Apple releases Mac OS X Panther, Server

Apple Computer Inc. Wednesday announced the release of Mac OS X Panther and Panther Server, the latest major updates to its Unix-based operating system. The releases come just four months after Steve Jobs, the company's chief executive officer, demoed the new operating system during his keynote address at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Both versions will be available on Friday, Oct. 24, beginning at 8 p.m.

Highlights of the new operating system version include a revamped Finder interface that Apple describes as "user-centric." The interface puts users' favorite folders, hard drive, network servers, iDisk and removable media into a single location that Jobs likened to the playlist used by iTunes.

Other new features include faster search, colored labels and better integration with Windows network environments. Panther supports ActiveDirectory and SMB-based home directories on Windows servers and enhanced Windows integration that allows for printing to shared printers.

Exposé is another new feature of Panther. It allows users to view all open windows and choose any one of them to be on top; Exposé also unshuffles overlapping windows into an organized view.

"There are a lot of big deals in Panther: The Finder, iChat AV and Exposé are just a few," Ken Bereskin, director of Mac OS Product Marketing, told MacCentral in a June interview. "Exposé could be the most innovative advance in the graphical interface since the Mac was created."

FileVault secures home directory content with 128-bit AES encryption -- a feature driven by mobile users' need to secure their data in case their laptops are lost or stolen. Files are encrypted and decrypted on the fly, enabling users to keep content secure without interrupting access to their work. Other security enhancements include the addition of IPSec-based Virtual Private Networking (VPN) for Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc.-based networks.

Mail has been revamped with a Safari-based engine for the display of HTML-formatted e-mail. Also new to Panther is iChat AV -- a new version of the instant messaging technology that incorporates support for full-screen, full-motion video over broadband, along with audio support. iChat AV will be a US$29 release for Mac OS X 10.2 "Jaguar" users but will be included with Panther.

Panther Server integrates open source and open standards software with management tools that make it easy to deploy popular open source solutions for Mac, Windows and Linux clients. New features include a Server Admin tool that makes it easy for administrators to set up and manage the open source software built in to Mac OS X; Open Directory 2 for hosting scalable LDAP directory and Kerberos authentication services; Samba 3 for providing login and home directory support for Windows clients; and the JBoss application server for running J2EE applications.

In addition, Apple's new Server Admin tool makes it easy for system administrators to set up, manage and monitor the complete set of services built into Panther Server. For example, with a couple of mouse clicks, customers can deploy OpenLDAP and Kerberos for directory and authentication, Samba for Windows support, Postfix for email and Apache for hosting web sites.