Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.3.6 to developers

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
While preparing to unleash Tiger in the first half of 2005, Apple is simultaneously working on an update to its Panther operating system that will offer improved web browsing and disc recording.



Apple Computer this week began circulating the first external builds of Mac OS X 10.3.6 Update--an incremental revision to the company's maturing Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther" operating system that will offer maintenance and performance fixes.



Early builds of the Panther update are members of the "7R" milestone, with the current version said to be Mac OS X 10.3.6 build 7R10.



According to reputable sources, the update will deliver improvements to Panther's web browsing, audio, USB, graphics card drivers, and OpenGL.



In addition to diagnosing new versions of its Safari web browser (1.2.4) and Calculator (3.2) applications, Apple is asking its developers to focus their testing efforts on audio applications, graphics, FireWire, USB, and OpenGL intensive games.



Mac OS X 10.3.6 will also reportedly include significant changes to the handling of optical media, such as CDs and DVDs. Likewise, Apple has encouraged its developers to experiment with disc recording and to report any anomalies.



The most recent Delta build of the Panther update weighs in at about 90 MB and is being distributed digitally as a 30.4 MB disk image. Most of its mass, sources say, is a result of accumulated framework and extension revisions.



Mac OS X 10.3.6 is on scheduled to be released before the end of the year and will likely be followed by successive Panther updates in 2005.



In related news, earlier this week Apple seeded build 7N141 of its Xsan network file system. The software is scheduled for its inaugural release later this fall.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    10.3 is looking to be a solid OS for most people.



    I feel sorry for people still using 10.2 and *gasp* 10.1. I hope they will at least upgrade to 10.4...or else, they'll be missing a lot.



    If anything people should upgrade to 10.3 for the web browsing changes, the OpenGL changes, the speed increase and Exposé.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    It's great that Apple Computer can just whip out these updates.



    Think of Microsoft. They release their operating system and never update it unless it's a security patch. SP2 excluded.
  • Reply 3 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally posted by humanfellow

    It's great that Apple Computer can just whip out these updates.



    Think of Microsoft. They release their operating system and never update it unless it's a security patch. SP2 excluded.




    SP2 Included.
  • Reply 4 of 17
    Media Player 9?

    Media Player 10?

    Movie Maker 2?

    Direct X 9.0 (a-c)?

    Simplified Wireless Connection?

    Media Center 04' to 05'?



    All of the above are examples of free non-security updates Microsoft has provided to Windows XP users since its original release. Though I do agree that Apple updates are usually more interesting/innovative.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    Whatever happened to Safari 1.3?
  • Reply 6 of 17
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Whatever happened to updating Safari for Jaguar users?



    That always rubbed me the wrong way. Sort of like that other company that makes you buy the OS to get their newest browser.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    come on, people, try www.saxobank.com, after you register and log in (it's free). it is hundred percent guaranteed, that it will simply crash your Safari, even after TWO Java updates. Even MS IE manages the site much better...



    So, what improved browsing??? Looong way to go... indeed...
  • Reply 8 of 17
    addisonaddison Posts: 1,185member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aquatic

    Whatever happened to updating Safari for Jaguar users?



    That always rubbed me the wrong way. Sort of like that other company that makes you buy the OS to get their newest browser.




    Easy, The newer version of Safari, uses componants installed with Panther. In order to update Safari for Jaguar Apple would have to give away many of the improvements people have top pay for with Panther.



    IMO Jaguar suffers as a result not by design.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    Personally I'm much more interested in the disk handling updates, these are more than overdue. I hate to say it but Windows XP does this better than OS-X at the moment.



    Re: Safari on old versions of OS-X. Maybe some features are tied in to the Os but there's no reason why the rendering at least couldn't be updated. Oh well, there's always Firefox and camino for those who are left unsupported by Safari.
  • Reply 10 of 17
    Does it mean that there is going to be a firmware update for our internal drive too.
  • Reply 11 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JK47

    Media Player 9?

    Media Player 10?

    Movie Maker 2?

    Direct X 9.0 (a-c)?

    Simplified Wireless Connection?

    Media Center 04' to 05'?



    All of the above are examples of free non-security updates Microsoft has provided to Windows XP users since its original release. Though I do agree that Apple updates are usually more interesting/innovative.




    Those aren't OS updates though. Except maybe SWC and DX9.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:

    Originally posted by bborofka

    Whatever happened to Safari 1.3?



    Safari 1.3 was released as a standalone developer preview under its own testing program; it will show up in a Panther update at some point, but even Apple seems unsure of which update that may be. According to our source, Safari 1.3 developer preview does not function properly with Mac OS X 10.3.6 and this is so noted in the developer notes as a "known issue."



    That's all I have.



    Best,



    Kasper
  • Reply 13 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mickster

    Personally I'm much more interested in the disk handling updates, these are more than overdue. I hate to say it but Windows XP does this better than OS-X at the moment.



    Re: Safari on old versions of OS-X. Maybe some features are tied in to the Os but there's no reason why the rendering at least couldn't be updated. Oh well, there's always Firefox and camino for those who are left unsupported by Safari.




    Even third-party browsers eventually drop support for older versions of Mac OS X as they incorporate features into the browser that require certain components of the newer OS versions. In other cases, the effort required to continue support of older OS versions is too much (ie. you may end up solving a certain software problem several ways, one for each OS version.) That's actually the case with Camino. The 0.8 release of the Camino browser is the last to support 10.1.



    Interview with Camino Project head Mike Pinkerton



    You can see this trend in a lot of software made on the Mac, not just Apple's. You can usually survive with skipping one major OS release, but skipping two in a row is more then likely going to mean you left in the dust for some applications.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    i just loaded 10.3.6 and safari first failed to open now it's gone! Oh, and software update does not work any more either.!!! Help!
  • Reply 15 of 17
    mikefmikef Posts: 698member
    How much can Apple do with Safari on Panther before it encroaches the Tiger feature list? Surely we won't get the RSS stuff, so what will we get?



    I'd be happy (until Tiger arrives) with greatly increased performance. Safari is a dog compared to Firefox and Camino.
  • Reply 16 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally posted by GreggWSmith

    i just loaded 10.3.6 and safari first failed to open now it's gone! Oh, and software update does not work any more either.!!! Help!



    Wipe your HD and start weeping.
  • Reply 17 of 17
    webmailwebmail Posts: 639member
    10.3.6 will eat your dev machine. If your LEGALLY allowed to install it don't. You'll regret it. I have yet to download the seed that was posted today however.
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