Apple issues Panther update; security fixes to follow

Apple Computer issued an update late Wednesday night for its Mac OS X, also known as Panther, and will come out with a security update for the operating system on Friday.

Mac OS X 10.3.2 is not a major update, but it's designed to improve a number of intermediate-level features. The update, which can be downloaded free on Apple's Web site by Panther owners, tweaks the address book, improves file sharing and management, and includes new drivers for graphics chips from ATI Technologies and Nvidia.

"There are also general improvements to the workability of the system, including FireWire and USB printing," a representative said.

Panther came out in October, and Apple released an update, Mac OS X 10.3.1, last month.

The representative also said that Apple will issue a new security update for Panther on Friday. Earlier, Apple said the update would come out late in the afternoon on Thursday.

Apple found and patched security holes in OS X in October. The patched problems included a flaw in the operating system that caused applications to be installed that had insecure file permissions. Other vulnerabilities potentially allowed a local or remote user to crash the system.

The representative could not yet comment on the nature of the problem the security update would address.