You might think that Apple is done with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard now that OS X 10.7 Lion has hit the streets -- but you’d be wrong! Lovers of the snowy cat can head over to Software Update, where they’ll find Mac OS X 10.6.8 awaiting them again… sort of. Confused? Read on.

Apple has released several updates to Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard on Monday which promise to address some issues for those who haven’t yet made the leap to OS X Lion, as well as other fixes. But didn’t we already install Mac OS X 10.6.8? You are correct -- and the version you’ll get via Software Update will vary depending on where you stand right now.

For users already updated to 10.6.8, Software Update will offer the 10.19MB Mac OS X 10.6.8 Supplemental Update, a svelte version of the patch that will require a restart of your system after installation. If you have yet to update to 10.6.8 at all, you’ll instead be offered Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update v1.1, a 453.55MB delta release. Last but not least, Apple is also offering the 1.09GB Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 on their website for users who prefer to do a cleaner install.

So what does it do? Any one of the patches will bring three key fixes:

The Mac OS X 10.6.8 Supplemental Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and resolves issues with:

- Transferring personal data, settings, and compatible applications from a Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard to a new Mac running Mac OS X Lion
- Certain network printers that pause print jobs immediately and fail to complete
- System audio that stops working when using HDMI or optical audio out

Apple is also making the same trio of updates available for Mac OS X Server 10.6.8, so be sure to head to Software Update and see if you’ve won the update lottery today.

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