Today, Apple has begun seeding new versions of OS X Mountain Lion, iTunes, Safari and Java to Apple employees. The new OS X build is version 10.8.5, and it is a supplemental update to the version that was publicly released last month. Last week, we noted that Apple was preparing this new version with bug fixes for MacBook Airs, USB, and HDMI, and today’s new seed is a higher build number (12F45 versus 12F42). This indicates that Apple is making progress on the release and that the launch is nearing for customers…
In addition to the new 10.8.5 release, Apple has provided its employees with Safari 6.1 build number 537A134. This Safari release for Mountain Lion brings feature parity to the version coming with OS X Mavericks later this month. The new Apple web browser will add Shared Links (a way to quickly manage links in your Twitter and LinkedIn timelines), a new sidebar, improved power savings, third-party data blocking, and increased search engine options for users in Russia. This Safari 6.1 release has been available to developers for the past several weeks.
Also provided to Apple employees is iTunes 11.1.1. This upcoming update is a bug-fix release for the recently launched iTunes 11.1. iTunes 11.1 brought iTunes Radio to the Mac, and 11.1.1 will improve stability and fix bugs relating to Podcast management and iTunes Extras.
Besides the OS X and application updates, a new version of Java is also incoming with improved security, reliability, and compatibility.
With these updates now being in the hands of Apple employees, it is likely that they will hit the Mac App Store for customers in the coming days or weeks.
iTunes (1111A11) 11.1.1: This update resolves an issue that may cause iTunes Extras to display incorrectly, fixes a problem with deleted podcasts, and improves stability.
Safari (537A134) 6.1: Safari 6.1 for OS X Mountain Lion contains new features, including: ● Shared Links. See links shared by people you follow on Twitter. ● Sidebar. See your Bookmarks, Reading List, and Shared Links in one convenient place. ● One-click bookmarking. Just click the (+) button to the left of the Smart Search Field to add a webpage to your Reading List. Click and hold to add it to the Favorites Bar or to your Bookmarks. ● Safari Power Save. Increase energy efficiency by playing only the plug-in content you want to see. ● Third-party data blocking. By default, Safari blocks third-party websites from leaving cookies and other types of data that could be used to track your browsing. ● Built-in Yandex Search. Leading Russian search engine Yandex is now an option for Russian users.
For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
Java for OS X 2013-005 (11M4603) 1.0 Java for OS X 2013-005 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_65.
