[XeTeX] Windows XeLaTeX environment and OS/X vs. others

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 09.09.2009 um 19:33 schrieb Karljürgen Feuerherm:

> 1. I am currently using a Windows XP environment. I've been using
> TeXMakerX to write my documents. Generally works well, a bit of a
> problem with cursor placement at times, and not too good when I  
> used RTL
> text (Hebrew in my case). TeXnicCenter is out, it seems, can't deal  
> with
> Unicode (ideally I need to access Plane 1 as well as BMP). Can anyone
> suggest additional alternatives I should consider?

TeXworks? http://tug.org/texworks/

>
> 2. Between this and other things I wish to pursue (yacc, compilers,
> etc.) seems like I should consider getting a hold of a Unix  
> environment.
> Can someone tell me to what extent OS/X is Unix--dialect thereof,  
> clone,
> will work or won't work like? Down the road I can either replace this
> laptop with a Mac and/or I can set up a Linux box perhaps.... (I'm
> finding resources for Windows in all cases pretty hard to come by...)


Mac OS X is based on FreeBSD 5 and comes with many adapted GNU  
utilities. On the command line you can get a feeling of this. Mac OS  
X comes with a Developers Metapackage containing GCC, gmake, yacc,  
etc. And also X11. A MacBook Pro offers superbe hardware. It has a  
dual core processor. This means that you can run on one core some MS  
Losedos or Linux or Solaris or ... and on the other Mac OS X. Apple's  
Bootcamp software creates an environment with a BIOS instead of EFI.  
Parallels Desktop (http://www.parallels.com/) allows to run other  
operating systems, and now even VMware Fusion is available for the Mac!

Buy a Mac and you'll have MS, Linux, *and* Mac OS X!

--
Mit friedvollen Grüßen

   Pete

"What do you think of Western Civilisation?"
"I think it would be a good idea!"
				– Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi