I've been doing a little research on upgrading to Panther, and before it was released I was ready to buy. But when it did come out, many Mac users were complaining about bugs, compatibility issues, etc. I'm using a DP G4 1.25 Powermac runnning 10.2.6 and am wondering if 10.3 is really worth it? Should I spend the money now, or wait??? Will I experience any driver issues, bugs, third party software issues??? Overall, what are your experiences with this new OS???
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Is Panther really worth it???
- Thread starter djtet
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Counterfit
macrumors G3
gwuMACaddict
macrumors 68040
get it...
it works fine on my new imac17inchers... but it REALLY sped up my older imacG3500. i say go for it.
😀
it works fine on my new imac17inchers... but it REALLY sped up my older imacG3500. i say go for it.
😀
Depends if you want new features such as fast user-switching, expose (with the little accent mark) and better windows networking support to name a few.
I haven't come across any compatability issues...
I haven't come across any compatability issues...
I've read from several posters that Windows Networking is actually worse under panther. I'd still like to hear a solid consensus on that one before I shell out the cash. Although it's almost worth it just for expose, especially on my 12" PB.
caveman_uk
Guest
Well browsing through the finder 'Network' thing sucks as there doesn'tt seem to be a proper way of disconnecting from shares so when you eventually do you get a load of crappy 'disconnect?' messages for the next ten minutes - especially on a large windows based LAN. If you don't disconnect properly it breaks all the aliases the finder sets up and to fix it you have to delete them and restart the machine. If you don't do this it can't find the servers again as the aliases it keeps are broken. Quite frankly a PITA. It's broke and doesn't work properly.
Having said that the 'Go To Server' option on one of the menus works much the same as it ever did and properly mounts the share on your desktop. You can then properly unmount and everyone's happy. Personally I've had no problems with this method browsing a largish W2K network.
I haven't had any other Panther-related problems on either a 800Mhz ibook or a a 1GHz DP PM G4.
Having said that the 'Go To Server' option on one of the menus works much the same as it ever did and properly mounts the share on your desktop. You can then properly unmount and everyone's happy. Personally I've had no problems with this method browsing a largish W2K network.
I haven't had any other Panther-related problems on either a 800Mhz ibook or a a 1GHz DP PM G4.
I'm using Remote Desktop to do Filemaker work on Windows 2000 Pro desktops and W2000 Servers over VPN connections with Panther, from my 15" PB. Works flawlessly.
Expose is worth the price of admission all by itself anyhow, even with the two monitors I usually have going. Great stuff.
Expose is worth the price of admission all by itself anyhow, even with the two monitors I usually have going. Great stuff.
jayscheuerle
macrumors 68020
Squire
macrumors 68000
Well this thread has made me feel more secure about my decision to buy it within the next month or so. I was thinking of just mailing my Jaguar CD to my folks and getting them to shell out 40 bucks for iChat AV.
Expose is what I would want it for most. Oh, and AppleWorks. (For some reason, I can't download the update.) It does read Microsoft Word documents now, doesn't it?
Squire
Expose is what I would want it for most. Oh, and AppleWorks. (For some reason, I can't download the update.) It does read Microsoft Word documents now, doesn't it?
Squire
jayscheuerle
macrumors 68020
I have the same question re Appleworks: will it read and save Word and Excel documents? I really hate to have to go to Office on a Mac, and Think Free is not quite right for me, though it's pretty close. I'd prefer AW if I can go cross platform with the results.
Almost forgot: I think Apple has the next killer app with iChat AV if they market it enough. There are business uses for it that could be amazing, much less the personal stuff. They should be pushing an ad campaign on that right now as hard as they can, with Christmas here.
There's an article in Wired News on 101 Uses for iChat AV that includes a couple of sample sessions; that and the keynote demo that Steve Jobs did (google for Steve Jobsw video) should make anyone think.
