Apples Panther Update Treads New Ground

An advance seed of the update to Mac OS X 10.3 is now in testers' hands, and it's said to include updates to networking, graphics, FireWire, Bluetooth and more.

Apple Computer Inc. is prepping its next update to Mac OS X 10.3, aka Panther, sources said. An advance seed of the update, known as Version 10.3.5 or build 7M18, was provided to developers Thursday. Version 10.3.5 will include updates to networking, graphics, FireWire and Bluetooth, sources said. The update also will incorporate changes to OpenGL, sound, Mail and Apples Safari Web browser, the company reportedly told testers in a release note. According to developers, the 10.3.5 update also will boast improvements under the hood; the High Level Toolbox in 10.3.5 will reportedly include bug fixes to the systems HIToolbox and NavigationServices frameworks. For insights on the Mac in the enterprise, check out eWEEK.com Executive Editor Matthew Rothenbergs Weblog. Apple rolled out its most recent Panther update, Version 10.3.4, in May. The Mac maker shipped Panther, the latest major OS X upgrade, on October 24 with a single-user price tag of $129. Panther includes a redesigned Finder, iChat AV video conferencing, and a UI feature called Exposé that tiles all open windows for easy navigation. At the companys Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco from June 28 to July 2, it introduced the next major upgrade to Mac OS X Version 10.4, aka Tiger. Tiger will feature search integration as well as interface tweaks and improvements to base technologies, but wont ship until the first half of 2005. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple was not immediately available for comment. Check out eWEEK.coms Macintosh Center at http://macintosh.eweek.com for the latest news, reviews and analysis about Apple in the enterprise.

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