KDE on Mac Pro

[Bob Gruen]

OK, so I'm a newcomer to the Mac. I'm an IT pro who has made a career with Microsoft products and Unix/Linux systems, so when I heard that OS-X was Unix based I started to open up to the Apple.

After a few months on my new Mac Pro I can tell you that the user interface is garbage. I mean really bad. I've been writing a conforming system on Linux for a while now and I moved it over to the Mac as that's where it will run. Due to the user interface my productivity slowed to a crawl.

First, I've been spoiled by kwrite in Linux/KDE. Looking around I couldn't find anything even close in the Apple realm. Next, Aqua Term leaves a little to be desired. I can't put my finger on it but it's just not right. The final straw: I ran into unforgivable limitations in Finder. I mean you can't even associate a command line to a file type! Apple is the only OS that I know of that does this. AppleScript is pathetic and Bash is right there, just under the covers, mocking me.

The solution KDE on OSX. I installed the K Desktop Environment through the PORT installer. It took quite a long time as it downloads source files and compiles everything on your computer. There was also three different installer errors along the way that I had to correct, but that's to be expected from a freeware installer like PORT and the very complicated process of downloading, compiling, and installing something as big as the KDE. Because it cleans up after itself along the way it uses less than 2 gig of space. Now I have kwrite, Konquerer (with the all important file associations), xterm, and a beta conforming system that can process 3 channel color corrections on 4K 4:4:4 dpx files at 16 seconds/frame... per core! :weight_lift:

If this is in your skill set and you prefer the Linux desktop and tool set, don't hesitate, install the KDE.

Bob

 

[Nook Kim]

Interesting.. Bob. I know nothing about Linux or KDE, and I'd like to experiment with what you have just suggested. Now, where do I begin? :construction:

 

[Conrad Hunziker]

Well, OSX is really more FreeBSD based than linux based. (In fact, you can still see the University of California copyright notice on bootup of OSX) I run a couple dozen FreeBSD servers, so I find working under the hood in OSX is really easy.

For development Ive used Xcode without issues. I dont run kwrite, so I cant comment, but Xcode and SVN really work well for me. As for finder limitations, Im not sure what you are expecting. However, in super-user mode Ive found that finder does just about everything that unix tools do.

To each their own.

 

[Bob Gruen]

Conrad,

As an example, I want to be able to assign the file type of .plot to gnuplot, which is a command line application that does not register with the OS as an application. After researching it for a day or so I kept arriving at the same answer: Finder works with a registration service and simply has no facility for a free-form file association. After setting it up in Konquerer all I have to do is click the icon and the plot pops up.

Nook,
I'd recommend trying Linux/KDE on another computer first (so you get past the learning curve without harming your Mac). If you have Linux experience, a computer guru friend, or just want to plunge ahead you start by installing MacPort http://www.macports.org/. This is an installation utility that can install a lot of freeware on your Mac. Once MacPorts is installed you can search for applications and install them. I believe the command is: sudo port -install kde but if you go through the website you can verify that.

Bob

 

[fde101]

Bob,

File associations on OS X are defined by the individual applications, NOT by the Finder. There is a plist file in the application bundles that define what kind of file(s) each application can handle. It is actually possible to have different files of the same type/extension open by default with different applications.


Bear in mind that the history behind this is different. On pre-OS X mac system software, there were two hidden 4-character codes for each file: a creator code and a type code. These codes are still present in OS X and are factored into the decisions somehow, but extensions are used in addition to this system.

Prior to OS X, each application had its own unique creator code. The OS would match creator codes to determine which application would open the file. The program that created the file would be the one that would then be used to re-open it by default -- regardless of its type.

 

[Bob Gruen]

That's all well and good, but it still won't do what every other GUI file app out there will, which is free form file associations. Windows Explorer, KDE Konquerer, Gnome Nautilus, they all do it. It's not an oversight either, Apple did it on purpose (I just can't figure out why).

As an example I created a file type of .plot and assigned it to gnuplot -persist %f.
My dpx type has a couple of associations, the default is ImageMagick: display %f

Add to this that Konsole can open multiple terminal sessions in a single window accessible by tabs; Kwrite is perfect for writing scripts; and the Apple software is still available from the Dock.

If you are a Linux nut or are a Unix developer then installing the KDE is well worth the effort.

Bob