E very new owner of Panther, Appleis new version of OS X, has a story. Some are as uneventful as strolling out to a mailbox and grabbing the package containing the OS after having previously ordered it over the Internet, while other stories have plots so involved they would make John Grisham cringe. Then thereis Leander Kahney of Wired News, whose adventures with Panther included nearly losing several years of precious data. Of course, Mr. Kahney has Wired News for a platform from which to tell us about his adventure in his latest article titled, The Panther Roars (in Pain). Hereis an excerpt:
How do you waste an unseasonably warm and beautiful weekend in San Francisco in late October?
The answer is: by attempting to install Appleis newest version of OS X, better known as Panther, on Friday night without first backing up the machine.
Then, when it all goes horribly wrong, spending the better part of the next 48 hours in a musty, airless office trying to save irreplaceable files while sane, well-adjusted people are out enjoying the sun.
The failure to back up my iBook before a major overhaul like Panther is a nitwit mistake, one paid for by a weekendis worth of troubleshooting -- most of it blind blundering about -- trying to fix it.
Luckily, Panther was eventually installed and the files saved. And, Iim delighted to say, so far itis been worth all the pain it caused. Panther is speedy, stable, well-designed and good-looking. Itis given new life to the nearly 2-year-old iBook (a 600-MHz G3 with a 14-inch screen).
Mr. Kahney goes on to give a full account of his trial and tribulations with Panther in the full article, including his initial thoughts on the new OS.