GDAL 1.6 is here! And a little late, so is 1.5.3 – I wanted to synchronize some OSX fixes in 1.6 with 1.5, and make sure the 2 versions work together. More than just a new version, here are some OSX fixes and changes:

• [1.5/1.6] HDF4 64bit OSX now works.
• [1.5/1.6] DODS OSX issues worked out.
• [1.5/1.6] ECW-JP2 support works again. It was there, it just wasn't loading, only ECW. I also fixed a 64bit issue with ECW-JP2. This gives OSX users a good working JP2 format driver. Note: ECW still only works for read-only, I'll see if I can figure out write support, but don't hold your breath.
• [1.5/1.6] Python binaries have been moved to be inside the framework bundle. A gdal.pth file is now installed in the Python site-packages folder to point to the framework. This lets the next change easily work:
• [1.5/1.6] Python support on Leopard can now be used with the python.org Python 2.5, if installed. This is in addition to the system Python on Leopard. The gdal.pth file avoids unnecessary duplication of the binaries.
• [1.6] The plugins folder is now versioned. For GDAL 1.6, that is /Library/Application Support/GDAL/1.6/PlugIns. GDAL 1.5 plugins will be left in /Library/Application Support/GDAL/PlugIns.
• [1.6] Internal GRASS libraries updated to GRASS 6.4.svn. (GRASS left at 6.3 for GDAL 1.5)

Both GDAL 1.5.3 and 1.6 can be installed, but the most recent version installed will be the active one for Python and developer use. Notes are included to switch this. Current application builds will still use GDAL 1.5, until I rebuild them for 1.6.

A full set of plugins for ECW and MrSID for both 1.5 and 1.6, and a new rgdal for R 2.8, are also available.