Mac OS X version 10.3 Panther, is the fourth major release of Apple computer's operating system Mac OS X. The previous release was called Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, and the next release is called Mac OS X version 10.4 Tiger. Apple charges $129.00 for a single-user license and $199.00 for a Family Pack (5 user, 1 household) license.

Apple released Panther on October 24th, 2003. Apple claims that Panther has at least 150 new features, including:

• Finder updated interface
  • Brushed-metal interface
  • Real-time searching (like iTunes)
  • Customizable sidebar (like iTunes)
• Fast User Switching, that allows a user to remain logged in while another user logs in feature, featuring the desktop on an animated cube (the effect is only seen on systems with Quartz Extreme). Windows XP has a similar feature without an animated cube.
• Exposé, a program to help the user manage windows, especially large numbers of them.
• Fax support built-in.
• X11 support built-in.
• TextEdit support for Microsoft Word (*.doc) documents.
• Microsoft Windows interoperability improvements, including support for SecurID-based VPNs.
• Security
  • FileVault: on the fly encryption and decryption of a user's home folder
  • Secure deletion
• Xcode Developer Tools, which speeds compile times greatly with gcc 3.3.
• iChat AV video-conferencing software
• PDF rendering speed increase
• File labels
• Pixlet high definition video codec

Version history

• Mac OS X 10.3.0 (build 7B85), released 24 October 2003
• Mac OS X 10.3.1 (build 7C107), released 10 November 2003
  • Apple Download Page (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosxupdate_10_3_1.html)
• Mac OS X 10.3.2 (build 7D24), released 17 December 2003
  • Apple KnowledgeBase Page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25652)
• Mac OS X 10.3.3 (build 7F44), released 15 March 2004
  • Apple KnowledgeBase Page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25711)
• Mac OS X 10.3.4 (build 7H63), released 26 May 2004
  • Apple KnowledgeBase Page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25764)
• Mac OS X 10.3.5 (build 7M34), released 8 August 2004
  • Apple KnowledgeBase Page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25791)
• Mac OS X 10.3.6 (build 7R28), released 5 November 2004
  • Apple KnowledgeBase Page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300080)
• Mac OS X 10.3.7 (build 7S215), released 15 December 2004
  • Apple KnowledgeBase Page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300385)
• Mac OS X 10.3.8 (build 7U16), released 9 February 2005
  • Apple KnowledgeBase Page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300569)

References

• Apple Computer, Inc. (2003). Mac OS X 10.3.2 Update: Information and Download. Retrieved December 19, 2003, from http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120288

External links

• Apple: Mac OS X Panther (http://www.apple.com/macosx/panther/)
• Apple: Mac OS X 10.3: Chart of available Mac OS software updates (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25633)
• Ars Technica: Mac OS X 10.3 Panther (http://www.arstechnica.com/reviews/003/panther/macosx-10.3-1.html)