Thomas Brand:
Looking back, many people consider 10.3 to be an uninspiring evolutionary update to Mac OS X, but as an ex Apple Store employee working the sales floor at the time, I can tell you the release of Mac OS X Panther was an exciting time to be a Mac fan. iTunes, and the iPod were just taking off, giving additional interest in Macs. iChat AV, and the invitation to video conference with family members all over the world brought more people into the store than ever before. The Power Mac G5 was the world’s fastest desktop computer at the time, and its allure along with the Apple’s new line of Cinema Displays was the perfect platform to present Mac OS X Panther. The death of Mac OS 9 spelled out the future of Macintosh, and after over three years of development many long time Mac users were finally ready to upgrade to Mac OS X.