Almost forgot: I think Apple has the next killer app with iChat AV if they market it enough. There are business uses for it that could be amazing, much less the personal stuff. They should be pushing an ad campaign on that right now as hard as they can, with Christmas here.
There's an article in Wired News on 101 Uses for iChat AV that includes a couple of sample sessions; that and the keynote demo that Steve Jobs did (google for Steve Jobsw video) should make anyone think.
mj_1903
macrumors 6502a
Remember, if you are in need of light editing of Word documents, TextEdit will happily suffice.
For heavier documents, try OpenOffice.org as an excellent replacement (although it doesn't do a fantastic job of looking like Mac OS X).
As for Panther, I know I have switched product of all my Apps to Panther only and many other developers are doing the same, so not only will you start to miss out on the OS upgrade, but you will miss out on all those small shareware apps that you may use.
For heavier documents, try OpenOffice.org as an excellent replacement (although it doesn't do a fantastic job of looking like Mac OS X).
As for Panther, I know I have switched product of all my Apps to Panther only and many other developers are doing the same, so not only will you start to miss out on the OS upgrade, but you will miss out on all those small shareware apps that you may use.
I have to do a lot of business proposal and contract type letters, and more spreadsheet stuff than I ever wanted to do 😛
Gotta have the ability to go across with both types, and the proposals have all the usual headers and footers, indents, bullet lists, that kind of stuff. Normal word processing stuff, but heavier than Text Edit.
Anyone using Apple Works for this kind of routine use with comments?
I have thought about Open Office but haven't looked at it yet.
Gotta have the ability to go across with both types, and the proposals have all the usual headers and footers, indents, bullet lists, that kind of stuff. Normal word processing stuff, but heavier than Text Edit.
Anyone using Apple Works for this kind of routine use with comments?
I have thought about Open Office but haven't looked at it yet.
Regarding AppleWorks, I have used AppleWorks w/ word translators for routine .doc and .xls editing since I got the new version bundled with my iBook. Basically, it just includes the MacLinkPlus translators (eliminating the extra step of buying/running MacLinkPlus). If the files you want to open don't work right using the MacLinkPlus translators they won't work right in AppleWorks. For most uses, though, AW handles word and excel documents fine.
Personally, I like TextEdit for word processing better than AW's word processor, and it's RTF files work great with MS word. AW's spreadsheet and drawing are great, though.
You do not need panther to do this, though. Panther is great for other uses (The Finder is now decent enough that I don't have to pay for Finder Replacements, and I don't know how I lived w/o Exposé and Fast Switching)
Personally, I like TextEdit for word processing better than AW's word processor, and it's RTF files work great with MS word. AW's spreadsheet and drawing are great, though.
You do not need panther to do this, though. Panther is great for other uses (The Finder is now decent enough that I don't have to pay for Finder Replacements, and I don't know how I lived w/o Exposé and Fast Switching)
FuzzyBallz
macrumors 6502a
The same people who tell you to get Panther ASAP are the same people who tell you to get a 17" PB just 'cause it looks cool.
If you're happy w/ Jag, stay w/ it. I still don't see what the improvement Panther has over Jag. The thing that stands out the most is when you close the System Preferences window, the actual program closes in Panther, whereas in Jag it remains open until you go File > Exit. Wow
Please don't list all the useless toys Jobs added in, I don't use them.
If you're happy w/ Jag, stay w/ it. I still don't see what the improvement Panther has over Jag. The thing that stands out the most is when you close the System Preferences window, the actual program closes in Panther, whereas in Jag it remains open until you go File > Exit. Wow
Please don't list all the useless toys Jobs added in, I don't use them.
Counterfit
macrumors G3
Dont Hurt Me
macrumors 603
true but the software is getting bigger and bigger and more bloated and more bloated. also im a little tired of the new os every year. i guess thats progress
holding off...
I really appreciate all of the insight from panther and non-panther users.
I have decided to hold off on my purchase of panther until at least the holiday season is over. Maybe if they have an update sometime in January I'll look into getting it then.
