I’ve solved a lot of my problems with Panther, and I’m now quite thrilled with the results. Althought I went from A to D by going by W and X first, the system is pretty stunning. I realize that one unforeseen benefit of creating an entirely new login for myself is that I started afresh – all old caches, files, and preferences that I no longer treasured are gone. For the record (and this will be the last time I talk about it for a while):
– All my apps launch and work more quickly under Panther.
– The updated printer and scanner drivers (from Epson) are much more professional and clearly designed for lots of use. Same goes with the print dialog boxes one finds throughout every app now.
– The overall visual framework of the system is much smoother, more elegant, and importantly, clearer. Text renders better everywhere though I question the much higher contrast that was seemingly ordained by Apple in order to achieve this effect.
– I’m impressed that every app, except for Suitcase (Extensis are you listening?), had zero problems with the new system. Apple did its homework in this regard. Even Microsoft Office runs better on Panther.
– Logging a user in and out (and watching the respective desktop spin in and out of place) is not as cool as people think. Nor is the highlighted aura that goes around desktop files when you select them. Nor is the new Finder window, though I appreciate the fact that you can actually Find files in this window now.
– Safari is still awesome. But I am definitely going to play with Camino, thanks to many readers’ recommendations. That is, once I feel confident again behind the ol’ keyboard again.