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Apple Offers Mac OS X 10.3.7 Update

Posted by pudge on from the get-it-while-it's-hot dept.

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.'"

21 of 457 comments (clear)

  1. Dear 10.3.7 by Letter · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Dear 10.3.7,

    Holy sh..

    I just upgraded and I got a 2.2 times OpenGL speedup.

    Wow, Letter

  2. All the right fixes? by dave1212 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here's hoping it will fix the MIDI issues that occurred with Reason and 10.3.6. It's getting very frustrating to have to troubleshoot this stuff all the time with the Audio MIDI Setup Utility.

    Any word on if Safari has been updated to support type-ahead-find yet? I won't be updating until I hear some Reason users speak up, and this is a sweet feature that should be in Safari by now.

  3. Few things I'm wondering about... by zwilliams07 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Such as this issue with 10.3.6 having Firewire problems and DVD Player issues has been fixed or not. I'm going to wait a while and see what comes up at MacFixit.com and then decide if I want to upgrade.

  4. Calculator by Raven42rac · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Calculator is still being goofy. It won't draw the calculator itself if you have speak button pressed enabled, you have to disable it, then restart calculator for it to work. This is just my experience. YMMV.

    --
    I hate sigs.
  5. Not to insult the hordes of Mac users.... by dteichman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    but doesn't that sound a bit like the press release they issued for the launch of the last update. Not to bag on them too much. 10.3.7 is good software. I've used the dev edition for a little while now (thanks to a good friend). It runs much faster than the previous version I had (original Panther). The speed increase of Open GL is extremely noticeable. Other than that, I haven't noticed much else.

  6. Graphic drivers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ...here's a stupid question. Let's hope for a smart answer: If the kernel of Mac OS X (and +) is *nix style, then why can't we use their drivers for the Nvidia and ATI cards?

    [Insert enlightenment here]

  7. I use Panther and... by mwielgosz · · Score: 5, Interesting
    this update (10.3.7) seems to have made my old iMac G3 respond faster than before. It seems to draw just a bit faster as well, making my experience with OSX much better. Before 10.3, OSX was extremely laggy on my 400mhz (G3) 128mb ram hardware.

    With performance increases like this, OSX seems to just be getting better - good work Apple.

    --
    -Mike
  8. Re:Better not install it yet by nordicfrost · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Things can go south with Apple as well. As I mentioned in this topic, I got a /etc/ttys file overwritten after the latest security uodate, and the system just hung on reboot at the "starting logon window" notice.

    Now, as the shit had hit the fan, I was without computer as I oly have the Apple Powerbook. I tried everything I knew, but to no avail. If I had access to another computer, I'd known that the file was overwritten by mistake and restorable from the ttys.applesaved file. Also, the system would start up in single user mode to correct this problem. But I didn't know.

    Anyhoo, I decided to do a Archive and Install type from the 10.3 DVD that was included with the PB. I was prepared to spend the rest of the evening restoring settings and loading programs, but, I was stumped after the install. Everything was at its right place, spare for the wallpaper. Even the document I saved just before rebooting was on the desktop. Every setting, everything was as I remembered it, but the whole system was brand new 10.3 from 10.3.6. Incredible, but a part of the *nix goodness of keeping settings apart from the system on a user base.

    There were two minor SNAFUs with the rollback, I could not start System Preferences from the Apple menu and I had to reinstall Salling Clicker (But it even understood that I had bought and registered the program after install). A quick lookup in the Apple Discussion boards adviced me to chick the old saved system in the thrash and empty it, I did and the System Prefrences menu worked.

    This was something quite different from the time when I had to reinstall Windows 2k to restore the system from some b0rkness...

    MacOS amazes me, but not as much as peoples resistance to it amazes me.

  9. Re:Extra extra(?) by Myuu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I am sorry if I come off as harsh but I am sick of seeing these comments and am probably going to copy this reply to every one of these.

