Yes, Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) one of those "is it worth it"
things. With Apple charging the full $129 for the upgrade, you have
to ask yourself whether it's actually a good value.
Considering that Mac OS 10.1 cost $129 also, and the same with
10.2 - can you justify spending $129 every year or so to upgrade
your operating system?
As with any OS upgrade, there will always be applications that
will break as soon as you install it. This, of course, means that
not only do you have to buy the OS, but the updated version of the
other software, assuming there is one. One of the concerns seems to
be Photoshop 7. I don't know if there will be an update to make it
fully compatible, but I believe there is an issue with the save box
being different in 10.3. These seemingly minor issues can mess up
an entire application.
Is it worth your $129?
Users of beige G3s
and WallStreet
PowerBooks can't run OS 10.3 - not that most of them probably
really mind anyway, since I find 9.2 to be the last practical OS for
these machines. But Panther does up the system requirements, and for
those looking for a "cheap" Mac just to get used to OS X, they'll
have to spend a bit more now on a blue & white G3, an iMac, a Lombard PowerBook, or an iBook.
You might also question why you really need to upgrade to OS
10.3.
What features come with 10.3? Other than a slightly changed
interface (and, by the way, you can always change OS 10.1 or 10.2 with
a theme switcher like Duality),
the only main features 10.3 offers are Exposé and the ability to
have multiple user sessions open at the same time. Unless you share
your machine, you probably aren't going to use that.
And Exposé ? I won't use it; I know that, since I tend to
have few things open at one time. To me it's one of those things you do
for show - "look at what my computer can do!" - but that isn't really
all that useful, like that new effect for switching users in 10.3 where
the desktop rotates or the "genie" effect when miniaturizing a window
in the dock.
I think I'm going to hold off on updating my system software. 10.2
works fine for now, and once I start hearing some of the bug reports in
10.3, if it's nothing too severe I might consider upgrading, especially
as new applications become available for 10.3 only.
If you need justification for upgrading, probably the best is the
new applications that will potentially become available that may not
run under 10.2. For instance, iTunes 4 won't run on OS 10.1; you must
have 10.2. In a way, you're paying for the ability to use future
software upgrades in the OS price.
And I'll bet the next version of Safari will be 10.3 only.
