Apple has released a supplemental update to Mac OS X 10.7.3 to address a potential issue with restoring from Time Machine backups.

The update can be found from Software Update via the  Apple menu or downloaded directly from Apple. Installing the update does not require a reboot.

Despite being a minor update, it is good maintenance practice to keep Mac OS X software up to date and it’s recommended to download for all OS X Lion users who rely on Time Machine for backing up their Macs.

Mac OS X 10.7.3 added several new high-dpi interface elements, giving another hint that Apple may be working towards releasing Macs with ‘retina’ displays.

DaringFireball points out that it’s possible these elements were updated to make Universal Access and cursor artwork more attractive, but also mentions that some Mac Mini users inadvertently booted into high-dpi display modes when connected to a TV via HDMI:

The simplest explanation is that Apple only just now got around to increasing the resolution of these elements for the benefit of users who use the cursor-zooming Universal Access feature. But, combined with the fact that some people with Mac Minis connected to TVs via HDMI are reporting that after upgrading to 10.7.3, their system rebooted in HiDPI mode, I can’t help but wonder whether we may be on the cusp of Apple releasing HiDPI Mac displays and/or HiDPI MacBooks. I.e.: retina display Macs.

The most noticeable element changes are visible when increasing cursor size, where before a pixelated cursor would appear and now the cursors are smoothed and significantly higher resolution. These higher res images could be appropriate for use on a Mac with a High-DPI display.

Other UI artwork was also updated, as MacRumors pointed out with this comparison image of showing the subtle difference between Mac OS X 10.7.2 and 10.7.3:

Mac OS X Lion has provided a variety of clues that retina Macs may be coming sometime in the near future. From the unusually high res wallpapers, HiDPI display modes, HiDPI options, to the giant icon artwork, there is a fair amount of evidence to suggest that Apple is in some stage of developing Macs with ultra high display resolutions.

There have also been rumors to support this idea. Late last year, Digitimes reported that Apple would release a MacBook Pro equipped with a high resolution retina display in the second quarter of 2012. There is also the expectation that iPad 3 will feature a ‘retina’ display, leading many to assume that a Mac would launch around the same time frame to support development of high resolution apps and artwork for the device.

The OS X 10.7.3 update brought with it a variety of subtle changes, including a minor adjustment to how the Launchpad background image style is switched. In previous Mac OS X versions, Command+B would switch between the background effect styles, but this is now achieved with Control+Option+Command+B.

Try it yourself by opening Launchpad and then hitting the Control+Option+Command+B keys to alternate between backgrounds with blur, unblurred, black and white, and blurred black and white. You can see samples of these background style effects below.

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Apple looks to have quietly updated the troubled Mac OS X 10.7.3 Updater, first noticed by several of our readers and confirmed by OSXDaily. No official change was announced and there is no revised version number provided by Apple’s Support page, but presumably the new build addresses any potential installation problems or CUI errors that occurred for some users with the original release of OS X 10.7.3 earlier this week.

The original OS X 10.7.3 Combo Updater .dmg has the SHA1 checksum of: 07dfce300f6801eb63d9ac13e0bec84e1862a16c

The revised OS X 10.7.3 Combo Updater .dmg has a SHA1 checksum of: b8322dbd1f7b55bf35aac4122ad2204c51307793

Apple has updated the SHA1 on the combo updaters support page to reflect the change, and they are also now redirecting download links from the original OS X 10.7.3 Client Updater to the revised OS X 10.7.3 Combo Updater.

The file size of the new update is also slightly larger, as shown by apprentice who compared the two in our comments (old version first, revised version second):

SHA1= 07dfce300f6801eb63d9ac13e0bec84e1862a16c
Version: 10.7.3
Post Date: February 01, 2012
Download ID: DL1484
License: Update
File Size: 1.2 GB

SHA1= b8322dbd1f7b55bf35aac4122ad2204c51307793
Version: 10.7.3
Post Date: February 01, 2012
Download ID: DL1484
License: Update
File Size: 1.26 GB

OS X 10.7.3 Build 11D50b vs 11D50
There are also mixed reports that installing from the new Combo Updater changes the OS X 10.7.3 build number fro 11D50 to 11D50b on some Macs. This does not appear to be the case on all Macs though, and some retain the 11D50 build even when the new update has been used, suggesting the original installation issues and CUI errors may have only impacted certain Mac models to begin with.

If you updated to 10.7.3 without any problems, you likely do not need to download the new version. If you held off on the OS X 10.7.3 Update due to the reported problems, you are probably safe to update now, although you should perform a Time Machine backup before proceeding just in case.

Thanks to all who sent this in

The recently released Mac OS X 10.7.3 update is proving to be a more significant upgrade than originally anticipated, with the update for OS X Lion Server adding a simple web server.

The web server pane is found in the Server application, and has the standard features you would expect. Apple specifies the following capabilities about the web pane in the 10.7.3 Server release notes:

• enable .htaccess overrides
• edit web sites’ domain names
• map multiple domains into a single web site
• configure redirects and aliases
• specify custom index files
• choose SSL certificates for individual websites

Due to some of the reported problems with the OS X 10.7.3 update, it’s recommended to install with the Combo Updater (link for Server Combo) rather than through Software Update.

When OS X Lion Server initially shipped, some longtime users were surprised to discover no web server had been included. The addition in 10.7.3 is welcome, and was first discovered by @MacMiniVault, who runs a colocation service for Mac Mini Servers. MacMiniVault also noted that PostgreSQL is the default database server for OS X Lion, ditching the longstanding MySQL that was featured in Snow Leopard Server.

