X Windows & OS X Aqua Seamlessly Side by Side - MacRumors
Skip to Content

X Windows & OS X Aqua Seamlessly Side by Side

Sladhdot brings us some rather great news for the OS X user. A company known as Tenon has released public betas of two OS X applications. One, Xtools, is an X Window server for OS X which, as the press release states, "will provide seamless integration between an X Window display environment and Macintosh applications." The other, iTools, is an Apache port with many useful additions (above the base install) integrated, such as sendmail, SSL, etc.
Of the two, the X Windows servers is far more significant.

One stumbling block to bringing most graphical Linux apps across to OS X is Apple's proprietary Aqua GUI. While arguably superior to X Windows in many, many ways, it is a whole new technology that an X Windows application developer would have to learn before porting his/her app. With this integrated system, porting such an app would require
almost zero effort. X Windows apps run alongside
native Aqua apps (screenshot) and, while not offering the user all the nicities of a true Aqua-based app...at least the app would
exist
for OS X. And especially here at the beginning, that really will magnify the versatility of MacOS X...which is clearly a good thing.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in September With These 10 New Features

Saturday May 9, 2026 6:03 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not launching until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component will be moved under the...
Apple Watch Series 10 Jet Black Touch ID

Apple Watch Series 12 and watchOS 27: What to Expect Later This Year

Friday May 8, 2026 2:07 pm PDT by
While not too much has been reported about the next Apple Watch models, there are a few rumors about potential design changes and watchOS 27 features. Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models are expected to be released in September, and we have outlined some of the key rumored hardware and software changes below. A new Apple Watch SE is not expected this year, as that model was...