Apple Mac OS X 10.3 Panther

The good: Includes new Finder features; more network standards supported; improved Active Directory support; real-time search utility; fast user switching.

The bad: Finder has a darker, heavier look; inconsistent file sharing; unstable networking; has lost several features, including the Internet preference pane.

The bottom line: Panther adds new and useful features, but at the expense of some old standbys. Current Jaguar users need not apply.

While Microsoft continues to receive criticism for delaying Longhorn, the next version of Windows, Apple keeps churning out annual updates of Mac OS X. Unfortunately, these updates aren't free--nor is the latest, Mac OS X 10.3 a.k.a. Panther, the must-have upgrade that last year's Jaguar was. Many of Panther's changes to the Finder seem motivated more by fashion than by usability, and although Apple lists 150 new features in Panther, others have disappeared. Along with advances in compatibility with Windows networks come problems in their implementation and interface. Until Apple works out these quirks, we can't recommend this version of Panther to users of Macs on enterprise networks. And if you are a home user with Jaguar, we suggest holding on to it in anticipation of next year's Mac OS X update.