[meancode]

Before I installed Panther I used my .Mac account to iSync all my important stuff. I really like having a .Mac account. That is a separate post in itself though (I got a .Mac account when I got my new PowerBook).
I performed a archive and install of Panther. It is now up to 3 discs, plus the developer tools CD. I just performed a clean install of Jaguar a week ago so I don't even have my Palm sync'ing software installed or anything. Archive and install just means I don't have to go through the setup and account creation process.
For some reason I had to reinstall Dreamweaver MX 2004. I found out in doing this about the new online licensing scheme Macromedia uses. I had to call Macromedia to be able to install DW again, and the tech. told me how to "release" the license from my computer. How fun. I will have to post about this later.
None of my other software needed reinstalling. As a matter of fact all of my other software worked just great. This is more then I can say about when I first installed Jaguar. I remember a good half dozen of my apps not working and needing updates to work in Jaguar. Apple has been doing better lately about breaking applications on their dot dot releases, and it is nice to see the Panther install did not break any apps. (Dreamweaver MX 2004 works just fine after I reinstalled it.)
I installed the Palm Desktop software, and the iSync Conduit, and my Tungsten T2 sync'd just fine.
There is one feature of Panther you will not see on the Mac OS X page of Apple.com that I am so happy about. I would have to say it is the best new features of Panther.
To appreciate this, you have to appreciate the Save dialog box in Windows. I know, this might be a stretch for some, but stay with me here. In a Windows save dialog if you want to save over a file you select the file name, and your "untitled.gif" or whatever becomes the name of the file you wish to overwrite. So far, on the Mac OS, you have to type the name, exactly, then Save and click Replace. It has always been far easier in Windows to just click the name of the file, click Save, and click Replace. This is one thing I have never understood about the Mac OS. I am glad to say that you can now do this same thing in Panther. The files are grayed out, but if you click on a file name in the Save Dialog, your "untitled" document will change to the file you want to overwrite. I cannot express how much of a time saver this is, not to have to type the name of the document I want to overwrite. This is such a time saver, especially when creating GIF or JPEG files for a web site.
Now if the Finder windows could get resize handles like the Explorer in Windows. Maybe in 10.4.
Beyond the other very nice features of Panther, that new Save behavior in Panther is one of my top 5 new features I see in Panther. Why? Because it is a time saver.
Another top 5 feature for Panther is the new Open/Save Dialog which is thanks to the new Finder. I never quite understood why in OS 9 you had List View in the Open/Save Dialog, and when we came to OS X only Column view was available. Panther adds to the ability to use List View to also the new Places column on the left, something the Finder has needed for a while now.
This is, of course, a reoccurring question of mine: Why is it that major new features in 10.1, 10.2, and now 10.3 are all features that I had grown very used to using in Mac OS 9. For Panther, we now have Labels support again (of course this meta data was always there, the OS X Finder just did not recognize it. If you used Labels X from Unsanity or the wonderful Finder replacement Path Finder from CocoaTech you could still see all your Labels and continue on with your normal Labeled world).
In earlier versions of OS X, Apple made it impossible for 3rd party software to use the CommandTab keyboard shortcut. So to get anything close to the new "Heads Up Application Switcher" in Panther, you needed to use, say, the Shift Key as well, so ShiftCommand+Tab. I never understood this. But Panther does now have a very nice way to switch applications. Once again, a feature that Windows has had for eons. It is about time OS X had this. This new Application Switcher is another one of the best Panther additions because it saves time, Switching applications using the Dock (a la Jaguar) was not the best solution.
Printing is much improved in Panther, even more so then the huge improvements in Jaguar. I have an HP 6127 ink jet printer. In Jaguar I could not perform all the calibration and maintenance tasks I could, in say, OS 9. Not even after installing the HP DeskJet software in Jaguar. After installing Panther, with no additional HP software, I am able to do all the maintenance tasks, settings, calibrations, etc, for my Printer. There is even a button in the Printer UI to bring up the printer's web based interface. This is very nice.
Expose is also such a nice time saving feature, it is on my list of the top features of Panther. The really great thing is being able to set the fn key on the laptops to show All Windows. I don't use the fn key for anything else, so being able to set it is great (Since to use a F Key on a laptop you have to use the fn key anyways).
So that turns out to be six. So my top six features of Panther are, in no particular order:
Save Dialog Enhancements
New Finder/New Open/Save Dialog
Labels
Application Switcher
Printing
Expose
My only complaint with Panther is AppleShare. Connecting to our AppleTalk network on campus is something of a mystery to me in Panther. Our University has over 100 AppleTalk zones setup. In Panther I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get to them. I can see our root AppleTalk domains, such as <em>bgsu.edu</em> and cs.bgsu.edu, and SMB shares in the area, but I do not see the long list of AppleTalk zones we have on campus. If I want to get to our Student Publications server, which is physically sitting next to me right now, I cannot find it in the Network window of the Finder, even though it is the current AppleTalk zone. I have to connect to it using its DNS name or IP address. I just do not understand this at all, and am not happy with it at all.
There are so many more improvements in Panther that I want to write about, but not in this article. There are enhancements all around the System Preferences, Mail is a lot nicer. I will have a forthcoming article on other improvements that I find helpful.
But for now, I will dig for more new time saving features.
This is from my Breaking Windows Blog

