Mac OS X v10.3

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Template:Cleanup-date Template:Infobox OS Mac OS X version 10.3 "Panther" is the fourth major release of Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system. It follows Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar" and precedes Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger".

Apple released Panther on October 24, 2003. The cost from Apple was US$129.00 for a single-user license and US$199.00 for a Family Pack (5 user, 1 household) license.

Apple advertises that Panther has at least 150 new features, including:

Finder updated interface
- Brushed-metal interface
- Real-time searching (like iTunes)
- Customizable sidebar (like iTunes)
Fast User Switching, that allows a user to remain logged in while another user logs in feature, featuring the desktop on an animated cube (the effect is only seen on systems with Quartz Extreme). Windows XP has a similar feature without an animated cube.
Exposé, a program to help the user manage windows, especially large numbers of them.
Fax support built-in.
Zip support built in.
X11 support built-in.
TextEdit support for Microsoft Word (*.doc) documents.
Microsoft Windows interoperability improvements, including support for SecurID-based VPNs.
Security
- FileVault: on the fly encryption and decryption of a user's home folder
- Secure deletion
Xcode Developer Tools, which speeds compile times greatly with gcc 3.3.
iChat AV video-conferencing software
PDF rendering speed increase
File labels
Pixlet high definition video codec

10.3 (Panther) has increased system requirements over 10.2 (Jaguar) as it requires the computer to have a USB port. This change in requirements means that beige Power Mac G3s and wallstreet PowerBook G3s are unable to run 10.3. Checks are made during the install process and hence installation will fail on older machines. This requirement can be overcome by using 3rd party software such as Xpostfacto.

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