Editorial: To whom it may concern By David Leishman dleishman@maccentral.com
My update to Mac OS X 10.3.3 via the Update Combo went just fine, thanks.
That’s likely more important to me than to you, but I offer it as another data point for Panther users who are considering whether to apply the update. There are, of course, more in-depth sources for pertinent information, which I’ll get to in just a second.
First, though, I recommend John Siracusa’s review and Macworld’s ” Peek at Panther ” to current OS X users who haven’t migrated to “the big cat” — they may lead you to finally take the plunge. As Mr. Siracusa notes, “Fast User Switching, Exposé, the Unix changes, and the comprehensive performance improvements make Panther a more significant OS update than Jaguar…If you use Mac OS X every day, you owe it to yourself to upgrade to Panther.”
Now, back to those of you who have already done so…
MacInTouch and xlr8yourmac feature extensive, unedited reader reports on the update experience, while MacFixit categorizes and comments on areas of concern. To summarize broadly, most contributors have enjoyed a trouble-free update, but there are a few isolated problems for some users, especially surrounding USB devices and Acard IDE Cards.
The worst overall comment about the update comes from As the Apple Turns, which refers to it as a “Sack of Bland,” but even they note, “this is a point release, after all, and they’re not supposed to be exciting.”
Actually, though, 10.3.3 has caused quite a bit of excitement among network-centric Mac users. MacWindows entitled its March 18th report “Mac OS X 10.3.3 may be “Panther 1.0″ for cross-platform issues,” and its readers’ contributions are generally lavish in their praise of improved file sharing via Windows networks using SMB/CIFS, and increased Outlook compatibility.
And one contributor to Slashdot’s update thread, noting that active servers are now available in the Finder sidebar and desktop, proclaimed “10.3 Finder’s Network Browser now seems to be finished.” This may be an overstatement, but it goes to show that one person’s “bland” can be another’s “wowee.”
So, when judging the prospective benefits of the update, it comes down to specifics. The cross-platform folks like the network changes. Christopher Breen, of Mac 911 fame, appreciates the new permissions safeguard, and many Web commenters think 10.3.3 is a speed improvement.
I’m not seeing a big speed boost on my machine, except when I move an item to the trash via a contextual menu — the previously annoying one-to-two second delay is now reduced to a blink. It may not be much, but combined with the fact that all my digital audio apps seem to work just fine, it’s enough to make me smile.
Apple News
Apple releases Mac OS X v10.3.3
Apple on Monday released Mac OS X v10.3.3, the latest update to the “Panther” operating system. Specific changes include the ability to see network volumes both in the Finder sidebar and on the Desktop; improved filesharing and directory services for Mac (through AFP), Unix (through NFS) and PC (through SMB/CIFS) networks; improved PostScript and USB-based printing; updated Disk Utility, DVD Player, Image Capture, Mail and Safari applications; and additional support for FireWire and USB devices.
iTunes hits the 50 million song mark
Apple unveils Spoken Interface for blind OS X users
Apple updates DVD Studio Pro to v2.0.5
iPod imitator vanishes amidst Apple legal pressure
Apple offers G5 Fan Control Update for Jaguar users
New ADC Reference Library integrates tech. resources
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Hardware News
Eastman Kodak Co. announced the Stereoscopic Imaging Display, a new 3D display system aimed at gamers, engineers, scientists and others who benefit from 3D visualization tools. The system creates a 3D image using two separate high-res LCD displays, and provides users with a 45 by 36 degree field of view and a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels.
Olympus intros C-60 Zoom and D-395 digital cameras
SimpleTech offers 400GB FireWire/USB ‘SimpleDrive’
Epson PowerLite S1+ projector debuts
Lexar offers new JumpDrive flash media drives
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Software News
Microsoft unveils several Office 2004 features
Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit on Tuesday unveiled several features from the upcoming release of Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac. Posted as a Flash demo on the company’s Web site, Episode 1 of an ongoing series highlights several previously announced features, and others that are being shown for the first time, such as three-column view and junk e-mail protection in Entourage.
BlogStudio updated with AAC support, more
Nanosaur II discount to .Mac members, more
Quark restructures, expands QuarkAlliance program
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Around the Web
Indie-only AudioLunchbox.com serves DRM-free music
Fans of independent label music have a new resource to turn to, AudioLunchbox.com. Since it launched last Halloween, the indie-only online music download service has gone from 17,000 to almost 90,000 tracks and will expand even further in the next couple of months. The company’s co-founder and CEO talks about its Digital Rights Management-free approach and more.
IBM to present “unique look” at POWER chip architecture
Are you talking to me? Speech on Mac OS X
Happy 10th birthday, Power Mac!
Speed meets feed in download tool
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