tbmaddux's Journal: Panther Report

Just installed MacOS X 10.3 (Panther) on a PB G4 / 867 MHz.

Used the "Archive and Install" method which backs up the old contents of /System and /Library and all the various Unix directories (such as /var, /usr, /bin) and overwrites with the new operating system. This method was introduced in Jaguar and was a little buggy. With Panther, it works better - directories like /Library/Application Support/ are also preserved to the new installation.

I had to reinstall GPG and new versions of the GPGmail and SpamCop mail bundles, and set a new flag so that the mail bundles would work. Finder now allows administrative-priviledged users to perform actions that formerly required the use of the command line and "sudo." This is convenient but makes it even wiser for one to not operate day-to-day as an admin-priviledged user.

I like the new Finder and Exposé, Mail seems to be more sophisticated. Keychain Access is more clear in its dialogs when prompting about changed apps trying to access the keychain. Fast User Switching is fabulous. I haven't tried the new Preview yet.

EDIT - Massive permission problems, specifically all of my files somehow got changed to "root" ownership. Once I figured it out, a quick "chown" fixed the problem. Also, Bluetooth (which has always been flaky) won't remember its settings, and the menu extra often crashes SystemUIServer (which runs all the little widgets aka "menu extras" to the left of the clock).