Tiger vs panther. Do I need Tiger?

[osx]

I've got panther, thought about getting tiger. Do I need it? What does it have that I need, can't live without? And what justifies the $100+ pricetag?

 

[Overtime_man]

I've got panther, thought about getting tiger. Do I need it? What does it have that I need, can't live without? And what justifies the $100+ pricetag?

I've only ever used Tiger, so I can't really compare the two. But I will say that if you're having to actively search for reasons to switch, you're probably fine just sticking with Panther until the next version of OSX ("Leopard") is released at the end of 2006.

 

[Learning2Crawl]

I wouldn't worry about switching. I run Panther on my iBook at home and Tiger on my corporate PowerBook. As far as day-to-day functionality, I can see no need to pay to upgrade my iBook.

I have mixed feelings about Tiger's new features. Automator is worthless to me (too basic; I'd rather write an AppleScript). Spotlight is a bit annoying and not as easy to use as it should be. I love the Dashboard and the availability of widgets that let you get information quickly and in one screen.

 

[Overtime_man]

I wouldn't worry about switching. I run Panther on my iBook at home and Tiger on my corporate PowerBook. As far as day-to-day functionality, I can see no need to pay to upgrade my iBook.

I have mixed feelings about Tiger's new features. Automator is worthless to me (too basic; I'd rather write an AppleScript). Spotlight is a bit annoying and not as easy to use as it should be. I love the Dashboard and the availability of widgets that let you get information quickly and in one screen.

Yeah, widgets are pretty awesome. I thought that it was going to be an irrelevant feature at first, but I gradually found myself using it more and more. By the way, I could be mistaken, but I think I heard somewhere that Microsoft has lifted the idea for the next version of Windows; there'll be a similar app in the sidebar called "gadgets".

As for spotlight, I've found it to be immensely useful. I'm pretty awful at keeping documents organizing on my HD and often give them names that don't afford many clues as to what's contained within. But with spotlight I can just punch in a few keywords and presto...it pops up in a second or two, even if it's PDF. Since switching from Windows that feature alone has lowered my blood pressure a few points.

 

[Justin Horne]

Well.. I've got Panther too, and it isn't worth upgrading to me right now..
Thing is, I do want Spotlight, I do want Widgets, and there are a few more obscure things Tiger has that I'd like...
That said.. Right now, it's almost too late to upgrade.. Give it 6-9 months, and the new version will be out.. If you're alright with putting out the money twice in this period, I'd buy it.. If not, I would wait...

I think after Leopard, it will be a while, and Apple will release OS XI... No real justification for this thought, I just think that 5 versions of OS X are enough for Apple, and they will move on...

 

[osx]

seems to me that widgets are nothing more than applications with a fancy "new" name. way overrated to me.

I can download applications now, without having to spend $130 on tiger.

 

[Overtime_man]

seems to me that widgets are nothing more than applications with a fancy "new" name. way overrated to me.

I can download applications now, without having to spend $130 on tiger.

Yeah, but do you want to keep 10 different apps running in your dock all the time and have to click on each one individually to bring it up? Sure Widgets aren't anything revolutionary, but they are a convenient way to see a lot of info from various applications at the click of one button. I think that Konfabulator did basically the same thing before, however it's nice to have that functionality built right into OSX.

 

[zoziw]

I've got panther, thought about getting tiger. Do I need it?

No

What does it have that I need, can't live without?

Nothing

And what justifies the $100+ pricetag?

It will warm your heart to give Stevie more of your money, what other reason could you possibly need?

Seriously, Tiger does add some nice features but there isn't anything in it that you can't live without.

For just general computing my Mac Mini with 256 RAM was fine with Panther but Tiger really slowed it down, even just web browsing with Safari (an upgrade to 512 fixed the problems).

You don't need it and if you have a stock Mac with just 256 RAM I'd advise against it.

 

[osx]

My macs a G4 tower, 5 years old. was a 450mhz, but I put a encore 1 gig processor in it a few yrs back.

its no speed demon thats for sure. that 100 mhz system bus slows things down. I only have 384 ram. tiger may run poorly on it? im not sure.

well, I dont have the $ to upgrade anyway, so. Im keeping panther for now.

 

[zoziw]

System Requirements are:

Requirements
Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G3, G4 or G5 processor
Built-in FireWire
DVD drive for installation
256MB of RAM
3GB of available hard disk space (4GB if you install the developer tools)

But processor upgrade cards are not supported.

If Panther is working well I'd stick with it.

 

[osx]

processor upgrade cards not supported? so If I bought and installed it may not even work? Hmm, didnt know that. thanks.

 

[Overtime_man]

System Requirements are:

Requirements
Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G3, G4 or G5 processor
Built-in FireWire
DVD drive for installation
256MB of RAM
3GB of available hard disk space (4GB if you install the developer tools)

But processor upgrade cards are not supported.

If Panther is working well I'd stick with it.

What's the deal with Apple listing 256MB of RAM as the minimum requirement? Tiger eats up RAM like it's going out of style, so I would imagine that 512MB is about as low as you'd want to go. Has anybody actually tried using Tiger with 256MB of RAM for an extended period of time? It would probably be enough to drive you back into the loving arms of Bill Gates.

 

[zoziw]

What's the deal with Apple listing 256MB of RAM as the minimum requirement? Tiger eats up RAM like it's going out of style, so I would imagine that 512MB is about as low as you'd want to go. Has anybody actually tried using Tiger with 256MB of RAM for an extended period of time? It would probably be enough to drive you back into the loving arms of Bill Gates.

I ran Tiger on 256MB of RAM and it was pretty sluggish, even for just reading email and using Safari. For basic use Panther with 256 was fine but I upgraded to 512 shortly after installing Tiger (and Apple upgraded all of their systems to 512 shortly after as well).

If you absolutely had to use Tiger with 256 you could but even basic stuff will be sluggish. Panther is much better for systems with less than 512.