Mac OS X 10.7.3 update was just released, and for the vast majority of users the update installed trouble free. But not everyone was so lucky, and a series of problems have cropped up for some users, ranging from being stuck on an endless spinning loop progress indicator, to apps crashing nonstop, to a very bizarre “CUI CUI CUI” error screen filled with question marks (seen below), to other strange behavior.

The good news is these problems are relatively easy to fix. Basically all you need to do is install the OS X 10.7.3 Combo Updater over the existing messed up installation of 10.7.3.

The bad news is that if you already updated to Mac OS X 10.7.3 and you’re having problems, you’re going to have to find a way to use the Combo Updater over the troubled installation. If you’re just encountering the CUI errors, this is relatively simple, but if you’re stuck on a boot loop you need to get a bit more creative.

Fixing the OS X 10.7.3 Installation Problems
The simple formula is this:

• Download Mac OS X 10.7.3 Combo Updater (direct link)
• Run the 10.7.3 Combo Updater on top of the existing 10.7.3 installation
• Reboot

If you can’t get to the desktop of the Mac in question, you can boot it with Target Disk Mode (Firewire or Thunderbolt required), and then point the 10.7.3 Combo Update at the troubled Mac and install it that way. If your OS X installation is totally screwed up and you can’t use target disk mode, you have a few choices:

1. Restore from a recent pre-10.7.3 Time Machine backup, then install the Combo Updater
2. Boot from Recovery HD, a Recovery Drive, or Lion USB drive, and reinstall everything

Not the best situation, but hopefully you have recent Time Machine backups.

Finally, if you’re reading this and haven’t had any problems but you’re now paranoid about the OS X 10.7.3 update, here’s all you need to do to be safe: Backup your Mac with Time Machine, download the Combo Updater and install the update manually. You’ll almost certainly be fine.

Thanks to Erik, Martin, and Apple Discussion Boards for the tips. Chime in if you have any additional info.

Apple has released Mac OS X 10.7.3 to the public, the third minor update to OS X Lion. The update includes bug fixes including a Wi-Fi stability update, and also fixes a handful of other issues that have effected OS X 10.7. The update also includes support for several new languages, and updates Safari to 5.1.3.

Download Mac OS X 10.7.3 Update

You can download Mac OS X 10.7.3 Update through Software Update, it’s about 1GB, or through these download links from Apple:

• OS X Lion Update 10.7.3 (Client)
• OS X Lion Update 10.7.3 (Client Combo)
• OS X Lion Update 10.7.3 (Server)
• OS X Lion Update 10.7.3 (Server Combo)

Mac OS X 10.7.3 Release Notes are below:

What’s included?

The OS X Lion v10.7.3 Update includes Safari 5.1.3 and fixes that:

• Add Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian language support
• Address issues when using smart cards to log into OS X
• Address compatibility issues with Microsoft Windows file sharing 
• Address an issue printing Microsoft Word documents that use markup
• Address a graphics performance issue after sleep on some earlier iMacs that use ATI graphics
• Resolve a Wi-Fi connection issue when waking from sleep
• Address an issue that may prevent Safari from opening before joining a wireless network
• Fix a potential issue authenticating to an SMB DFS share
• Include RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras

Directory Services

• Improve binding to read-only Active Directory Domain Controllers
• Improve binding and login speed for Active Directory users in a domain whose name ends in “.local”
• Improve reliability of Dynamic DNS (DDNS) updates by Active Directory clients
• Allow login with an Active Directory username that contains a space
• Improve compatibility with Active Directory schemas that have been extended with the “apple-user-homeDirectory” and “apple-user-homeurl” attributes
• Fix home directory Dock item for Active Directory users with mobile accounts
• Allow NIS users with MD5-hashed passwords to log in

Developer build Mac OS X 10.7.3 11D50 has been released to registered Mac developers, this is the sixth dev build of the next update to Mac OS X, and arrives nearly a week after the last 10.7.3 build showed up.

With no known issues, the emphasis is still on iCloud, Address Book, iCal, Mail, Spotlight and Safari. MacRumors notes the builds description suggests “the main improvements in OS X 10.7.3 will be support for several new languages and fixes for issues related to smart cards, directory services authentication, and Windows file sharing.”

Several developer releases of OS X 10.7.3 have been pushed out with no known issues, although a final build hasn’t been made available to the public yet.

Apple has provided another beta build of OS X Lion 10.7.3 to developers, just a week after the last build 11D42. The areas of focus remain the same, iCloud Document Storage, Address Book, iCal, Mail, Spotlight and Safari, but has no known issues and the quick turnaround for a new build suggests the final release is imminent.

11D46 weighs in around 1GB for the delta update, and 1.3GB for the combo. Both can be downloaded by registered Mac developers from the Dev Center.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the OS X 10.7.3 public release showed up sometime this week, maybe even tomorrow after Apple holds their education event in NYC.

Apple has released a new build of OS X Lion 10.7.3 to developers, the latest build is 11D42 and weighs in around 1GB. Like the past dev builds of 10.7.3, the focus continues to be on Address Book, Mail, iCal, Spotlight, and Safari, and has no known issues.

The first beta of OS X 10.7.3 showed up in November of last year, with later releases showing hints of retina Macs and drivers for graphics cards that are not currently shipping on Macs.

There is no expected release date of OS X 10.7.3, but the last public update for Lion was OS X 10.7.2, released last October.