10.4.5 Update - why I hate it.

Question

OK here is a list of things I know it has screwed up so far:
Safari:
- is slower, not faster.
- is more unstable and sometimes quits randomly.
- occasionally gives up half way through opening a page for no apparent reason.
- still soaks up the CPU, often up to 80% of CPU when opening maybe 3 new pages / tabs.
- is less compatible with certain features of Safari Enhancer (such as presenting to websites as IE 6) causing enexpected quits. This can be corrected by resetting defaults in Safari Enhancer.
Help Viewer:
- is screwed completely.
- can be temporarily restored by following these instructions.
- returns itself to blank page non-functionality upon system reboot.
General:
- whole system seems sluggish compared to before the update
- memory usage is wierd: all 10 of my running but inactive Widgets were using 16-20MB system memory until I restarted and they dropped to 6 or 8MB
- Generally it is all a bit wierd somehow...
Of course this list is by no means exhaustive; there are other reasons just waiting to be discovered.
For the record, I was up to date before (10.4.3 installed, 4.4. recently applied) and yes I used System Updater - like the people who make the software tell me to. I mean, they wouldn't have an update facility that was inferior to applying the update yourself would they?
No, I didn't repair permissions before applying the update (nothing told me to do so ) and, like I said, surley Apple wouldn't supply a system that they know is inferior... would they? I mean if repairing permissions were so important, surely System Updater wouldn't run automatically without saying "Hey, ignore everything I am telliing you! Don't install any of this stuff unless you have repaired permissions first!!!
I have repaired permissions since running the update. Now I am kicking myself for installing the stupid thing. Its not like anything was too bad before (apart from Safari being so-o-o slo-o-o-w and a CPU hog).
Please Help! I would really appreciate any advice on how to uninstall this ghastly update or at least undo all the crazy evil havoc it has wrought on my computer.
G
12" Al Powerbook G4 80GB, 768MB, SD   Mac OS X (10.4.5 grrr)   ... and less than half a bottle of Laphroaig.

Answer 1

You're most welcome. Glad to help.
You wrote: " (all DL'd from Apple incidentally)"That's no guarantee of quality. If you read the fine print at the bottom of Apple's Dashboard Widgets page, you'll note it states:"Apple is providing links to these applications as a courtesy, and makes no representations regarding the applications or any information related thereto. Any questions, complaints or claims regarding the applications must be directed to the appropriate software vendor."In other words, "use at your own risk, no warranty expressed or implied, we don't check the code," etc. etc.
You wrote: "This is a great shame because I can only live with OS X by organising it in a way that suits my brain!"Consider Yoda's advice: "You must unlearn what you have learned."
I don't use any third-party OS enhancements or menu extras. The things I initially missed from Mac OS 9 I found I could live without, with no harm to my productivity. I've not found a single OS enhancement or third-party menu extra worth adding. And I don't have to worry about them causing problems after I install Mac OS X Updates.
The time you think these add-ons may be saving, in terms of your productivity, you may be losing in troubleshooting.
For example, why patch Safari with Safari Enhancer when there is OmniWeb, a commercial browser that functionally puts Safari to shame.
I recommend a minimalist approach: haiku vs. War and Peace. I run Mac OS X, Xcode Tools, a range of commercial applications (Adobe products, FileMaker, MS Office, Retrospect, NAV, OmniWeb, some third-party disk utilities, etc.), and a few shareware apps (Graphic Converter, Tex-Edit, VueScan), the latter being commercial-grade in terms of quality of code and support. My system runs problem-free. Maybe I'm on to something.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X