Wouldn't you know it? Just minutes after we bite the bullet, ignore that paranoid little voice in our heads, and install the twelve zillion version patches that Software Update is impatiently thrusting upon us (including Mac OS X 10.3.5, of course), we finally start hearing about the problems Apple's latest OS point release can cause. Don't get all riled up, though, because the issues are neither as widespread nor as heinous as, say, the plague of ickiness that descended upon some users of the original 10.2.8; still, we thought we'd pass 'em along just in case any of you fellow Update Paranoaics need something extra to mess with your heads. We're that thoughtful.

So AppleInsider reports that the most common 10.3.5-based affliction reported so far is insomnia; apparently several customers now find themselves "with a computer that will no longer properly put itself to sleep." Most afflicted systems seem to be single-processor 1.8 GHz models, whose "displays turn off, but the system fan refuses to do the same and continues to spin at full blast"-- and we all know how uncomfortable that can be. Some of these systems eventually crash and require a hard restart, which is similar to the sleep-related difficulties allegedly bedeviling some 15-inch PowerBook users as well: when trying to sleep one of these PowerBooks by closing the lid, affected users report that "the sleep light will refuse to turn on and the computer will eventually lock up and cease to respond."

Users attempting AtAT's suggested remedy of using Text-to-Speech to make their insomniMacs read aloud from Apple's latest 10-Q filing report zero success-- so you know it's serious.

We've since done some more thinking on the matter, and it's now clear to us that Mac OS X 10.3.5 is obviously a "cosmic leveler," dishing out karmic adjustment for those people who have the sheer unmitigated gall to own a G5 or a widescreen PowerBook when we, your friendly neighborhood AtAT staff, do not. So, short of pooling their cash and buying us new pro Macs in atonement, we suppose there isn't much for them to do except wait for Apple to issue a fix.

As for us, the only weirdness we encountered on our G4 after installing 10.3.5 was that all our sound was stuffed into the right channel of our headphones and there was no balance control in System Preferences anymore, which instead displayed the cheerful message, "Selected output device has no controls." As it turns out, though, this is a documented phenomenon that can affect USB audio devices under 10.3.4 as well, and a quick unplug/replug of our iMic cleared the problem right up, so we're not entirely sure we can attribute it to our 10.3.5 upgrade (although the timing was suspicious).

And believe us when we tell you that the only thing in the house that ever has trouble falling asleep is a certain two-year-old with an iron will and an insatiable drive to instigate mayhem. And we hardly think we can blame 10.3.5 for that.