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Panther vs. Tiger

kammron

kammron

macrumors 6502
Original poster
what big differences are there between OS X 10.4 and OS X 10.3.9?
i bought an eMac and its running panther.
should i go tiger?
 
Spotlight and Dashboard are both huge for my daily workflow. After 10.3 came out, whenever I used a computer that didn't have Expose, I felt naked... its kind of the same way with 10.4 now.
 
I think the jump from Jaguar to Panther was essential, as in I would always recommend that those who could upgrade from 10.2->10.3 do so. Tiger is a less essential upgrade. That said, I really like Spotlight and Dashboard, and I personally feel a little annoyed when I use a Panther machine that doesn't have them. For that reason, I would say it's a recommended update, but not absolutely essential.
 
While the new features that you see (Dashboard, Spotlight, etc) are very nice, the under-the-hood fixes are what really makes the OS worth it to me.
 
I think Tiger is essential for the experience. I had it, couldn't use it anymore, had to go back to 10.1, hate it...and ordered a student copy of Tiger. I can't go without Dashboard, Spotlight, and especially expose anymore. Tiger is just an OS that makes my workflow THAT much more efficient. I never though software could do that, but oh yes..it does.

Especially for an eMac. We have eMacs and school with Tiger, and the whole experience is smooth and nice!
 
I intitially had Panther on my G4 Powerbook, and I loved it. I was used to Jaguar on a G3 so I was in heaven. I then upgraded to Tiger and I swear it seems a tad slower. I really have no use for Dashboard or Spotlight, and if I could I'd go back to Panther.
 
With 512mb of ram Panther will run a bit smoother than Tiger.

If you want to use the slew of user interface enhancements then move to Tiger, if you aren't a power user and you are comfortable with Panther then don't upgrade.

Either way the eMac is a good machine for web browsing and day to day stuff.

If you decide to upgrade to more RAM then you should certainly upgrade to Tiger at the same time.
 
kammron said:
what big differences are there between OS X 10.4 and OS X 10.3.9?
i bought an eMac and its running panther.
should i go tiger?
Click to expand...
There is something you can only do in tiger.
here is a list
- build-in dictionary [panther doesn't, tiger system wide build that in, since i am not native and need dictionary a lot]
- up to dated safari [not necessary faster than the one in Panther]
- Spotlight search [it is good but inmature]
- search in Keychain [save me time on looking for one by one with my poor eye]
- swithc cpu perfomrance setting [for laptop user, it is convenient]
- better finder i think, finder in panther bugs left in unfix(like icon bug)

list of bad in tiger
- backlight brightless issue still existing in iBook
- QT 7 is dog slow and buggy, forget the H264, it is cpu desperated
- larger system fonts, kinda user up space
- dashbord widget over use memory, worse than konfabulator
- overall it is a bit slow, for none core-image support mac, those apps opitism for core-image runs crappy
 
ill probably stick with panther.
sounds like for day to day use i dont NEED tiger.
the look and feel is mainly the same,
and thats mainly what i want.
 
the performance increase alone is worth the upgrade. don't listen to anyone who says differnt Tiger is so much better than panther.
 
I use Tiger on my main (work) laptop, but still have Panther on my home laptops. I don't really find anything essential that I'm missing on my Panther machines. I'm not a big Spotlight user. Dashboard in nice to have, but I got along just fine before it existed, and I get along fine without it on my Panther computers. Yes, Tiger is better, but upgrading just isn't a high priority for me.
 
WildCowboy said:
Dashboard in nice to have, but I got along just fine before it existed...
Click to expand...
Couldn't we say the same thing about computers in general? The fact that people "get along fine without it" doesn't really tell us much. If you'll take the time and effort to integrate these features into your workflow, the upgrade will be well-worth your money.
 
Heb1228 said:
Couldn't we say the same thing about computers in general? The fact that people "get along fine without it" doesn't really tell us much. If you'll take the time and effort to integrate these features into your workflow, the upgrade will be well-worth your money.
Click to expand...

Sure...all I really mean to say is that there's nothing in Tiger that I personally have found to be a "must have." I don't really feel like there's anything missing when I go back to my Panther machines, which is why I haven't upgraded them. Others may feel differently...I can only offer my own views.
 
1. If you are a programmer, Tiger is a must-have, since this is the only OS that supports Xcode 2.0 and above, which means that it's the only way to use GCC 4.0
2.I find Tiger to be faster that Panther in terms of User Interface Speed.
3.Spotlight. I just can't live without the top-right icon in my system. It saves me a lot of time searching my HD to open an application I need.
3.Personnaly, I find dashboard to be completely useless for me
4.For the gamer, it has updated openGL drivers. Games will run faster.
5.Burn folders. It is an extension to spotlight, and I also find them useful.

As you can see, spotlight is a must-have for the average user. For the power-user, Tiger is a must-have because most of the changes are made under-the-hood. For example, media applications and proffessional sound programs will benefit from the changes made to Tiger's OpenAL and Core features.

I think 10.4 is worth the price. On the other hand, if all you do with your Mac is write documents, or just keep it for hearing music, you don't need to upgrade.
 
Ever try networking Panther with a Windows environment or JUST one Windows machien? It's a bitch and a half. They fixed this in Tiger. Jaguar had pretty smooth networking, but they broke it with Panther, and fixed it with Tiger.

Tiger, as mentioned before, is also faster than PAnther. You will notice this onj every version of OS X. The enxt version is just a bit more faster than the last.

Tiger is beautiful..
 
Quicktime slow as heck

ke2000 said:
list of bad in tiger
- QT 7 is dog slow and buggy, forget the H264, it is cpu desperated
Click to expand...

I'v been using the Quicktime 7 for a while now - I agree QT is slow, what is with that?! The Apple team need to look through x264, cos that with VLC is smacking the crap out of Quicktime on my Dual 2GHz G5.
 
Its a good upgrade, not as good as 10.2-3 but still good. 512mb ram is an absolute must though, I'm currently running on 256mb ram (saving up for 512, cant afford it right at the mo with college) and I can't even use Dashboard it's just to slow.
 
theres a place called memory express near me that sells 512 kingston sticks for 50$
ill pick one of them up fr a gig total.
so if i do get tiger it'll run good.🙂
 
kammron said:
theres a place called memory express near me that sells 512 kingston sticks for 50$
ill pick one of them up fr a gig total.
so if i do get tiger it'll run good.🙂
Click to expand...
Don't buy cheap memory. You're asking for kernel panics.
 
I have moved all my Macs to Tiger. The Panther hold over was my 15" Al PB and I did the clean install of Tiger on that machine last year. I think Tiger is stable now at 10.4.5. The initial reason I did not move all my Mac to Tiger was there were some bugs which are normal for earlier editions. I cannot go back to Panther anymore as I am satisfied with Tiger's extra features over Panther.
 
If you wait until the next version, you may get 400+ new features for the price of a single upgrade. Personally, I upgrade the day it is out. Upgraded each version from 10.0 to 10.4 and always on the first release date. Tiger has been the fastest version for me (same hardware).
 
ill wait till 10.5 just cause i dont think ill need all the new features.
if i was going from using panther all the time im sure id want tiger,
but im coming from OS 9...and windows...
so panther will get the job done for me at the moment.
 
My iBook G4 1.2ghz laptop is running Panther with zero problems. I upgraded memory to 768mb and I can run a ton of apps without lag. I want to upgrade to Tiger (the dashboard seems useful along with expose), but would rather wait and see what Leopard brings.

The only thing I am missing is internal bluetooth which I hope to do soon =P
 
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