Mac OS X 10.5.6 Out Today, Sources Indicate

In light of Apple seeding a new (and seemingly the last) test build of Mac OS X 10.5.6 (9G55) to developers, Mac-driven mouths on the web are suggesting that the public release is hours away.

A MacRumors report caught our eye today, although the coverage has been online for some time now. The source acknowledges that Apple has seeded another build of Mac OS X 10.5.6 to developers, with the seed notes revealing no known issues. Apple has allegedly addressed a few outstanding issues between the release of OS X 10.5.6 builds 9G52 and 9G55.

However, most recently, the source claims to have learned that "Apple has started distributing this particular seed internally outside of the usual developer circles. This would indicate that this is the final version of Mac OS X 10.5.6 before public release," the report reads.

"...The new version would be made available to the public on Friday, and this new information certainly makes that plausible," the author concludes, adding that the update should be available for free to all Mac OS X 10.5 users. Undoubtedly, Apple will not charge users for maintenance to Leopard, not even those still running 10.5.0.

We mentioned today that Mac OS X 10.5.6 might indeed be just around the corner, with both the Client and the Server versions of Leopard now carrying the same build number '" 9G55. The two builds are also allegedly issue-free (as far as testers can tell). Lastly, we also gained knowledge that build 9G55 includes almost no changes since the last seeded beta of 10.5.6 (build 9G52), providing yet one more indication that OS X 10.5.6 is about to appear in our Software Updaters this week.

Hopefully, the next time we mention Mac OS X 10.5.6 will be next to the term "Released," nothing more, nothing less.