If you’re a UNIX gearhead with a hankering to run X Windows-compatible UNIX applications on your Mac along with a sophisticated user interface, you may be interested in The Fink team’s recent efforts to bring the K Desktop Environment (KDE) to Mac OS X.
KDE 3.x is a “network transparent contemporary desktop environment for UNIX workstations.” The Fink team has created this version of KDE to run in conjunction with XFree86, an open-source implementation of the X Window System that’s popular on UNIX-based systems.
The Fink Team stressed that this version of KDE for Mac OS X is a work in progress, and that there are “no guarantees” that it won’t cause problems. So it’s asked potential users to make sure that they’re comfortable working with beta software before proceeding. Installation is a rather daunting procedure as well, but the instructions and links to downloads are all available from the Web site.