    Slashdot is such a damn immense community that it has to appeal to everyone. As a Mac owner, this ia big news to me and the comments are helpful. However, I really couldn't give less of a crap about a new kernel update, FreeBSD, a crappy MMPORG release, RMS bitching about something, or a new rc for slack or moz. Yes I use firefox and am a religious debian user, but I really don't care. So you know what I do? I scroll down, I don't go into the thread and post a 'wtf' type comment.

    Its been a couple months since the last point update and the security updates don't make the front page, so yes, I do think it is FP worthy.

    --

    forget it.
  10. Re:Good news for iBook, Powerbook owners by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Before installing 10.3.7, I had 43 minutes of juice on my iBook G4 800...after installing 10.3.7, I've got 1 hour and 3 minutes! Can't wait to see what it's like when I'm fully charged up again. I was already getting 5.5-6 hours on a full charge.

    --
    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
  11. Re:Install script is still stupidly written by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 2, Interesting

    optimizing defragments the large chunks of data on the disk.

    --



    I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
  12. How good is OS X, really? by freelance+cynic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This isn't flamebait, but an honest question.

    I'm thinking of buying an 12" iBook or PowerBook to replace my old computer. Now, there are a few things that bother me physically about them (they're big and heavy (twice as much as my Lifebook P2040), the battery life isn't really good and there's a blasted trackpad instead of a trackpoint)...

    BUT! I could overlook all that, because I'd really like a computer that Just Works(TM). I love tweaking things in Linux (I run gentoo to give you an idea), but my life is catching up to me now and I find I don't have the time I used to to play with my computer (without doing anything "productive" done).

    Now, I'm asking Apple fans (and detractors too) here: is OS X really *that* great, as I heard? Does it really Just Works(TM)? I'm asking because I've nearly went and bought my new Apple laptop, but then discovered that iTunes doesn't play .ogg files (not without tweaking anyhow). That Appleworks doesn't cut it for me (I need feature that aren't available with it) and since I'm not about to pay a kazillion $ to MS to use Office, I'll have to install OpenOffice. And I could go on... So I'm getting stuff like an .ogg player, OpenOffice, Firefox, etc... which I could all get on Linux (or even Windows). So, tell me, what's so great about OS X? There must be something I'm missing... I'm *this* close to buying an Apple notebook because everyone saying they're great, but I have this nagging doubt that it's not all it's claimed to be.

    Right, wrong? I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this one...

    1. Re:How good is OS X, really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      As someone who was in exactly your position, I say, "No."

      Ultimately, the problem is that while a lot of Apple's apps are nice, there are nicer solutions out there. I used Safari for awhile, but gave in to Firefox because, if it doesn't work better, it's at least got a feel that I like more. iTunes takes a long time to get used to, and I started longing for my XMMS (even after adding in .ogg support). I also stuck with Open Office which meant dealing with the X11 app (very nice integration, but still not all there--it'd be nice to be able to OA-Tab directly to specific X11 aps when multiples are running). Mail.app is very nice, if you don't want a text-based client. Terminal itself has slightly different ansi-color attributes that I was used to, so I ended up grabbing two different terminal programs to handle my various wants and needs (one for mudding with Tinyfugue, one for general SSHing). And speaking of Tinyfugue, it takes quite a bit of tinkering to install.

      Put simply, I was installing tons of 3rd party software, which is something I could have done with any PC I'd bought.
      I also noticed significant screen lag, which perhaps would have been addressed in 10.3.7, who knows. To illustrate the point, however, get on a Linux box and the iBook, ssh to a server somewhere, start a screen session, and start cat'ting logfiles. The Linux display will finish noticeably faster every time (in fact, this was the annoyance that got to me most).
      The Aqua gui is nice, but it's not something you spend $1200 on, and on top of all of this, buying an Apple means you lose a significant portion of software you could be running if you'd bought a PC. Overall, it's nice, and if your needs aren't high, then it definitely Just Works. But When it came right down to it, all the drawbacks did not outweigh the positives for me.

      I love the way everything feels on an iBook, but it just doesn't do what I want.

    2. Re:How good is OS X, really? by gbrandt · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I get 6 hours on my ibook 14". Frankly thats way better than my Dell laptop which tops at 4 hours. And my iBook is very light.

