Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) Shipping

[TommyC]

Apple.ca website

I just took a look at the apple.ca website and, according to the counter, it appears the panther release is actually getting farther away No wonder some people havent gotten it yet

from what I can make of the html/javascript source, it takes the absolute value of the difference in time so it never reaches the 0 point and stop counting. Has anyone else noticed this happening on other (apple) sites?

I know its not a big deal but I just find it funny when even big sites get messed up due to some simple mistake.

 

[Powerbook G5]

It hit zero on the US site, it just went from a countdown to "Available Now" I believe. Now, the counter is gone, of course.

 

[Noiseboy]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
It hit zero on the US site, it just went from a countdown to "Available Now" I believe. Now, the counter is gone, of course.

Yep, I was watching the counter when it changed, I hadn't actually realised that it was 8:00 pm I went to the Apple website a few seconds earlier and saw it go to Available Now.

 

[ddbean]

fast user switch bug report?

Has anyone else had a problem with the 3D effect on a 600 mhz G3 iBook? I created another user account to see how it rotates and all I get is a split second pause before other account screen shows up with no 3D effect as demoed. Is there another pref I haven't turned on? (and yes I have enable Fast User switch in log-on options.
(256 mb ram in case that matters)

 

[zync]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
I have that too, it is installed when you install Xcode because it wasn't there until I did install it at a later time. It doesn't seem to do anything and it does always list L2 as "none" and the processor as a lower speed, but Xbench reports everything is golden.

That's what it seemed like to me too...thank you...and thank you Phil for the link....I'll have to look at it...

 

[Powerbook G5]

Re: fast user switch bug report?

Originally posted by ddbean
Has anyone else had a problem with the 3D effect on a 600 mhz G3 iBook? I created another user account to see how it rotates and all I get is a split second pause before other account screen shows up with no 3D effect as demoed. Is there another pref I haven't turned on? (and yes I have enable Fast User switch in log-on options.
(256 mb ram in case that matters)

You need a newer computer with a graphics card that supports Quartz Extreme for that cube effect.

 

[ddbean]

Re: Re: fast user switch bug report?

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
You need a newer computer with a graphics card that supports Quartz Extreme for that cube effect.

Thanks for that quick response. Too bad Apple's Panther's user guide doesn't give that disclaimer when it shows that effect.

Not quite what I wanted to hear, and if Apple would actually ship all their pre-orders of Dual G5 towers I would have my new box to play with.

Guess I'll just go back to waiting...

 

[zync]

BTW some bench mark results....most trials were done 5 times....these are obviously averages...5 was decided for trials because when running Xbench each time it got faster, so I terminated testing when the result lowered again....this number was 5 so I used that in my testing...

Jaguar:

AC (High) 101.19
Batt (Auto) 85.34 (3 tests)
Batt (High) 101.49 (3 tests which probably accounts for an increase in speed compared to AC)

Panther: (all tests 5 times)

AC (High) 110.29 (one result was in the 101 range for some reason)
Batt (Auto) 92.62
Batt (High) 111.89 (hmmm actually it seems that Battery and High processor performance is actually faster, probably because of the associated heat from charging process)

Things I noticed: Panther runs about 2fps lower in OpenGL for my computer. Text display was nearly triple what it was in Jaguar (nice to see like 347 in a test ). Refresh rates in UI was much improved. Other than that not much more to note. I believe disk access was slightly faster. Memory addressing seems to be similar. I need to study the results more to know for sure so don't jump on my case In any case my computer shows around 9-10 points of change, which is definitely nice since it doesn't seem to drain my battery any more than normal. Battery life actually seems longer though I'll never end up really testing this as Xbenching this many times get's boring...nice to know my computer got more efficient

 

[groovebuster]

Re: fast user switch bug report?

Originally posted by ddbean
Has anyone else had a problem with the 3D effect on a 600 mhz G3 iBook?

My wife has the same effect on a 500MHz G3 iMac. I think it hast to do with the graphic card only having 16MB. Not enough memory on the card, so the effect is switched off. It probably needs at least 32MB of VRAM. No real bug in my opinion.

groovebuster

 

[bbanzai]

Limited Edition box?

I know some people have been reporting that they had mixed-up disks, but did anyone else get a box like this? On the back, in small print, it says, "Special Bay Area Edition" -- but I live in the Midwest!

 

[Noiseboy]

Good one.

Thats very nicely done bbanzai.

 

[speechpoet]

It's here!

FedEx weirdness... Apple sent me the shipping notice on Friday with a FedEx tracking code. FedEx.ca told me to expect it before noon Monday; by 2 p.m., I was getting antsy, and phoned them up.

They informed me it hadn't been shipped yet. Apparently, Apple will sometimes submit the waybill ahead of time to grease the skids with Customs. It didn't actually ship until Monday morning... but it was in my inbox when I came into the office today.

Nice, peppy Finder. Cool new effects (although the spinning-3D cube only happens on my primary monitor... I want my money back, dammit!). Like any OS upgrade, it was worth waiting for, and not worth getting bent out of shape over while I was waiting.

 

[zync]

I've noticed something nice about Panther on my powerbook....battery life seems MUCH improved. I've been using airport with the screen brighter than I used to before and playing music (I only use it when iPod battery is dead) since about 12:15 and it's now 2:23 and I still have 35% of my battery left....I would normally be on like 9 if I had the screen dimmed more and listened to my iPod....this makes me very happy