Panther 7B39 Reveals System Component Additions

For starters, Apple has finally implemented the 'Bluetooth' panel into the English versions of Panther under the 'Keyboard & Mouse' system preference pane. The panel reveals 'Name' and 'Battery Level' settings for both Bluetooth keyboards and mice.

These features, as well as others that may be detailed later, are not new additions to the Panther development process. Traditionally, Apple withholds certain developmental components from builds released in the Americas for a number of proprietary reasons. During this time, the features are tested internally and provided in foreign and restricted distributions that reach an audience of lesser amplitude. When the development cycle of these software updates begins to wind down, Apple begins to include them in more public builds for broader testing.

The 7B39 build of Panther also incorporates settings for the company's 'FileVault' technology into the Security preference pane. The first of two preferences allows administrators to set a master password for the computer. This password acts as a 'safety net' to unlock any FileVault account on the computer. The second preference toggles FileVault protection on and off. The remaining preferences in the Security pane have been consolidated below the FileVault preferences.

Current issues with FileVault include, but are not limited to, the old user's home directory remaining on the system after FileVault encryption is applied and the FileVault icon redundantly appearing on both the desktop and finder sidebar.

In addition to these somewhat major alterations, other updated components include Address Book, AirPort Admin, AppKit, ATS, Carbon Core System Software, Core Audio, Core Graphics Foundation, Mac OS X Finder, HIToolBox, Mac OS X Kernel, Print Services, WebCore, and WebKit.

Apple is still pounding out bugs in Panther that cause eMacs and CRT based iMacs from failing to wake up from sleep. Meanwhile, glitches remain with Trash icon updates and application aliases in the dock, where the applications reside on separate partitions. Finally, the Panther versions of ImageCapture and iTunes remain fussy, with one hanging on start and the other crashing when quit, respectively.

Additional information on Panther 7B39 will be forthcoming. AppleInsider.com apologizes for the lack of updates last week as the majority of the editorial staff was caught in the blackout.

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