      For equivelant power and useability, iBooks are light and last longer on battery power.

      Gregor

    3. Re:How good is OS X, really? by nordicfrost · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'll address every topic in order:

      Does it really Just Works(TM)?

      Usually, yes. I have yet to install a driver on my PowerBook. Every printer I have dried to connect to has been automatically found on the network and installed, every weird-ass camera connected has just showed up in iPhoto to import the images. The bluetooth mouse worked on the first try. The Microsoft Bluetooth adapter that refused to work on Norwegian XP SP1 (Since the drivers wouldn't load on the Norwegian edition) worked out of the box on an iBook.
      I have had two instances where it didn't just work. One was a weird-ass printer in my girlfriend's flat, it required a download of some open source drivers. The other is that there is no support for the Microsoft fingerprint scanner that I got to test from Microsoft.

      iTunes doesn't play .ogg files (not without tweaking anyhow)

      Itunes does play ogg. It even has a file icon for ogg, and many rumor mongers among the Apple fan base suspect that ogg support will be native in iTunes soon. Not on the iPod, but that's another issue. The ogg support is done via plugin, but if you want, there's a really kick-ass application called Audion that does a lot more than iTunes. One of the best music players, regardless of platform.

      Appleworks doesn't cut it for me

      Me neither.

      I'm not about to pay a kazillion $ to MS to use Office, I'll have to install OpenOffice

      I have to say, MS Office for Mac is really slick. Using Office 2000 on Windows when I'm at work now feels like I'm writing on cave walls with deer-blood as paint. Lots of nifty and well though through features that actually are useful. Like a toolbox that fades away so you see only the actual paper you are writing until you need the toolbox, then it fades in. Very non-clutter like.

      As for OpenOffice, I used it on Linux before I switched to Mac. I liked it, but it really feels old compared to Office on Mac. Very, very, very old. The experience I had with it on Linux was that it was extremely slow. I think this has been fixed, and there is an very active effort to get the Mac version native. It now runs under the X11 subsystem (Another cool thing with the MacOS X).

      I can tell you how I got into Macs. My mother got a budget for buying a new computer, printer and accessories to use when she edited an online magazine. She had a horrible AST Windows 98 computer that constantly locked up (And it costed me a term paper when it was W95 when i accidentally hit the 'sleep' button on the keyboard that actually crashes W95). Having long since moved out, I was looking for something that needed little attention from my side, and I advised her to by an iBook, after strong recommendation from a photographer friend.

      The ibook was ordered and set up. Everything worked, right out of the box. There was a program for the Agfa Snapscan I donated and the Logitech wireless two-button mouse worked without any thing other than plugging it in (and syncing it with the base). The number of family support-calls went down from four-five a week to every other week. Now, this is remarkable. The Mac had so few issues, that I just needed to have a look at it every six months doing routine maintenance like repairing permissions, checking that everything works as planned. Updates go ahead automatically every week. I have had one problem with the updates, but that's it.

      Then my GF was out to buy a new laptop. I told her that if she got a Windows computer, I would not help her when something went wrong. I'm tired of being the person everyone calls at 22:00 because the term paper went away or the internet connection is down. She got an iBook, and loves it dearly. It seems that persons not familiar with computers see the Mac hardware as a companion, a work mate more than a cold tool that you sometimes have to fight with.

      Some friends that run a company said they would take my advice and buy Macs next time they were going to upgrade. Macs pl

    4. Re:How good is OS X, really? by katamerry_damatree · · Score: 2, Interesting
      In 2001 I had to buy a new computer, and despite being a lifelong PC user, went with a newly-remodeled iBook.

      The first thing you notice is that you can't download everything anymore and expect it to work (well, you know what I mean). But it's no biggie; eventually you break the google habit and hang out at versiontracker or sourceforge instead. It's annoying at first- it took months for me to run into X-Chat Aqua, the only free IRC chatter on the platform w/out running ircII etc. out of Terminal, which I can never get working anyway- but you grow into it. Signing up for the ADC emails helps keep you abreast of some of the cooler up-and-coming projects, too.

