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Apple Offers Mac OS X 10.3.7 Update
An anonymous reader writes "MacNN reports: 'Apple has released Mac OS X 10.3.7 via the Software Update utility. Key enhancements include improved AFP support for saving documents with long file names, improved OpenGL technology and updated ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers, improved FireWire device compatibility, updated Preview application, and improved compatibility for third party applications. The 10.3.7 update is recommended for all users of Mac OS X 10.3 'Panther.' It also includes all previous standalone security updates.'"
According to this note, the ATI and NVIDIA updates in 10.3.7 are good news for laptop owners because they reduce power consumption, thus improving battery life.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300 376
And I must say, it was painful beta on this one
...works like a charm. Last tim I installed an update, the whole system got b0rked due to an error in writing to /etc/ttys The file got a byte sum of zero, and the logon window hanged upon next reboot.
No such thing this time, and I think. I feel. I believe that the system is a bit, just a tiny bit snappier in writing to the screen. I'm on a newish Powerbook.
Apple's release notes say to disconnect firewire drives prior to installing.
From the notes:
If you have a third-party FireWire hard drive connected, turn it off and disconnect it before installing this update. Reconnect it and turn it back on after installation is complete and you've restarted.
SteveM
According to Blizzard, the 10.3.7 update helps, but a forthcoming WoW patch will make it run even better.
I just updated to 10.3.7. I did run Cinebench but I don't think that is an accurate method of bench testing.
I ran UT 2004 on my DP 2.5 G5 w/ 6800 Nvidia. WOW. Its like playing on "slomo 2" without using the cheat. Much faster. FPS averaging around 110 with everthing turned on to max.
Yes! I listen to NYC Speedcore and do math at 3AM. I suggest you try it too.
Because Mac OS X uses I/O Kit.
English is easier said than done.
Yeah SP2's failure rate - where by failure rate I mean turn computer into an unusable state requiring a fresh reinstall - seems to be about 1%. As for breaking specific applications I would say around 5% of people have problems. This is all based on experience working tech desk at an ISP and being a computer tech for the univeristy library.
;) but, seriously, I wish that company would get sucked into an enormous black hole and never ever ever return.
Of course, it could be worse. I love SP2 for the fact that as soon as somebody installs it I can immediately shut off Norton "Internet Security" also known as Norton never works right, Norton constantly breaks itself on updates, Norton randomly decides to block port 80 and 25, and - oh by the way - Norton doesn't offer tech support so have fun supporting our product ISPs!
Not that I hate Norton or anything
OS X just works. (Almost - I've seen occasional issues with the CUPS subsystem in older releases that needed either a reboot or a manual daemon restart to fix. But almost.)
Ease of connecting wifi is one example. To get this powerbook to connect to a netgear AP with WPA was trivial. It just worked. Trying the same connection from an XP laptop was a nightmare of driver upgrades and obscure hex strings.
The GUI isn't perfect, but it's better than Windows, KDE or Gnome, IMO. (Even if you prefer KDE or Gnome you'll probably still consider the GUI quite workable).
And it's a BSD box under the covers, with a decent X server, and lots of (good) development software bundled with the system.
The downside is that while the software that's available tends to be really good there isn't quite the vast range of software you'll see under windows (particularly games).
I've had two major hardware failures on my powerbook (both fairly normal laptoppy failures - HD started getting flaky and the smart charge circuit in the battery went bad). My laptop gets around 12x7 usage, so no big surprise. Under the AppleCare contract, though, they fixed 'em both (HD was out to be repaired for 4 or 5 days, battery was a no questions swap in the store). That's about the same failure rate I've seen with Dell and Sony laptops - but trying to get Dell or Sony to support them (or even sell spare parts) was an exercise in futility.
So, while it's not as Truly Perfect as the Apple True Believers will try and tell you, it is a damn fine system. I have a range of systems that I use (Windows, Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac) but both the laptop and my main desktop are Macs by choice.
You *still* can't update a system via ssh.
What are you talking about? That's been around since at least 2002. man softwareupdate and read up on it.