There’s A New Cat In The House: Panther

I just received an email from Apple announcing that its next major release of OS X operating system software will be available to the public on October 24, 2003. This is almost exactly 14 months since Jaguar was released.

The new version, called Panther, offers a host of new features. Perhaps most important is a navigational tool called Expose. I’ve been running a developer’s pre-release version of Panther since I landed in Rome earlier this week. And for anyone sitting on the fence or balking at forking out the $129 price I must say “get over it”.

The new software (and remember this is pre-release) is faster, even more user friendly and overall exciting (at least as an operating system can be). Keep in mind, I’m a skeptic when it comes to operating system updates. But if the new version is any stabler (and Apple promises it will be) than the version I’ve been testing, we’re all in for an adventure — without the risks. More on Panther later.