RSSApple Uncages Mac OS X 'Panther'
By David Worthington | Published October 27, 2003, 4:01 AM
On Friday evening, Apple uncaged Panther, the next version of its flagship Mac OS X operating system. All in all, Panther introduces over 150 new and redesigned features to the world of Macs.
Stealing thunder from clouds over Redmond, the release arrived several days prior to Monday's public debut of Windows Longhorn at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference.
Panther brings Mac OS X to version 10.3 - a point release, but major milestone in the operating system's development. Compelling features that reached this threshold include a redesigned Finder, improved file storage and management, fast user switching, better coexistence with Windows, and a new feature called Exposé.
Exposé categorizes all open windows at once and can slide all open windows off the screen for speedy desktop access.
New versions of the Mac's default Safari browser, iCal, Mail and Address Book are also thrown in for good measure.
A new version of iChat graces Mac users with advanced video conferencing support and buddy lists structured into groups; buddy lists were missing in the initial release of the client. iChat 2.0 will be available as a standalone upgrade for users who opt to skip the Panther upgrade.
Panther retails for $129 USD, with a "Family Pack" five-user license available for $199 USD. Existing Power Mac G5 customers can receive a Panther upgrade for $19.95 USD to cover shipping and handling. Both desktop and Mac OS X Server packages launched simultaneously.
During the night of October 24, Apple retails stores and a band of resellers celebrated the "Night of the Panther" by handing out free gifts, savings coupons and even the chance to win a Mac. Apple also recently announced new G4 iBooks, which complement the new operating system.
BIG DEAL, another money making scheme buy Apple to fleece their users of money. Notice that the $19.95 upgrade price for G5 owners. The rest of the Mac users are screwed into paying the $129.00 price.
Score: 0
|The upgrade price applies to anyone who bought a new Mac within the last 30 days or so. The article is wrong on that point. This has always been Apple's policy, free (other than shipping) upgrades for anyone purchasing a new computer with an old OS after the release date of the new OS is announced.
Don't be fooled by the small change in version number, Apple has always used a numbering system like this. This isn't merely a service pack or minor upgrade.
Score: 0
|a lot faster? i wouldn't say that. in our tests on a blue and white G3 and a 800 Titanium we didn't really see any speed improvements. but the changes to finder and expose are really big. mail looks a lot nicer although we're in an exchange environment. the font program might be nice but we already bought extensis server. overall it's very nice, but the average user won't notice too much of a difference in my opinion.
Score: 0
|Bashing Apple will get you nowhere. Find a day job or nightime job. You'll be too tired to leave these I know everything messages, but I'm not contributing to society in a positve way . Who cares.
Score: 0
|After performing a fresh install of 10.3, I noticed window redraw times were quicker, mail was quicker and all the programs seemed to launch a bit quicker, the os overall was a bit "snappier". It is really good news, this is probably the most mature Os X to date. The exposé feature i priceless, the mail app is much improved and it is quite stable for a .0 release. iChatAV is great, even though it's really nothing new or revolutionary. The finder and network browser are nice, but the network browser needs some work, at times my windows network will just dissapear...and come back when it pleases. All together, the new features are worth it for 10.1 users and may be worth it for 10.2 users...it all depends on whether or not you want the latest and greatest, but if you are on an older mac, i do highly recommend this upgrade....as you will see a speed increase when installing it clean :)
Score: 0
|For anyone that posts speed comparisons, please also indicate RAM size and disk subsystem. And if an upgrade was performed, from what versio? Without these, the statements will be purely subjective and won't help anyone.
Score: 0
|