Panther: A look at the new Mac OS

Macworld - Apple Computer Inc. will officially roll out Mac OS X Panther tonight at 8 pm ET on the East Coast, with events being held at most retail locations across the country throughout the evening. With over 150 new features, analysts think Panther could be the release that has businesses and Mac users that haven't switched to Mac OS X ready to take the plunge.

"I think that many Mac users who have been reluctant to upgrade will find enough enhancements in Panther to convince them to finally make the leap," said Technology Business Research analyst Tim Deal. "Panther more represents a Mac OS X milestone versus a work-in-progress. Also, OS 9 users will see the innovation gap widen between them and Apple's latest OS X release. This will compel many to choose this time to upgrade."

Expose

Apple has made a lot of under-the-hood changes in Panther, but in typical Apple style, the things most people will notice are front and center. The Finder, Expose, iChat AV, new System Preferences and even a new look Apple logo all stand out the first time Panther starts.

Expose is probably one of the most talked about Panther features, since Steve Jobs first demoed it during his Worldwide Developer Conference keynote in June. Expose allows users to view all open windows and choose any one of them to be on top; Expose also unshuffles overlapping windows into an organized view.

"I think this is the biggest advance in the Mac interface since the Mac was created," said Ken Bereskin, director of Mac OS Product Marketing.

While Expose moves a user's applications and windows in a very graphical way, this is one of those cool features that also provides a huge benefit for the user. Once you get over the "cool factor" and stop activating it just to see your Windows disappear off the screen, you will realize just how useful a tool it can be.

Using Expose takes some adjustment in how you work -- not being used to having the feature available, it may be hard to remember that it's there for you. But once you do, you'll wonder what you did without it.

"It just becomes a very natural way of using your system," said Bereskin.

Expose is customizable to the user's specifications. In the Preference panel, users can setup Expose to activate using the F Keys, the monitor corners, or if you use a third-party mouse, using the mouse buttons.

Expose also allows for other functions like clearing all