Mac OS X Server Unlimited

The first thing you will notice is how responsive the system is. Upgrades have a tendency to be slower than old releases but Panther is a lot faster. Apps launch faster. The new Finder is blindingly fast compared to 10.2.

The Finder is also very functional, with several nice interface improvements, including the side navigation bar, colour labels, and an optional "details" line under files telling you things it is useful to know, like how big a picture is or how many files a folder contains.

The improvements to Mail, including a huge increase in speed, proper topic threads (actually the best handling of threads I've seen), clever address handling and a sharper interface are a treat to use. The Address Book also gets an overhaul with easier editing. The always-available iDisk, with a local copy kept synchronised with your actual iDisk, is a nice usability improvement.

Expose, which allows you to see all your open windows or your files on your desktop, is also useful, especially since I can now drag things straight off the desktop and into Mail without rearranging all my windows!

One feature I was very pleased about and doesn't seem to have been advertised by Apple is the new journaled file system. For the non-technically minded, it means less likelihood of losing your files during a power glitch, and faster booting.

Overall, I am very impressed. Well worth the price.


OS X Panther - not so scary as I thought!   April 22, 2004
23 out of 23 found this review helpful

I am a great believer in "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!", and have beenworrying about upgrading from OS X 10.1.5 to Panther for some time. Thelast upgrade I did was when I bought a new Mac two and a half years agoand made the massive jump from OS 7.5 to OS X. It was a major bother andtook a lot of time to get it to work the way I wanted it to and to sortout all my internet settings. I expected similar problems in the latestupgrade - but they didn't happen!
It wasn't entirely straightforward, though. The screen display didn'twork exactly the way the documentation said it would - in particular, thescreen which gave you the option of preserving all your existing settingsnever appeared. That's a heart-sinking thing to happen when you are nearthe start of the installation and can't get out of it. However, at theend of it everything (nearly) was as it should be be. Big relief!
A few problems: There was a flaw in my second installation disk whichcaused the installation of the extra software to stop. It turned out toaffect iTunes. I could have fussed and got another disk, but it wasquicker and easier to get this as a download from the internet. All therest of the disk could be installed by choosing just the bits Iwanted.
The second problem was that a modem setting had changed which prevented meaccessing the internet afterwards. I use an external modem and it kepttelling me that there wasn't any such device. This is something I had metbefore when I started to use the external modem so I knew how to fix it. If I hadn't come across it before, I would have had to phone Apple support- it wasn't an obvious thing. It prevented me from registering thesoftware - the registration form has disappeared into the computer'sinnards and I haven't found it again yet!
There is also a problem with Safari importing your bookmarks from otherbrowsers. It will import them automatically on first start-up fromExplorer or Navigator - but it wouldn't do it from both! It transferredmy old Explorer (which I no longer use) bookmarks, but not Navigator's. Transferring them by hand was severely tedious.
That apart, I really like the new operating system. I like Safari, and Ilike the improved version of Mail. The new system is satisfyingly likethe old one, but with neat additions which operate intuitively. At theeveryday level, you aren't having to learn anything significantly new. There is probably lots there that I haven't found yet, but what I reallyneed works easily. It also seems to me to be faster - certainly bootingthe system up from cold seems to happen a lot more quickly. Even giventhe problems I had, I definitely recommend the upgrade.


Best OS in the world...period   May 19, 2004
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

I am a recent convert from PCs to Macs. I had been using PCs for ten years, but a few months ago I had just had enough. I knew very little about the Mac, but after a little research I was convinced. Before leaving PCs behind, I was using Windows XP. What a disaster that is at the moment. Thirty or forty patches through windows update, and still crashing too often. As for Panther, it is just wonderful. The start up time can not be beaten. Multi tasking is a dream. Yesterday I had seven programs running and the Mac wasn't breaking a sweat. More than two or three programs on the PC, and you think it is going to blow up. The fast user switching is FAST, and a wonderful feature if you share your Mac, and as for Expose, I'm not sure how I lived without it. I have virtually filled my 80GB hard drive with video, music and tons of applications, and the OS still performs as well as the day I installed it. Put this wonderful OS together with iLife 04 and Office 2004 for Mac, which looks great, and you have the best computing platform available. By the way, been using Panther for 3 months. It's NEVER crashed!


Well named   March 13, 2004
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

It's fast, it's sleek, it's colourful and it has some growl; just like a real panther. This latest operating system from the Apple orchard is truly scrumptious. It has been put together so well that I feel I've been using it for years, and I've only had it two days. Pleased with the Mac OS 10.1.5 package, I am amazed at the difference. It's like buying a brand new computer. Only recently persuaded to up-date I really am delighted I decided to do so. Amazon gave me the best deal I could find on the internet and delivered it with impressive speed. Installation proved painless taking circa 2 hours using clean installation and choosing to save all my previous input. Best 2 hours I've spent recently. Everything works! I think Apple are seriously underplaying their achievements here. You actually do get what it says on the label and much, much more besides. And all this comes with enhanced speed, colour and sound. If you are a Mac owner and haven't already bought and installed Panther, DO SO!!!! That's the best piece of advice I can give. If you are not a Mac owner, please try and have a nice day.


Just when I thought it couldn't any better   January 6, 2004
Mr R P Tizzard (Canvey Island, Essex United Kingdom)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful

I've had my i-mac for two years running osx 10.1 and could not fault the os in any I still can't understand why so many people still use windows when their life could be so much easier...I decided to upgrade to panther when i got my i-pod at christmas.As it comes with the new i-sync software.I went for the straight upgrade keeping all my old programs and software.It did take about 2 hours to load.But what a diffrence it runs a lot quicker.It also sorted out all my ADSL problems I had with my modem it's made my broadband conection a lot Quicker. I would highly recommend Panther to anyone running 10.1
like myself.It's like owning a New Mac.....