Customer Reviews

Mac OS X 10.3 Panther Family Pack [OLDER VERSION]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Peter F. Carpenter writes: "This means that I cannot install the Panther software on the Macs located in my other two personal residences nor can a take by Powerbook with the Panther software installed on it out of my house."

No, that's not what the license means. The license says "computers are located in the same household", and defines 'household' as " person or persons sharing the same housing unit such as a home".

Household does not mean "house". It refers to a group of cohabitating people, not the physical structure in which they live. I expect "household" would also apply to second homes owned by a family, but would not apply to homes owned by extended family. So your uncle Joe in the next state wouldn't be eligible to participate in the family pack, but your Mac in your vacation home in the next state would.

There is no problem removing a powerbook from your house, unless you are also removing yourself from the household (ie, the family unit). If your wife kicks you to the curb and asks for a divorce, you may need a new license. If you're just going down to Starbucks, or on a business trip, or to work, I expect you're okay.

I just wanted to refute Mr. Carpenter's claim that you can't have multiple Macs running Panther and multiple airports on the same hub. You say that Panther assigns the same IP address to all the devices--Panther doesn't assign IP addresses, and depending on your broadband provider the Airport may take some tweaking if you're using your Airport to assign IP addresses, but the OS doesn't assign IP addresses. I suggest you read the manual before you assume the software has a problem, because unless you're using one of your Macs as a DHCP server, the OS isn't going to assign anything an IP address.

As for the license, you certainly could have read this before purchasing the software, and I would be VERY surprised if the intent is that you can never take your PowerBook out of your house just because you install the Family Pack.

Mr. Carpenter is obviously ignorant about how OS X works. I have the family pack, installed on four different computers. All work perfectly over my high-speed network, sharing the same hub. Panther does NOT assign IP numbers, your IP or router does.

Me. Carpenter should become more knowledgeable before posting and rating software he knows nothing about. He wrote misleading and incorrect information.

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When 10.3 was initially released it had an unduly restrictive Family Pack license and did not handle multiple computers on the same internet connection properly.
The latest update 10.3.2 solves the software problems and Apple is rewriting the Family Pack license to allow installation on multiple computers including ones taken out of the primary residence.
With these fixes 10.3 and the Family Pack are a great deal - particularly for people who respect intellectual property rights.

This is one of the best & most secure OS's one can buy. Works great! I don't think I can add anything else that the other reviewers have already said.

The Best OS ever! Doesn't crash like Windows, stays stable through updates and works like a dream. Very simple to use and very elegant.

For a single computer, 129 dollars is a completely reasonable price for Panther, but when you have multiple computers at home like I do, it adds up to a bit more than I care to spend.

However I am also 100% opposed to pirating software.

Thank goodness that Apple has provided this very affordable package licensing option. Now I can legally install Panther on all 4 of our Macs for less than what it would cost to buy the single user license for just 2 computers.

Why doesn't Microsoft offer something like this for Windows?

When 10.3 was initially released it had an unduly restrictive Family Pack license and did not handle multiple computers on the same internet connection properly.
The latest update 10.3.2 solves the software problems.
However, the the 10.3 Family Pack and the iLife Family Pack license have exactly the same language -

"as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy that same household".

For those who respect intellectual property and read their licenses carefully, this means that the 10.3 Family Pack cannot be installed on a Powerbook which then is taken outside the same household nor on another Mac located at another of your personal residences. Apple has confirmed that this is the correct interpretation of their license language.

All Apple had to do with both Family Pack licenses is change
"located in the same household and used by" to
"located in the same household OR used by".

Unfortunately the lawyers cannot seem to agree with that simple change so don't waste your money on the Family Pack unless you can comply with the license or choose to ignore it.

First, the license:

I have four desktop Macs in three different personal residences and a 12" Powerbook so the Panther Family Pack seemed like the perfect choice.

I purchased a Panther Family Pack only to discover that the enclosed license

'allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on up to a maximum of five (5) Apple-labeled computers at a time as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy the same household. By 'household' we mean a person or persons sharing the same housing unit such as a home...'

This means that I cannot install the Panther software on the Macs located in my other two personal residences nor can a take by Powerbook with the Panther software installed on it out of my house.

When I was finally able to discuss this with Apple, they confirmed that my interpretation of their Family Pack license was CORRECT and that they would be modifying that language to respond to my concerns. For those who do not respect intelletual property the current langauge is not a concern but for those who do respect intellectual property this change will be appreciated.

Second, the software:
When running two Macs and two airports under 10.2 via a hub everything worked. When Panther was installed on the two Macs only one would connect at a time. If Panther requires a router instead of a hub that is not indicated on the system requirements. I was hopeful that the 10.3.1 update would solve this problem, but it does not.

Unfortunately 10.3 is still beta software; don't pay to be a beta tester unless you are accustomed to doing Windows-like tweaking, which Mac users recognize as being very unelegant.