Panther 7B44: Apple Alters Unix Shell, FileVault

On Thursday Apple provided developers with build 7B44 of Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. The seed arrived a day early in order to address major changes to the company's FileVault archiving component.

User's of build 7B39 were informed to copy all of their data off encrypted FileVault images created under the seed before upgrading to the latest version of Panther. Under-the-hood, the new version of FileVault is said to differer considerably from the previously seeded versions.

According to sources, as of 7B44, Apple has also changed the default unix shell type from 'tcsh' to 'bash.' While no further information was provided on the subject, it's assumed the move was made to conform to today's emerging linux standards. The bash shell is currently said to be the most commonly preferred shell amongst linux users. Panther users will still retain the ability to switch to other flavors of the unix shell, though one source joked that the move gives publishers an excuse to update their costly Mac OS X literature.

The version of Apple's XCode seeded with build 7B44 contains numerous architectural revisions and is incompatible with previous seeds of Panther. Additionally, the company now provides developers with an 'XCode Migration' document detailing the process of moving projects from Metroworks CodeWarrior over to the Apple-branded integrated development enviornment.

Aside from the issues that may arise from incompatible FileVault volumes, the company noted glitches in Network Setup that may require PowerBook and iBook users to restart before configuration changes are applied. Meanwhile, issues with the new Energy Saver module persist. Apple suggests disabling the component if a machine routinely fails to wake-up from sleep mode.

Per trend, this latest build of Mac OS X 10.3 reflects further optimization among various system components. One source notes that the OS is increasingly reaching the 'snappiness' and speed of Mac OS 9 on a PowerMac G4. Meanwhile, an apparent removal of the Beijing and Taipei bitmap system fonts should do wonders for the appearance of Chinese localized dialogue boxes.

A newer version of Panther server was also released to developers this weekend.