Mini Panther Review 2
A couple things I didn’t mention about Panther that I should have: Networking, Command-Tab interface, and Expose. First, OS 10.3 brings back to the Mac first generation samba network browsing integrated into the Finder. I say first generation because it’s not without flaws. I browsed to a server this morning and even though I did not “Connect” to it as you do when you use the connect to server menu option, the operating system treated it as if I had. This was fine until I pulled the LAN plug. After a few minutes the OS pops up a message saying it can’t access the network computer. Click Disconnect (twice! what the heck?) and the message pops up again a few seconds later. It was very annoying. The Connect-to-Server interface also was updated a little.
The Command-Tab interface has been around a long time but 10.3 adds some cool features to this function of the OS. Quickly hitting Cmd-Tab switches apps. Hold down the keys and a cool overlay pops up. Now, with the command key still depressed, press ‘Q’ to quit the app selected. Nice! I’m not sure if it does anything else, but it’s pretty cool!
Expose is the feature I was most skeptical of in all the hoop-la building up to Panther’s release. However, after using it for a few days, I’m thinking, how did I live without it? On a small screen, such as a 12″ Powerbook or even my 14″ ibook, it lets you find the window you want quickly and with a lot fewer clicks. Fewer clicks equals more speed in moving around the OS, which is always a good thing!
So far, I really like the major update. There are lots of cool new features to play with, and for a computer geek, there’s not much that is better than that!
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