ended up with a broken leg, but now Apple may have the courage (and enough resources, to make things right this time, I guess) to try their luck again, by extending their trademark into the gaming realm...


The story is simple - Apple filed for a trademark extension on the 5th of February, and while there's no examining attorney assigned to it yet, it's interesting to think about why Apple seeks to cover "Toys, games and playthings, namely, hand-held units for playing electronic games; hand-held units for playing video games; stand alone video game machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with television receivers only; LCD game machines; electronic educational game machines; toys, namely battery-powered computer games." with their notorious name.

Well, Microsoft has the Xbox, Sony has the PlayStation, why wouldn't Apple get into this market, too? If they manage to pull out a good product out of their hat, things are going to look really sweet for all of us, because we'll have an extra-choice and, obviously, some price wars...

The second update to Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" was a very hot topic for a pretty long time, especially considering the fact that new (and unofficial, obviously) information about the features, fixes, and date of the final release kept popping up with each seed Apple made available for the developer community. Now, we'll drop all rumors, and stop trying to predict what's going to happen next, because Leopard 10.5.2 just became officially available!


The strangest thing is that, while the long awaited 10.5.2 update to Mac OS X "Leopard" can be installed using the Software Update tool located in the Apple menu, the official downloads page wasn't updated yet, as I write this. Also, the Apple website doesn't say anything about this in the "news" area.

Anyway, there's no need to worry, because I am sure this time it's not a rumor. Leopard 10.5.2 has been released, and it's only a matter of hours until everything gets updated on the Apple.com website, I guess. Now, that you know Leopard 10.5.2 is here, be sure to get back and find out more about the goodies included, that's something we'll talk about in the next 2 or 3 days for sure or, maybe, simply drop a comment telling us more about what you noticed after updating your Leopard...