...and 10.5.3 arrives.

Let i t be said that Mac-A-Doodle can sure call 'em. Mere hours after us predicting it'll come soon, Mac OS X Up date 10.5.3. arrives. We even got the size correct - it's a big one, a ll right: 420mb. As usual, Software Update is cryptic about what's new. All it says of this near half-gig Leopard update is

The 10.5.3 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leo pard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, co mpatibility and security of your Mac."

However, further digging uncovers the ff. (wordier) info about 10.5.3, which we reproduce here to save you the trouble of a click:

General âªÂ   Fixes a font issue that could result in Helvetica Narrow being used in applications instead of Helvetica. âªÂ   Addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices. âªÂ   Resolves stability issues with Word of the Day, iTunes Artwork, and Sl ideshow screen savers. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which certain attached hard drives may not show up i n the Finder. âªÂ   Addresses an issue with .Mac syncing of Dashboard widgets over multipl e Macs that use different screen resolutions. âªÂ   Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras. âªÂ   Improves the accuracy of the Software Update progress bar indicator. âªÂ   Addresses an issue in which Finder may not be available if the compute r name is blank in Sharing preferences. âªÂ   Improves Active Directory binding and login. âªÂ   Eliminates a delay when logging in as an Active Directory user in a .l ocal domain. âªÂ   Improves Spotlight searches on a AFP file server volumes. âªÂ   Clients can now change their password at the login window when bound t o a Mac OS X 10.4 Open Directory server. âªÂ   Improves Safari reliability when connecting to the Internet through a Microsoft ISA proxy. Address Book âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues when searching for contacts using built-i n search. âªÂ   Resolves issues with mapping addresses that contain an ampersand chara cter. AirPort âªÂ   Improves 802.1X behavior and reliability. âªÂ   Improves reliability when using Time Capsule. Automator âªÂ   Addresses an issue in which some actions may not work with the "Show W hen Run" option enabled. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which the "New iCal Event" action may not work. âªÂ   Resolves an issue that prevents workflows from being saved in the Find er's contextual menu. âªÂ   Fixes reliability issues for Automator scripts that search for files b y date. âªÂ   Resolves an issue that prevents workflows from being saved in the Find er's contextual menu. âªÂ   Addresses an issue in which Automator workflows as Finder plugins do n ot work when the workflow begins with the "Get Selected Finder Items" action. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which the "Copy Files" action does not reliably work when added from Automatorâs warning dialog. iCal âªÂ   Addresses potential privacy issues by allowing events to be marked as private. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which the inspector does not show capacity and av ailability info for conference rooms within a building. âªÂ   Addresses an issue in which the current day could appear in the left-m ost column of the weekly view. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with meeting alarms, invitations and atta chments. âªÂ   Resolves issues with reliability when restoring from iCal backups. âªÂ   Fixes accuracy issues with auto-completion, availability data and loca tion names. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which iCal may send cancellation notices for even ts in the past after a calendar is deleted. âªÂ   Fixes reliability issues with iCal syncing. iChat âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with screen sharing. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which saved chat transcripts may reported as "sti ll in use" after opening and closing them in iChat. âªÂ   Resolves an issue with group chats not being indexed in Spotlight. âªÂ   Only the last 250 messages of an active chat are saved. Fixed to sav e unlimited number of lines. âªÂ   Addresses issues with echo cancellation that may occur on portable Mac s. Mail âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which Mail may prevent idle sleep when set to aut omatically check for new messages every minute. âªÂ   Addresses stability issues that may be encountered when dragging large attachments into an email message. âªÂ   Fixes an issue that could occur if two compose windows are open when d ragging a file to the Mail icon in the Dock. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues when changes are made to a mailbox while offline. âªÂ   Resolves wrapping issues that may be found with consecutive spaces in plain text. âªÂ   Fixes issues with certain web pages appearing garbled when emailed fro m Safari. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which the Sent, Drafts, and Outbox mailboxes incorre ctly list the "cc" recipients in the "To" column. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with attachments added to plain text note s. âªÂ   Fixes reliability issues with authenticated RSS feeds. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which attaching an alias to an email message may not send the actual file. Parental Controls âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with application logging and time limits. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which Parental Controls may prevent forced sleep. âªÂ   Addresses performance issues with web content filters. âªÂ   Fixes an issue with managed accounts in which iChat transcripts may no t be created. âªÂ   Addresses issues with 4-byte files and whitelist. Spaces âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which switching to a different space and returnin g back to the original space may reorder the application windows with a differe nt active window. âªÂ   Resolves an issue in which activating an application from the Dock swi tches to a different space, even if there is a window for that application in t he current space. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which Command-Tab may incorrectly switch to a new sp ace. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues with Spaces when syncing preferences over .Mac. Time Machine âªÂ   Includes fixes for Time Machine compatibility with Time Capsule. âªÂ   Resolves certain issues when backing up a portable Mac that is on batt ery power. âªÂ   Addresses compatibility issues with Aperture 2. âªÂ   Addresses reliability issues when performing a full restore from a Tim e Machine backup. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which certain function keys may be disabled after us ing Time Machine. âªÂ   Fixes a possible alert message that incorrectly states a backup volume does not have enough space. âªÂ   Updates Time Machine to reliably restore attachments and messages in M ail. VoiceOver âªÂ   Includes Braille Update 1.0 which enables GW Micro, HandyTech, HIMS, Nippon, and Papenmeier Refreshable Braille displays. âªÂ   Addresses an issue with Braille dot 7 and 8 underlining. âªÂ   Fixes an issue in which HTML page anchors may be ignored by the VoiceO ver cursor. âªÂ   Fixes an issue that prevented Hot Spots from being used in text areas . âªÂ   Resolves an issue with spell checking in which VoiceOver may only anno unce the first misspelled word if there are multiple words spelled incorrectly. "

Remember that it's always a good idea to run RDP before and af ter the update, and an even better idea to backup your data before doing the up date at all (if you're not using Time Machine yet). For most u sers though, prudence dictates waiting a day or two to see if the foolhardy one s (like me) will run into trouble with the update. I'll keep you posted.