This One Goes to 11

Apple released Mac OS X 10.4.11 — the first time, to my memory, that they’ve released a point-upgrade to the previous Mac OS X generation after the release of a new one. The most significant change in 10.4.11 is that it now includes Safari 3.0 and a major new version of WebKit. Apple did the same thing with 10.3.9 and Safari 2. [Update: I was wrong; 10.3.9 didn’t include Safari 2, but it did include a significantly updated version of WebKit, with many of the rendering engine changes corresponding to Safari 2.]

Replacing WebKit is a rather significant change with potential compatibility ramifications. Recall, for example, that FileMaker was incompatible with Leopard until they issued a compatibility update, because it wasn’t compatible with Safari 3’s version of WebKit.

★ Wednesday, 14 November 2007