[AKS9]

I'm loving Panther. I haven't explored it much, and don't yet dare to try out any of my 3rd party utilities and hacks until official 10.3 versions come out, but so far everything is great.
System Prefs crashed twice on my in the screensaver section, and it shows a message asking you whether you want to send a bug report to apple, and you can write a description of what you were doing at the time and see the crash report underneath.
Anyway, the crash happened twice in a row so I tried taking my custom screensavers out of their folder in the library, and everything works now. One of the screensavers isnt compatible with 10.3, but I never used them anyway.
Only complaint is the font 'helevetica' seems to have changed... fonts on the desktop look different, and also in iChat (which is still set to 'helevetica') and the font in the address bar in Safari.
Gonna explore more panther now /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Nobody]

It freaking rocks, I have installed it on 5 macs so far all without a hitch. I even had one powerbook loose battery power mid install and I thought I would be hosed because I really wanted to keep all my settings. Panther just created a 2nd previous system folder and I was able to recover all the settings I wanted. OS X is just too cool /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Grant_G]

Mine came this morning as expected, between 9 and 9:30 a.m. Line #1 on my FedEx guy's sig list -- we even joked about it.
Just getting started with it now, but so far all is well and I'm loving it. I see very little difference in the main desktop window, but Finder windows are a lot different. Clicking the expand button made mine smaller though, not larger. I guess to see the view Apple has advertised, one must expand it manually. Desktop icons look the same until you click on one, then it's altogether different. Also, my second partition has its name highlighted for some reason, although it isn't clicked on. It has OS 9 on it. The book says to turn on Expos in its preference window, but there's no check box for it. Just the F keys to use, and screen saver corners (why in Expos?)
I will do more exploring and report back. Oh, BTW I used archive and install and everything, ISP settings, Home folder, etc., all came back fine.
G

[digedit]

In reply to:

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The files are grayed out, but if you click on a file name in the Save Dialog, your "untitled" document will change to the file you want to overwrite. I cannot express how much of a time saver this is, not to have to type the name of the document I want to overwrite. This is such a time saver, especially when creating GIF or JPEG files for a web site.

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YES !! I agree with you completely. This was one of the absolute most annoying things about the Mac to me. I have to do that type of thing alot and it really burned me to have to retype every file name every time. I'm glad they finally borrowed that behavior, it'll be a huge timesaver for me too ! Does it also let you do file maintenance like copy, paste, rename and such from the open/save dialog box ? That's another feature in Windows that I often appreciate when doing a lot of file maintenance chores.
I actually wasn't going to upgrade to Panther right away but if they made more of these type of improvements I just might have to. Again, I agree about the importance of the file open-save dialog box, that one little feature will save me much more time than something flashy like expose.

