Last month I asked you OS X holdouts out there to speak up and tell me why you're not upgrading--and you did. The reasons you cited range from issues that crop up with any major upgrade, like backward compatibility with old hardware and software, to specific bugs that have cropped up in Panther. Your hesitation is justified, up to a point. OS X has lots of benefits and, with version 10.3, relatively few drawbacks.

One major segment of Apple's market--print production professionals--has been slow to upgrade because Quark (the company that makes the 900-pound gorilla of page layout) was slow to release an OS X-native version. But Quark removed that obstacle last summer with the release of XPress 6.0. So I asked PC World's creative director, Robert Kanes, why most of the magazine's designers still use OS 9.2 (yes, PC World is produced on Macs).

His answer was instructive, and in some ways reflected the same issues that any Mac user faces. An incautious upgrade could throw a wrench into our carefully tuned production workflow. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a serious commandment when you rely on a computer to get your work out the door. But because it's important to stay current with the technology, a handful of PC World's designers have moved to OS X. And as older Macs are replaced, more department members will upgrade their operating systems as well.

I heard similar reasons for going slow from many readers: You don't want to buy new hardware and software until you need to because of the cost (including $129 for the operating system itself) and hassles. You're also wary of running your old apps in Classic mode because you don't want to sacrifice performance. You've heard about lockups and slowdowns while running Classic mode, and naturally you'd like to avoid that. Some of you are still afraid that your peripherals won't work, though most of those compatibility problems were resolved with OS X 10.2.

Disappearing Networks

A more troubling issue some of you raised is dropped server connections. Based on a check of newsgroups and Apple's own support forums, this isn't a rare occurrence, and the problem's source has been elusive. Nothing is more frustrating than a spotty Internet connection: If this is the reason you're reluctant to use OS X, I don't blame you.

I've used my Mac OS X 10.3-based IBook on a variety of different 802.11b and 802.11g networks and haven't experienced this problem; in fact, my aging Windows notebook is more persnickety. If you've upgraded to this release and your machine still drops network connections, I recommend howling to Apple: The company needs to fix this glitch. And keep an eye on Apple's forums; you may find a solution that fits your situation, and you're likely to run into a knowledgeable poster who can help you.

Take the Plunge

Even though the upgrade path may be fraught with hazards, I think the move to OS X 10.3 is worth it for most users. If you can't afford a little downtime, you probably need to stick with what works. But version 10.3 feels finished to me; it's a relatively low-risk proposition. And as Apple brings out more programs that work with OS X only (like the ILife suite), you're missing out by holding out.

Comments or questions? Drop a line to The Mac Skeptic.