Apple Offers Mac OS X 10.3.7 Update 457
An anonymous reader writes "MacNN reports: 'Apple has released Mac OS X 10.3.7 via the Software Update utility. Key enhancements include improved AFP support for saving documents with long file names, improved OpenGL technology and updated ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers, improved FireWire device compatibility, updated Preview application, and improved compatibility for third party applications. The 10.3.7 update is recommended for all users of Mac OS X 10.3 'Panther.' It also includes all previous standalone security updates.'"
Re:Better not install it yet (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Better not install it yet (Score:3, Insightful)
As for 10.3, see what I said to another poster in the thread.
I'm sure I'll get modded down for this
I've always believed that anyone who qualifies their statements with that line deserves to be modded into oblivion, just on principle. If you've got something to say that you believe will be unpopular, just say it -- don't try to impress us with how tough and brave you are putting your karma on the line. Or whatever.
Re:hypehypehype (Score:3, Insightful)
The ones from MS tend to be way overdue security fixes that arrive late, are quite monolithic, break shit and generally a hassle to clean up after. Hmmm, sounds like "Steve Ballmer, party guest from hell".
Halleluiah.
update "magic" (Score:3, Insightful)
I love it when people are surprised when an update works.
The whole system "got b0rked" probably because you a)didn't check the disk b)had disk errors c)didn't have journaling turned on.
I support 100+ macintoshes, and when I check the system disk first (using Diskwarrior off an external drive) and repair permissions, I have yet to have anything more dramatic than the installer not complete the install requiring a second application before rebooting the system. That happened...get ready...ONCE. We have everything from Clamshell iBooks to G3's to Dualie G5s; you name it, we've got it.
Diskwarrior is excellent insurance, and one can make a boot CD/DVD or use an iPod for booting. Wait about one day to see if there's any major problems with the update or it gets pulled. Run the checks before any update, and boom, you're good.
Network Browsing (Score:4, Insightful)
Then they go and for some reason disable that (it was the number 1 most useful 'upgrade' in Panther), to what was there before: you'd see the computer on the network, and you'd have to mount any folder you want to access...it's really annoying. They have that in the Tiger beta...hope they keep it.
Re:Extra extra(?) (Score:2, Insightful)
Install script is still stupidly written (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Better not install it yet (Score:3, Insightful)
AMEN! I can't stand that kind of preemptive whining. It's obnoxious. Only in extremely rare and egregious cases is complaining about being modded a reasonable thing to do.
Quicker (Score:4, Insightful)
I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm pretty sure I can detect a speed increase, definitely for UI responsiveness - I've got an 800 MHz iBook G3 and a 400 Mhz iMac G3 here, and both seem to have gained a certain je ne sais quoi from the update, the iMac especially.
Thank you once again, Apple, for a free speedup to my ageing iMac. It is much appreciated!
iqu
(Seriously, it is commendable, the work that seems to go into these releases. Each point release is bringing genuine improvements, such that it is quite a shock to go back to a mint 10.3 install or suchlike. This is an area where Apple really excels - making even relative relics like my iMac more usable with every new update.)
OS X.II.VII (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:How good is OS X, really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Think of everything you like about Linux.
OK, now imagine an OS with all of that plus a good desktop.
It'a as easy as that. When you get it you'll start using it, doing the things you normally do with a computer. It'll be pretty, it'll be nice. Then you'll get one of those 'itches.' Can't I write shell script to do this more efficiently? I wonder what running a Tomcat server is like? I don't want to switch out of Terminal to control iTunes...
It really is the best of both worlds.
Re:I use Panther and... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Better not install it yet (Score:5, Insightful)
Choosing not to use a type of computer because you don't like the attitude of some of its users is pretty stupid.
Re:How good is OS X, really? (Score:5, Insightful)
--You immediately jettison your obsession with malware/spyware/worms, etc. If you aren't obsessed with them on a PC, you're cruisin' for a bruisin'. And that's worth something right there.
--I don't use AppleWorks unless it's necessary. But there's a myriad of software--free, shareware and commercial--that fits the bill. BBEdit, Nisus Writer, TextEdit--it's MUCH easier to find all kinds of good quality, low-cost software for Macintosh than it is for Windows. There's a much lower ratio of trash-to-treasure on Macintosh because crap just doesn't survive very long. A trip to the Mac OS X side of Versiontracker will bear me out.
--Wireless networking is mature in Mac OS X. Acquisition of networks is easier. Configuration is easier. The antennas built into the machines get better reception than Windows machines do--and that's laptop AND desktop.
--Apple hardware purchases hold their value. This [lowendmac.com] machine is four years old. It can be had for about $800. I'd take one in a minute for running Mac OS X. But a new iBook G4 is $100 more. The used Mac market is crazy because the machines are so useful.
