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Is Panther worth it?

W

Wren

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 10, 2002
114
0
Los Angeles
I was at the Apple store last night with the intention of buying OSX Panther. I currently have the G4AluPB and happy with Jaguar. I have a friend who had Panther intalled in his PB and he said it was still 'buggy" and adviced me to wait. Is it worth it for me to pay $129.00 plus tax for the new OS? I want to have the 'lastest" operating system but I'm also apprehensive. Your insights are welcome. Thanks!:confused:
 
Nope. I just got Panther for X-mas, and I think that I really liked jaguar better. This constant idisk syncing has to improve. I hate it. Was it worth 129 dollars? No. It still seems less solid to me than Jaguar.
 
Definately!

Coca-Cola must be drinking some very old coke!

Panther is definately worth getting. All this complaining about it being buggy is crap; I haven't had a single problem with Panther. It's very stable, and the added features (EXPOSE!!!) make it worth the fee.

However, if you have a friend with Panther, there is no copy protection (always true for Mac OSs). You can borrow his/her copy, burn the disks, and boom! THIS IS ILLEGAL. DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.
 
I say it is worth it. You can turn off the automatic iDisk syncing so I don't see how that is a problem or a bug to detour you from getting Panther. There are so many things about Panther that are just insanely awesome. I love that boot times, log out times, and switching times are all cut by a third. I love how insanely fast the graphics are compared to even 10.3.0. Games run consistently 20-30 fps faster, QE is much faster, Exposé is really useful, applications such as Photoshop launch probably 20-25% faster, I love the new Finder, I love the new Mail, my display seems crisper, applications seem to allocate and handle RAM even more efficiently, iDisk syncing seems faster, my battery seems to run about 45-50 minutes longer, and this is just what I can think of on the top of my head.
 
I can't see a reason to wait any longer. There are a few minor issues that will be resolved in the future, but the overall speed increases and added functionality make it worth it. Was 10.2.2 as functional, stable, and quick as 10.3.2? No.
 
No not really. Panthers features are either very subtle and accross the board (widget changes and general theme changes), or very specific.

The only thing I've found useful is Expose to be honest. New mail and safari apps are nice, and so is the metal finder (IMO) and PHP is installed by default, but overall it shouldn't be a full priced product.

It is a great solid base to work on though for 10.4. I'm really hoping my G3 iBook (only 8 months old!!!) will run 10.4. Because Apple seems to be moving to AltiVec and up only. However, I suppose there is hope yet as the new iBook G4's aren't AltiVec aware apparently...
 
people please!

of course a new updated OS is worth it.

10.3 is up to 3 times faster with response times on my quicksilver. you may say that 10.2 is fast enough for you, but you really need to try 10.3 to know the difference. also, 10.3 had MAJOR under-the-hood changes to make things smoother, more secure, and faster.

and remember, new apps will always be written for the newest OS available, and then possibly be checked to work with older ones. apple usually writes them for the current OS and that OS only. ex: you couldn't get ichat or safari for 10.1
 
There are some problems with certain systems, but on my 1ghz Powermac G4(MDD) and 800mhz G4 iMac, the update is definitely worth the expense.
Stability and speed are exceptional, and the new features of Panther, such as disk journaling and Expose justify the update.

BTW, Panther is not just an optional variant or beta update of OSX; it is the current version of Apple's operating system, and is the target for future application development and updates.
Frankly, anyone who believes Jaguar is any way superior, or even close to being equal to Panther has serious hardware/software problems not related to Panther.
 
That's a tough one. If money is tight, I would say no. I just got back from a little Christmas vacation during which I used my iBook which still has Jaguar on it, and I didn't find myself missing anything particularly, from my Panther-powered desktop.

The only noticeable speed improvement on my MDD PowerMac is in boot time, escpecially after a crash restart. The Finder improvements are nice, but not essential. Networking is a disaster. Stability is improved, but of course some third-party apps, games especially, are now less stable.
 
Re: Is Panther worth it?

Originally posted by Wren
I was at the Apple store last night with the intention of buying OSX Panther. I currently have the G4AluPB and happy with Jaguar. I have a friend who had Panther intalled in his PB and he said it was still 'buggy" and adviced me to wait. Is it worth it for me to pay $129.00 plus tax for the new OS? I want to have the 'lastest" operating system but I'm also apprehensive. Your insights are welcome. Thanks!:confused:
Click to expand...
Panther is definitely worth it. As far as I can see, the problems that that get reported are self-inflicted, for the most part. I certainly don't have them. Neither do the most of the users who post to this forum. However, if you install hacks to your system or use warez betas, then you may very well have problems--and well you should.
 
Get it! It has made my life SO much easier, and overall I can work much more effeciently. I personally like the iDisk autosyncing. When I use Jaguar on my sisters iBook, the finder seems practically unusable (IMHO). Exposé changes the way I work. It is a lifesaver! Panther is, IMHO, 100% worth the money. Go back to the apple store and buy it, NOW!
 
i have a second edition 667 tibook. i havent seen any speed improvements with panther except for log in. however there arent any bugs that ive had to deal with either. expose is cool but who in their right mind would pay $100+ for that? the new finder windows are nice and today i found that i can archive (zip) a file just by selecting it and choosing a menu command. all in all, i would say its not worth the money. when jag came out i said i wouldnt pay for the next upgrade...but i did...still, it isnt worth it. jag kicks as, panthers just a bit more convenient when it comes to certain things.

claims of panther being 3x faster is crazy...i guess it doesnt affect all systems the same. i would say its just as fast or maybe, MAYBE, 10% faster than jag.
 
Panther has been awsome on my 800MHz G3 iBook. Amazon has it for 100 USD.
 
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Yes. But you might not notice the differences at first. Panther is all about small improvements, but they really add up when they are all accounted for.

I would shop around though.
 
I'd look into that upgrade pricing, if you can be eligible for a discount price such as education or gov't/developer discount. It also helps to shop around. Over the summer, I found Jaguar on Amazon through one of the third party places for $60 full version. I am sure there are lots of other places that offer it for $30-40 cheaper as well. I got my copy through education store for $60.
 
It's buggy. Here and then my sound goes out and I have to restart... other then that i've had no problems. I also did the upgrade, not a clean install - if that makes any difference.

expose is cool, other then that it's about the same. Font book is OK, but if you are serious about font management it's not really your answer. If you have Jaguar just save your money... unless you find it cheap.

I found a copy on Ebay for something like $30 - for that price i think it's worth it. If I would have went through my school it would have been $75, and $129 through apple. There really isn't too much different to justify that cost, unless you have an iSight and need iChat AV.

It's feels faster, but mostly because there are more animations and stuff... so you actually SEE something happening when you work on it instead of just a window popping up.

-ko
 
Things i like better (in order of importance):
1. Expose (in a big way)
2. faster, smoother GUI
3. new Finder
4. faster boot, faster app launch
5. Mail, Safari, iCal
6. Lables
7. faster Preview (faster than Acrobat)

Things I like less:
1. Networking

For me, it was only $69 via edu so it was a no-brainer, but I would've gladly paid $129. It's made me more productive--nuff said. You can find it on the web for $100. Do it.
 
I'd like labels a lot better if I had more control over the color selection. Right now it is just a small selection, but if I got a color picker like in most other programs to select the perfect color I could find using Labels a much more attractive solution.
 
One big reason to upgrade is that the Darwin kernal received a major update, currently it is at 7.2 with 10.3.2 update and BSD was also updated if I remember correctly. Kernal changes may be under the hood and invisible to users, but they are the most dramatic and affect the very heart of the way the OS runs.
 
Originally posted by beatle888
i have a second edition 667 tibook. i havent seen any speed improvements with panther except for log in. however there arent any bugs that ive had to deal with either. expose is cool but who in their right mind would pay $100+ for that? the new finder windows are nice and today i found that i can archive (zip) a file just by selecting it and choosing a menu command. all in all, i would say its not worth the money. when jag came out i said i wouldnt pay for the next upgrade...but i did...still, it isnt worth it. jag kicks as, panthers just a bit more convenient when it comes to certain things.

claims of panther being 3x faster is crazy...i guess it doesnt affect all systems the same. i would say its just as fast or maybe, MAYBE, 10% faster than jag.
Click to expand...
I think I'm in my right mind and I'd pay $100+.
:D
 
I've place an order for Panther at Amazon.com I am saving about 30 USD. I've talked to my friend told him about it and he said good as long as I don't use the 'clean " install. His advise was to install it with a new Systmes Folder. What is the difference between the two?
 
There's the archive and install method and the clean installation. The former will save all of your apps and files and preferences, but the result is often a but unstable (contrary to what Apple and some naive people claim). The clean install will erase everything on your computer and start over with a clean slate. This is a lot more stable, but a pain to execute because you have to take the time back up all of your apps, files, and prefs.
 
It took me FOREVER to move from Classic to Jaguar because I believed that the "old system works just fine." Switched and was smitten...

I had been chomping at the bit for Panther but decided to wait until the major bugs were worked out.

I bought myself Panther for the holidays (along with .mac). Must say that Expose ALONE is worth the cost...especially since I tend to use my 12 inch PB without hooking it up to my 17" monitor.

The new finder is great too.. I notice as well that this PB does not heat up as much...the fan is going alot but I kind of like that white noise..in fact, it is putting me gently to sleep...as...we...spzzzzzzzzz
 
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