[TomMacs]

I only have to say that I'm not to keen on the idea of removing the clock. Other then that it's great, but the fact that the "dock" clock is missing makes me rather disappointed with Panther.

[Grant_G]

What Dock clock? I never had a clock in the dock. Oh well, the one in the menu bar keeps right on clicking the seconds off, as if I needed any reminder that I'm getting older. One REALLY big innovation is in mail.app: It uses Safari's rendering engine, so HTML comes through really FAST. Love it!
G

[stuartpurple]

Little app in the Applications Folder called Clock in Jaguar. When opened, displays the time and date or time only in analogue view. The second hand ticks too.

[RonAnnArbor]

/forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gifWell how about that! An app in Jaguar that none of us even knew existed, but one of us has already compained about missing!
One man's dock icons are another man's unknown world...
Installed Panther this morning -- works like a charm -- 25 minute upgrade procedure and everything works!...
The new finder update is enough for me to be happy!

[iloveitaly]

I just had a thought........
All programs work in 10.3 as they did in 10.2, right?
clock.app, is a another app right?
why cant u just use the jag clock app on 10.3
Also just another thought, the finder used in os x.2 is a program too right?
mayeb you could use the jag finder in panther, just for kicks. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[griffman]

Clock does, indeed, work from Jaguar in Panther. So if you want it, save it /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
-rob.

[VeggieBeefcake]

In reply to:

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What Dock clock?

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Are you telling me you didn't have the public beta? Originally, the dock clock was the ONLY clock (no clock in the upper right).

[sjc1204]

I was actually planning to buy a new Powerbook or maybe one of the new G4 iBooks but, after installing Panther, I feel like I have a new Powerbook. Everything really snaps and the graphics seem to have improved. I guess I'll wait a year.
Powerbook G4 400 MHz / 768 MB RAM / 40 GB 5400 RPM HD

[pdrayton]

Lol! The first thing I found on my Mac when I switched was the clock, and the first thing I looked for after loading Panther was the clock! Quick search found it in archive and I simply dragged it to Applications in finder.
I use the clock to hide the "Macintosh HD" icon on my desktop. I'm a newbie... what happens if I drag that icon to the trash? It's driving me crazy!
First impressions of Panther: Did archive and install while saving user preferences... worked like a charm (All my settings stayed the same except for some Buddy preferences [voice notification of buddies coming online] in iChat). Finder is an excellent improvement... now the Mac organizational structure makes even more sense to me and sooooooo much easier to quickly find things. Searching in help is lightyears faster. Expose is cool and very useful. The save dialog box is an improvement. Simplified user switching is really impressive. Both a time saver and something cool to do just for the heck of it! Smooth scrolling is a nice touch... not really needed, but nice.
Also, my Energy Saver settings are the same, but my battery life has improved tremendously. I'm getting over 4 hours of battery life while using multiple applications and web surfing continuously (Bluetooth is turned off, screen brightness is toned down about 1/3, processor turned down, and HD NOT set to go to sleep whenever possible). Previously I was getting 3 - 3.5 hours of battery life.
One drawback I've found with Panther... due to the new user switching technique the name of the user appears in the top right (status bar? menu bar? The same line that the blue apple is on!) and takes up lots of room, which means my WeatherPop info and iChatAV status info isn't visible. I've had to condense my "time" to analog (fortunately, I still have "Clock" application running!), the power indicator to just showing charge or battery (and eliminate info on how much battery is charged & how much time I have remaining). That top menu/status bar is now too full! Anyway to remedy this situation?
Overall, I'm rather stunned that there are so many improvements while keeping the OS very similar to Jaguar. It actually feels like there wasn't a change... just lots of very thoughtful and helpful enhancements.
I like Panther, and highly recommend it.