It's not all sunshine and roses by any stretch of the imagination. Panther Release 10.3.6 was a disaster, from what I hear. Busts FireWire. Windows-Mac networking interoperability suffers. There are the shortcomings you mentioned in your own situation. It's a balance. Since you're a knowledgeable user, you can make a more informed decision than most people. Macintosh does have its shortcomings, but everything about it is geared toward one thing: Helping you get your work done.
Good luck. Hope this helps.
Re:How good is OS X, really? (Score:1, Insightful)
iTunes takes a long time to get used to, and I started longing for my XMMS (even after adding in .ogg support)
Wow. That comment seriously blows my mind. Anybody using this poster's comment as guidance for choosing their next computer should first decide if they agree with that statement before continuing.
Damn. Prefers XMMS over iTunes. You must have some seriously decked-out XMMS over there.
Re:How good is OS X, really? (Score:4, Insightful)
But I really believe it is a next-generation UI, and is slow just like the classic Mac UI was never really snappy until the 68040 machines came out. (I'm not counting pre-System 7, because it didn't multitask).
Despite Aqua's shortcomings, it really doesn't seem to bog down the machine when it comes to raw processing. Instead, when the processor gets busy, everything still hums along at full tilt, but Aqua gets choppy.
In the meantime I still am really liking the direction that Apple is forging with OS X and the consistency of its UI across apps. Despite its sluggishness it continues to get faster with these incremental updates, and in a few years when a base system is a 3 GHz G5 with video on par with a GF6800, we'll forget about its little annoyances, just like nowadays we forget about trying to run System 7.1 on a Mac LC. Then the fruits of Apple's labour will really pay off, while we enjoy our little search boxes, cool zooming effects and drop shadows. Mac OS X will make Longhorn look clumsy, much the same way System 7's UI wiped the floor with WFW 3.11, and using OS 8 made Win 95/98 feel like a toy.
In my opinion, right now XP and Linux interfaces are nice and quick, but once I now that I've been using OS X for a few years I find other interfaces primitive, despite Aqua's sluggishness.
I know I'm rambling, but hey - since we're sharing, do you want to know what annoys the hell out of me with Windows these days? The taskbar. If you have an Office app open with multiple documents, each document gets a tile in the taskbar - even though the documents are in daughter windows (don't even get me started on that). You only need to have about 6 open windows on your screen before the taskbar becomes useless. The System Tray is never big enough to show you everything it contains (oh if only things just shrunk to fit their available space like OS X), and the Start menu which causes you to do mouse gymnastics through what is usually 3 hierarchal menus just to launch any app. (click Start, move up and to the right for "all programs", hover there for a moment, move into the list that appears on the right - but not too far or the whole thing will disappear on you, then move up or down to your app's folder, then move down past uninstall, help, readme, and click on the app! now what was i going to do with it again?) Oh, and it's also really cool when it starts hiding items from you when you haevn't used them for a little while.
Anyway -- happy computing, regardless of which platform's fruits you choose to pick.
Re:Better not install it yet (Score:3, Insightful)
Go back under your rock.
I guess you've never seen a Sun BADPATCH.
Or a withdrawn patch under HP-UX.
Or even a bad patch with OpenVMS.
Grow up. Get a clue. Bugs happen. The magic is in what the vendors *do* about it.
Re:Better not install it yet (Score:5, Insightful)
For the record, here's what I believe about Apple: they are a corporation. They have shareholders and need to cater to their shareholders like every other share-based company. However, they seem to put more work into their product than similar companies. Their computers look nice. Their computers are sturdy. Their OS is nice to use. They contribute to the Open Source community. And most important; currently they are an underdog that has to fight to convince people about their products. This makes for better products.
I hated Macs in the mid 90ies. I thought that they were buggy, childish and a pain to use. Then Jobs came along and introduced the iMac. I liked the ideas about all-USB and no disk drive, thinking "it's about time". But the OS still sucked. Big time. Then came OS X, especially in its second incarnation. Holy hell. The power of *nix AND a desktop you can look at without thinking "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood is the current #1 hit? And it plays better with Windows computers than they play among themselves?
I was convinced and dropped Linux for Mac. I am now a Mac fan, since I have so many good experiences with the Mac, Mac OS and Apple. They are very professional and that is a big issue with me. I hate having to call Dell three or four times to solve an issue that is clearly under warranty. I hate it when a computer is not ready to be used by me, its owner at any time. I hate downtime and issues. With Apple, I have had excellent customer experience, it is a robust system that has proven a catastrophic failure is easy to recover from. So easy in fact that it required three user actions (Insert disc, press command - C during start up, choose 'Archive and install') to recover and have the user settings intact, the computer settings intact, the registration on bought programs intact, everything as it should be. I did computer support for Windows around 2001, and I felt it was something wrong with the system when the callers had to wipe their harddrives to reinstall from OEM discs. This was not the way a computer should work. With the Mac I feel that it is a tool for me to use, like a hammer. Not a veteran car that needs constant attention and tuning just to fulfill its primary obejctive.
But, above all, I do not believe that Apple is perfect in any way. They ar just currently the best alternative by far.