      You can get .ogg playback easily in iTunes by downloading a quicktime plugin. You install it by dragging and dropping it into one of the working locations. That's it. There's a slight lag when played, and they don't show up for sharing, but iTunes can both convert them to a more comfortable format and burn them to disc, so if you *need* them shared you can still get around it.

      The painless wireless was already mentioned, but can't be understated- Apple's built-in client handles WEP, WPA, and 802.1x networks with ease; sharing is a matter of going into the Sharing prefs and checking the right boxes, rather than the mysterious restarting affairs of XP.

      Hardware can sometimes be an issue with Apple. My iBook debuted the Combo drive in a spectacularly busted manner, but they had it back to me in less than a week, shipping covered, w/ free backup of data (since I couldn't burn anything). My 2003 12" powerbook's main speakers were crackling- somewhat common that year- and had a few dead pixels, but I didn't bother calling it in. I replaced it with a new one about a year later, and this one has an occasionally unreliable left arrow key. *shrug* YMMV, but their support is great if something does come up. Just consider extending it past the 90 days.

      Yes, I'd say OS X Just Works(TM). Even running beta versions, the only OS crashes I've had were when I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be. Another YMMV, of course, but the unpredictability of Windows drives me crazy now.

      I don't think the "I could get this other software on Linux/Windows" statement is the right way of looking at it. I'm happy I can get most of the better multiplatform software on my Mac. If you need additional features than the bundled software with the OS, it's there, but you have to get it yourself, per usual. But there's a bigger selection than with Linux (and between fink and X11, most of the common Linux choices are here anyway) with- generally- much less effort, and Apple's bundled software is worlds better than Microsoft's. Even if you're stuck with Safari before you can get Firefox or Camino, you're not facing the internet ass first with MSNoPants in your process list. And though it has little to do with word processing, wait until you play with Garageband. ;)

      If you don't like Appleworks (me neither), try AbiWord or OpenOffice, as you mentioned. With any OS you're going to have to fill in the gaps for your use, but Apple has done a great job providing core functionality. TextEdit alone may surprise you.

      USB and Firewire have a monopoly here, so if you're into hobbyist kits and/or PCMCIA hardware, you're either SOL or are planning on starting an adapter collection (and may still need drivers). I have used a Keyspan USB-Serial adapter with my Pbook and it works beautifully, but this still wouldn't be my platform of choice for experimenting with non-mainstream hardware.

      Nevertheless, if you're looking for reliable productivity there's nothing like OS X. Millions of iPod silhouettes can't be wrong.

  13. Colour change after awake from screensaver by waffleman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Has anyone else noticed a colour shift after an awake from screensaver? I'm finding that sometimes there's a shift to a bluer hue. Turning the screensaver on and off sometimes resets it back to the normal colour balance. If this were on a CRT I would say that there's something wrong with the blue gun, but this is on the LCD of an iBook G4.

    Strange. Could it be something with the video drivers?

  14. Whoohoo! Finally, the freakin' scrolling works! by nazzdeq · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've been bitching about the scrolling since OS X was release. Looks like this release finally fixed my concerns. On my iBook 800mhz G3 scrolling is sweet. So, for you lucky G5 types, you should be all set. Nice.

  15. Re:um, how about SMB browsing fix? by green+pizza · · Score: 2, Interesting

    > Holy shit, 26.4 MB for the delta update from 10.3.6 to 10.3.7? What crack are they smoking?

    Sounds about right for the major OpenGL changes in both the ATI and NVIDIA drivers.

  16. Update contents? by carboncopy79 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why does Mac Os X Update for clients do not update Apache and stuff like that?

    I wonder why is this so. Since ALL Mac Os X comes with Apache installed. And other server (daemons). Why do they just release those update in their Mac Os X Server Update?

    I know 10.3.7 didn't include Apache update, but earlier ones certainly did.

  17. Re:10.3.7 snappier? Not mail. by reiggin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Same problem here. Repairing permissions didn't help. Also, DNS resolving takes a lot longer. Very long.