Mac OS X v10.3

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• Mac_OS_X_v10.3
• Mac_OS_X_10.3_Panther
• Mac_OS_X_10.3
• Mac_OS_X_v10.3
• Mac_OS_X_v10.3
• Mac_OS_X_10.3
• Mac_OS_X_v10.3
• Mac_OS_X_v10.3

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Mac OS X v10.3 “Panther”
(Part of the Mac OS X family)
Screenshot
Screenshot of Mac OS X v10.3 “Panther”
Developer
Apple Computer
Web site: www.apple.com/support/panther/
Release information
Release date:	October 24, 2003 info
Current version:	10.3.9, April 15, 2005 info
Source model:	Closed source (with open source components)
License:	APSL and Apple EULA
Kernel type:	Hybrid kernel
Support status
Unsupported

Mac OS X version 10.3 “Panther” was the fourth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X v10.2 “Jaguar” and preceded Mac OS X v10.4 “Tiger”. Apple released Panther on October 24, 2003. The cost from Apple was US$129 for a single-user license and US$199 for a Family Pack (5-computer, 1-household) license. They also redesigned the Mac OS X Finder icon.

System requirements

Since a New World ROM is required for Mac OS X v10.3 (“Panther”), certain older computers (beige Power Mac G3s and “Wall Street” PowerBook G3s) are unable to run Panther by default. third-party software (such as XPostFacto) can override checks made during the install process; otherwise, installation or upgrades from Jaguar will fail on these older machines.

The system requirements are:^[1]

• PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor (at least 233 MHz)
• Built-in USB (indicative of a New World ROM being present)
• At least 128 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
• At least 1.5 GB of available hard disk space
• CD drive
• Internet access requires a compatible service provider; iDisk requires a .Mac account

Video conferencing requires:

• 333 MHz or faster PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
• broadband Internet access (100 kbit/s or faster)
• Compatible FireWire DV camera or web camera

New and changed features

End-user features

Apple advertised that Mac OS X v10.3 Panther had 150+ new features, including:

• Finder – Updated with a brushed-metal interface, a new real-time search engine, customizable Sidebar, secure deletion, File labels and Zip support built in. Finder logo changed.
• Fast User Switching – Allows a user to remain logged in while another user logs in
• Exposé – Helps the user manage windows by showing them all as thumbnails
• TextEdit – TextEdit now is also compatible with Microsoft Word (.doc) documents.
• Xcode Developer Tools – Faster compile times with gcc 3.3.
• Preview – Increased speed with PDF rendering
• QuickTime – Now supports the Pixlet high definition video codec

New applications in Panther

• CoreAudio – New and Audio Units
• Font Book – New application that functions as font manager
• FileVault – On the fly encryption and decryption of a user’s home folder
• iChat AV – The new version from iChat. Now with built-in Audio- and video-conferencing.
• X11 – X11 is built into Panther
• Safari - New browser made to replace Internet Explorer for Mac OS X; when the contract between Apple and Microsoft ended, it was developed. Internet Explorer for Mac was still available but not supported by Microsoft or Apple. This was included in an update on 10.2 but was used as the default browser in Panther.

Other

• Microsoft Windows interoperability improvements, including support for SecurID-based VPNs.
• Fax support built-in.

Version history

References

External links

• Apple: Mac OS X 10.3: Chart of available Mac OS software updates
• Ars Technica: Mac OS X 10.3 Panther