Apple Inc. on Thursday issued the first update to the recently launched Mac operating system (Mac OS X), codenamed “Leopard”. Now available through Software Update or on Apple's Web site, the update Mac OS X 10.5.1 includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac, the company stated.

Version 10.5.1, a 110MB update, addresses some of the more notable issues with Airport, Back to My Mac, Disk utilities, iCal, Mail, Networking, Printing, Security and Firewall, System and Finder, and Time Machine.

In October, the computer maker launched the next version of the Mac operating system (Mac OS X), Leopard, in a direct attempt to break Microsoft’s stranglehold on the market for Operating Systems (OS).

But, in the first week of its release a number of problems cropped up with formatting and restoring files in Time Machine, the most hyped feature of Leopard prior to its release, forcing the company to release the fixes for the issue.

The update also includes three fixes to the Application Firewall, including CVE-ID: CVE-2007-4702, CVE-ID: CVE-2007-4703 and CVE-ID: CVE-2007-4704.

Apple said that Mac OS X 10.5.1 has resolved the saved passwords for wireless networks issue with passwords-protected AirPort. It has also allowed password-protected accounts on AirPort Disks to show up on in the Finder's Shared Sidebar.

Besides, it improves Back to My Mac feature’s reliability and improves compatibility with D-Link NAT gateways. Two issues are resolved in iCal feature. Now, iCal alarms can be more reliably delivered through email. It also resolves an issue when inviting attendees via a CalDAV account.

Disk utilities feature also received few updates, including restoring the functionality of the progress bar while repairing permissions, and improvements to disk partitioning when multiple RAID sets are created on the same drive. Issues with Mail, Networking and Printing are also resolved via this update.

"This update addresses the issue by more accurately describing the option as 'Allow only essential services,' and by limiting the processes permitted to receive incoming connections under this setting to a small fixed set of system services," said Apple.

The Mac OS X 10.5.1 Update that updates the Mac OS X Leopard version 10.5 to version 10.5.1 comes just a day after Apple shipped what will probably be the last update for Tiger, Mac OS X 10.4.11.

Available through company's Software Update program or as a standalone installer, the version Mac OS X 10.4.11 is a 70MB update for the Tiger version of its operating system, and comes with 41 patches for Mac OS X and Safari vulnerabilities.

Of the 41 OS X fixes, 15 come under the "critical" category because they could lead to significant damages to the computer through what Apple calls "arbitrary code execution", while the other 26 addressed vulnerabilities ranging from enabling malicious Web code downloads to crashing certain applications to allowing hackers to remotely download local files on the hard drive.

Besides Leopard and Tiger updates, Apple has released a security update 3.0.4 to Safari 3 Beta Update 3.0.4 for Windows and Vista. The update addresses a tabbed browsing flaw that could expose user credentials, as well as several cross-site scripting vulnerabilities and a buffer overflow bug.

Safari 3 Beta Update 3.0.4 for Windows) is available via the Apple Software Update application, or Apple's Safari download site.