Apple rolls out bevy of legacy OS X, firmware updates

While the release of Apple's OS X 10.8.2 Mountain Lion and iOS 6 have taken most of the spotlight on Wednesday, the company released a plethora of updates for OS X Snow Leopard and Lion as well as new firmware and software versions for select products.

OS X Updates

Users of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and 10.7 Lion who opted not to upgrade to the latest 10.8.2 Mountain Lion can now download updates that patch a number of security holes and resolve minor UI issues in the legacy operating systems.

One of the major additions to OS X Lion is the inclusion of Gatekeeper, Apple's security system that gives users a higher level of control over what programs are installed on their Macs

In all, Apple released six updates, four for OS X Lion and two security updates for OS X Snow Leopard:

OS X Lion Update 10.7.5 Client and OS X Lion Update 10.7.5 Client Combo

The 10.7.5 update is recommended for all OS X Lion users and includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac. It also includes Gatekeeper, a new security feature that helps you keep your Mac safe from malicious software by giving you more control over what apps are installed on your Mac.

The 10.7.5 update also includes fixes that:

Resolve an issue where icons in Launchpad may get rearranged after a restart
Improve Wi-Fi reliability for iMac (Late 2009 and newer)
Resolve an issue using Spotlight to search an SMB server
Improve compatibility connecting to Active Directory servers

The OS X 10.7.5 client update weighs in at 1.14GB, while the client combo comes in at 1.91GB. Both can be downloaded via Software Update or Apple's Support Downloads page.

OS X Lion Update 10.7.5 Server and OS X Lion Update 10.7.5 Server Combo

The 10.7.5 update is recommended for all servers currently running Lion Server. This update includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, migration and security of your server and specific fixes for:

maintaining Spotlight index when changing share point settings
creating and connecting to Open Directory master
improved reliability of password authentication
using Software Update Server to automatically download and enable software updates
reliably booting NetRestore images created with System Image Utility
using Profile Manager to set the Mobility sync frequency settings for mobile accounts
improved reliability when changing an Xsan metadata controller into a client

The OS X Lion Server download is 1.22GB, with the combo version being 1.99GB. Both are available via Software Update or Apple's Support Pages.

Security Update 2012-004 Snow Leopard and Security Update 2012-004 Snow Leopard Server

The security update for the client version of Snow Leopard comes in at only 2.36MB, however the version meant for Snow Leopard Server weighs in at 276.45MB. User can download the most current security patches via Software Update or Apple's online support page.

Firmware Updates

In addition to the operating system buffs, Apple rolled out updates for four MacBook products, three of which are EFI updates affecting recently-released MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.

Release notes from each update are below, all downloads are available via Software Update or Apple's Support Downloads site:

MacBook Pro Retina EFI Update v1.0 (4.97MB)

This update is recommended for MacBook Pro with Retina display (mid 2012) models.

This update resolves an issue which can cause the system to hang during heavy processor loads, and resolves an issue where NetBoot does not function properly when using an Ethernet adapter.

MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.9 (4.29MB)

This update is recommended for MacBook Pro (mid 2012) models. This update resolves an issue which can cause the system to hang during heavy processor loads.

MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.5 (4.76MB)

This update is recommended for MacBook Air (mid 2012) models. This update fixes an issue where Turbo Boost does not activate when using Boot Camp, and resolves an issue where NetBoot does not function properly when using an Ethernet adapter.

MacBook Air SMC Update v1.7 (658KB)