I appreciate all of the advise on this subject!!!
I really appreciate all of the insight from panther and non-panther users.
I have decided to hold off on my purchase of panther until at least the holiday season is over. Maybe if they have an update sometime in January I'll look into getting it then.
I appreciate all of the advise on this subject!!!
johnnyjibbs
macrumors 68030
My Panther upgrade discs arrive today - thanks Apple!
I upgrade-installed and everything has worked fine and it is faster. It crashed earlier when I tried to delete about 30 emails at once in Netscape mail but apart from that everything has been fine!
I'm really pleased with Expose. I know everyone says that but you don't know how good it is until you use it. I'm going to miss it when I use my home Win XP machine!
Mail and Safari are much better too. Mail actually displays HTML emails properly and my Safari now works in loading up secure sites behind my uni firewall! I thought the 'Organise mail by thread' would just be a gimmick but it's actually really useful.
Fast user switching is a neat feature but I don't have multiple users so it's limited for me. I love the cube effect though.
Connecting to my uni network hasn't been any problem and I have to confess that I'm warming round to the new metal finder. The DVD player is awesome too - very slick and much more useful. It now plays all my DVDs properly!
I love the new refined aqua as well - the anti-aliased pinstripes are much gentler on the eye and the animations are nice while still being quicker than Jaguar.
All in all, I may have picked up Panther for £14 but I still think it's worth the £99 ($129) full price. A lot of the stuff you don't think you'll need but it turns out that the little upgrades here and there really make your life simpler. And I haven't even mentioned half the other stuff (such as the MUCH BETTER preview app).
Oh and I don't know what they've done with the font anti-aliasing but everything looks much smoother and nicer!
Take the plunge - it's worth it! 🙂
I upgrade-installed and everything has worked fine and it is faster. It crashed earlier when I tried to delete about 30 emails at once in Netscape mail but apart from that everything has been fine!
I'm really pleased with Expose. I know everyone says that but you don't know how good it is until you use it. I'm going to miss it when I use my home Win XP machine!
Mail and Safari are much better too. Mail actually displays HTML emails properly and my Safari now works in loading up secure sites behind my uni firewall! I thought the 'Organise mail by thread' would just be a gimmick but it's actually really useful.
Fast user switching is a neat feature but I don't have multiple users so it's limited for me. I love the cube effect though.
Connecting to my uni network hasn't been any problem and I have to confess that I'm warming round to the new metal finder. The DVD player is awesome too - very slick and much more useful. It now plays all my DVDs properly!
I love the new refined aqua as well - the anti-aliased pinstripes are much gentler on the eye and the animations are nice while still being quicker than Jaguar.
All in all, I may have picked up Panther for £14 but I still think it's worth the £99 ($129) full price. A lot of the stuff you don't think you'll need but it turns out that the little upgrades here and there really make your life simpler. And I haven't even mentioned half the other stuff (such as the MUCH BETTER preview app).
Oh and I don't know what they've done with the font anti-aliasing but everything looks much smoother and nicer!
Take the plunge - it's worth it! 🙂
johnnyjibbs
macrumors 68030
One thing though. Panther has crashed twice today (the first day of having it). I haven't done anything particularly taxing today. Both times it was the Finder itself.
The first time was a Windows-esque crash (everything freezes, can't do anything). The second time the Finder crashed but all my apps were running perfectly. I tried to relaunch the Finder but that didn't do anything. Expose stopped working, as did the dock. I couldn't even shut the computer or restart it properly. And I'm running 10.3.1.
Is the Finder just a little bit buggy at the moment? Everything else is perfect.
The first time was a Windows-esque crash (everything freezes, can't do anything). The second time the Finder crashed but all my apps were running perfectly. I tried to relaunch the Finder but that didn't do anything. Expose stopped working, as did the dock. I couldn't even shut the computer or restart it properly. And I'm running 10.3.1.
Is the Finder just a little bit buggy at the moment? Everything else is perfect.