It’s official. Panther is the most secure OS on the planet. A study by the mi2g Intelligence Unit, a London-based security firm, reveals that the world’s safest and most secure online server Operating System (OS) is proving to be the Open Source family of BSD (Berkley Software Distribution) and the Mac OS X based on Darwin.

In it’s three year rise to fame, the Mac OS X hasn’t been recorded as ever being infected with a virus.

The main reasons for this are down to the built-in security features. Nothing can install itself: No programme, utility or even an update from Apple, without Admin privileges.

By default, each installation of OS X has almost no internet based servers turned on and almost all ports are shut down, meaning that no requests are heard by the OS.

Multiple user accounts can be configured far more securely than a Windows OS and access to each and every application can be prevented on a user by user basis.

Although the Mac OS looks and feels differently to Windows, the two OS’s offer the same benefits and features to some extent. The Finder for example, is the equivilent of Windows Explorer.

Clicking Finder will open up a window showing all your drives, connected networks and removable media. Folders and files can be viewed as lists, columns or icons.

The Finders Toolbar is where you can access shortcuts to any often used disc, folder or programme. This has changed in the release of Panther and now becomes a Sidebar, making it even quicker to access it’s contents, all just one click away, unlike Windows.

The Finders Menu is the ever present bar at the top of the screen giving instant access to the controls for working with files; the vey same as you would likely see at the top of each window on Microsoft’s offerings.

The directory structures of the two OS’s differ a bit more now since the Mac OS likes to keep all your own folders and files within your own Home directory rather than scattered all over. This makes backing up extremely quick and simple.

Utilities would be the Windows equivilent of Accessories only with a larger selection to choose from. About the only thing missing on the Mac would be Disc Defragmenter which a Mac doesn’t regard as important and Add/Remove Programs, which again, the Mac doesn’t need. To remove or uninstall a programme, just simply drag it to the Trash.

Macs do have extra and more powerful Super Utilities though, which can be dangerous to it’s wellbeing.

And, as with XPand Compatibility Mode, OS X has a similar function that enables you to run older programmes. It’s called Classic.

The latest offering from Apple is Panther. It is the safest, easiest, most reliable and most secure Operating System on the planet. Panther is jam-packed with more than 150 exciting new features; features that leave Windows XP trailing years behind.

OS X has been evolving for more than three years now and in all that time, it is claimed that OS X has never been infected with a virus. More on that in the Security section.

There’s no doubt that the Mac OS X is by far the best thing to happen to Apple computers since the introduction of the first Mac back in 1984 and not just because of it’s dynamic and innovative styling.

Steve Jobs’ re-emergence with Apple has given the users the most dramatic change yet. The most dramatic being the truly beautiful Aqua interface. Elegant, exciting and brand new, no longer the butt of jokes from the Windows world.

Underneath the covers reveals yet more changes. Gone are the extensions and control panel and in comes Unix. The power of the Unix system is one of the worlds most powerful and stable operating systems. Couple this with the new G5 PowerMac and you have raw, unleashed power.

This guide will lead you through the basic principles of the Mac OS and hopefully encourage you to ’switch’. Whether you are thinking of making the ’switch’ or are a complete ‘newbie’, you should find all the information to make the transition easy.

Lets see if OS X can live up to it’s sleek, powerful imagery. We’ll take a walk through some of the cool applications and utilities that are installed with the operating system. You will be charmed by the compelling magic, ease of use and underlying complexity of Apple’s latest offering.