Filed under: Software, Freeware, Open Source, UNIX / BSD, Universal Binary
X11 on Intel Macs
Despite my initial inability to find a proper X11 installer the
other day, it is included on the disk with my new iMac (although nowhere that I could find on Apple's website,
which I think is a mistake on Apple's part). So, I installed X11 and OOo and the Gimp. The X11 launcher app is
installed in your Utilities folder and, after the initial launch of the program, launches quite speedily (just one
bounce in the Dock!). Launching the Gimp takes a bit longer with 9 bounces in the Dock and then a very speedy splash
screen load. OpenOffice.org 2.0 takes even longer with
one bounce and about 14 seconds total loading time.Great. So what? Well, here's the interesting bit: both the Gimp and OOo (which is really only an alpha release) launch and run faster than Microsoft Office and Photoshop running in Rosetta. So, if you have a new Intel-based Mac and you are lamenting Photoshop and Word sluggishness, why not give these open source softwares a try? There's an initial learning curve, but, hey... they're free. Free is good.
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