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PC Mag Gives Panther 5-Star Rating

Posted by pudge on from the but-it-runs-really-slow-on-a-pentium dept.

Cycline3 writes "The subject says it all. PC Mag gave the big black cat a five-out-of-five star rating. I really like Panther, but I never would have imagined that this would happen. Pretty cool. PC users take note!"

13 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. you never? by rritterson · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The poster must not be a big reader of pc mag.

    PC Mag has been giving good reviews to apple products for a long time. Here is a link to a review of 10.1 (4/5 stars).

    I also don't understand the surprise. What would a PC user find wrong with a mac? It's similar enough to windows to be usuable. I don't use apples because I don't like the lack of 3rd party hardware and the more limited upgradability. There is nothing wrong with the OS.

    --
    -Ryan
    AUWYHSTOT (Acronyms are Useless When You Have to Spell Them Out Too)
    1. Re:you never? by Bastian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A lot of PC users I have worked with are extremely resistant to using Mac OS machines. It's better with OS X than it is with OS 9 and earlier, but most of the average users I know are threatened by things like the lack of a Start menu and a Windows-style taskbar. Once I've shown them the ropes and explained all the Mac OS equivalents, they get a lot more comfortable.

      Regardless, I've noticed that the defining feature of a great number of computer users is that they freeze up in the face of anything new or different. I imagine it's the same mechanism that gave rise to those interesting statistics about how Windows 3.1 users learned Windows 95 more slowly than people who were just learning to use a computer.

      So all in all, I gotta say that there is one huge glaring thing that a lot of PC users find wrong with Macs: they aren't PCs.

    2. Re:you never? by edalytical · · Score: 3, Insightful
      I meant third-party cases and motherboards
      Why what's wrong with Mac cases? My G4 case, as you know, has a fold down side making upgrades and repairs that mush easier. It also has a place for a pad lock, to keep your ram safe from a would be thief, plus it has an area to attach a cable that will lock the entire computer to something. And don't forget the ever helpful handles. I just wish the G5 case also folded down, oh well, it looks like it's still easy to get inside of.

      Maybe I'm being ignorant, but what's stopping you from using another case?

      What would you gain from using a different logic board?
      --
      Win a signed Stephen Carpenter ESP Guitar from the Deftones: http://def-tag.com/?r=0008781
    3. Re:you never? by proj_2501 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      i think PCI sound boards will become a thing of the past.

      the future is USB audio/MIDI interfaces for those who don't need ridiculously low latency and FireWire audio/MIDI interfaces for those that do. even digidesign makes outboard pro tools systems

  2. Re:then what's the point of having the 5th star? by Bastian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Really, how many operating systems have you used that didn't have known problems/issues?

  3. My Experience... by blackmonday · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've been using Panther for a little less than a week and it's been bliss. Seriously, neither Windows XP or any Linux distro I've ever tried can touch Panther in terms of usability. It's very slick and polished, and blows even Jaguar away with lots of refinements in networking, the aqua GUI, and expose, the feature most likelt to be copied my MS when longhorn comes out.

    The complainers will be the loudest of the bunch, and yes there are a few kinks. But note the firewire problem was an issue with the hardware chipset, not apple's programming. Obviously people like me, the happy ones are not going to get the headlines.

  4. Written before the big problems surfaced? by Zhe+Mappel · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Magazines have lead times, so it wouldn't be unusual for PC Mag to have evaluated Panther before the lethal firewire and File Vault munching issues became apparent. Perhaps tellingly, the review has such a generic feel that it's not even apparent that PC Mag tried Panther; the piece reads like a regurgitated press release.

    Minus two glaring faults that affect only certain users, Panther looks very good. And Apple will resolve the problems, albeit tardily. But the bottom line is: when you're costing people data loss, do you deserve a 100% rating.

  5. reviews... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful
    ...and CNET gave it a 6.8 out of 10. (here) Like most things in life, reviews are all about what you're looking for and what things are important to you. Read as many as possible.

    As for my review... I can't imagine life without it... using Preview this past weekend must have saved me and my fiancee a few hours searching through loads of PDF annual reports. -Rob

  6. Monopoly hardware... by Cpt_Corelli · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I would be happy to use OS X on intel / AMD based hardware. In many ways I like it more than Windows XP.

    What I don't like is the fact that Apple is the sole manufacturer of the hardware required to run the OS. Monopolies tend to create weird pricing and reduce innovation. It still seems to be a fact that Apple hardware price/performance ratio is poor compared to intel/amd-based hardware (but let's not go deeper into that dark alley again).

    1. Re:Monopoly hardware... by Demolition · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What I don't like is the fact that Apple is the sole manufacturer of the hardware required to run the OS. Monopolies tend to create weird pricing and reduce innovation.

      Well, I'll concede that Apple's pricing is unappealing, but you must be thinking of some other company (*cough*Microsoft*cough*) when you mention "reduce[d] innovation". I think that even the most strident Apple-hater would agree that Apple's is innovative.

      D.

  7. 5 stars Compared to what? by Andy_R · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If they gave Windows ME 4 and a half stars, then this is the minimum they could give to Panther.

    If they gave Windows 2000 Professional 1 star, then 5 for Panther is a an absurdly high rating.

    If their ratings are based on this being $129 for an upgrade from 10.$lastversion it's a quite high rating.

    If their ratings are based on this being $129 for an upgrade from 9.2.2 it's reasonable.

    On it's own, it's fairly meaningless.

    --
    A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
  8. What the hell are PCs? by cheezus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's obviously moved away from "personal computer". I just generally assume an Intel compatable computer running Microsoft Windows (some might argue that linux runs on a PC... more confusing).

    Why are we letting "personal computer" become synonymous with Windows? That's certainly not good for competitors. Why does Apple say the iPod is available for Mac and PC when they really mean Mac, Windows, and anything else you can hack to work with it.

    --
    /bin/fortune | slashdotsig.sh
  9. Re:Am I Missing Something? by deafgreatdane · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That's because Apple is a hardware company. The only people that can steal their software are the same people who already bought the hardware. And Apple made money from those people already, and will make more money from them the next time they buy a hardware upgrade.

    If Apple were to get draconion with product registration, people would be inclined to find a more convenient computing platform, and that would deprive Apple of hardware sales.

    As it is, the costs for OS updates are simply a way to keep the initial sticker price of their hardware inline with the wintel world. If OSX was true profit center for Apple, they wouldn't give away 5 license family packs for less than the price of 2 single copies.

    And I don't regret any of it: my family has legal licenses of panther on 3 laptops and a G5