[BRussell]

I've just used X11 for the first time recently - I was trying out R, the stats program, which my I've been toying with to replace SPSS. It's very nice, and only whetted my interest in this capability of OS X, which I had always ignored before. I feel like there's a whole world out there that I have wrongfully neglected.

Can you suggest any cool programs to download and try out? I browsed through the UNIX download section on apple.com, and found a few things that perked my interest - GRASS the GIS program, open office, GIMP. What are some other programs or places to find programs that will be fairly easy to install and run for a new user?

[mduell]

Octave (Computer Algebra System)
Blender (3D modelling)

[Tesseract]

Inkscape is an open source vector drawing app (like Illustrator or Freehand).
Abiword and Gnumeric - GNOME word processor and spreadsheet, not sure how easy these are to install on OS X.

If you're going to be using R heavily, you might want to check out the Mac (non-X11) version.

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by Tesseract

If you're going to be using R heavily, you might want to check out the Mac (non-X11) version.

Oh yeah, I actually was using the Mac version. The only reason I was using X11 at all was that I was looking for a menu-driven interface for R, and R Commander seemed to be the most popular. Do you use it?

[Tesseract]

I only ever used R once, and that was a while ago. I used the built-in command prompt interface - R Commander doesn't sound familiar.

[rem]

Just a few suggestions:

• check out DarwinPorts
• peruse the OS X Unix and open source download page: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_source/

Also, there is a wealth of command-line apps (not X) already installed on your system. To find out where they might be hiding, type echo $PATH from X11 or Terminal.

Enjoy.

[zizban]

The Gimp

[jamil5454]

Nmap

[Gavin]

Some command line goodies:

tar <- bundle multiple files in a folder into a single file, for easy backup and it speeds up file transfer over ftp or file sharing vs sending multiple files, even uncompressed

bzip2 <- compresses way better than gzip or stuffit
wget <- can download a whole website and rewrite the links as relative for local viewing
curl <- can download files based on a pattern, useful for grabbing sequential data or photos from as website

dig <- get dns info about a domain name
whois <- get registrar info about a domain name

[Tesseract]

Ethereal, should you need a packet sniffer (I've used it for debugging network code and also as a poor-man's Little Snitch when running untrusted apps). It's not the kind of app you'll use everyday (unless you are in the networking business or you have a voyeuristic streak) but it might be occasionally useful.

I use and love DarwinPorts to install command-line and X11 software.

[wataru]

Most of the stuff I use has nice OS X packages:
GIMP, Inkscape, LaTeX (through TeXShop), R, clamav (via ClamXav)

Also, on the command line only, I frequently use [font=Courier New]ftp[/font], [font=Courier New]top[/font], and NanoBlogger.

[alphasubzero949]

GIMP
clamXav
smartmontools (DarwinPorts)
tcpflow
scribus

[Detrius]

available through fink:

mtr (awesome ping and traceroute program)
ettercap (packet sniffer)

...and a bunch of other stuff too

[ctt1wbw]

Originally Posted by zizban

The Gimp

He's sleeping...

[Tesseract]

Originally Posted by wataru

LaTeX (through TeXShop)

I'm sure TeXShop is good, but personally I use TextMate as my LaTeX editor. I got my teTeX installation from DarwinPorts and it has worked nicely.

[n1mie]

Originally Posted by BRussell

I've just used X11 for the first time recently - I was trying out R, the stats program, which my I've been toying with to replace SPSS. It's very nice, and only whetted my interest in this capability of OS X, which I had always ignored before. I feel like there's a whole world out there that I have wrongfully neglected.

Can you suggest any cool programs to download and try out? I browsed through the UNIX download section on apple.com, and found a few things that perked my interest - GRASS the GIS program, open office, GIMP. What are some other programs or places to find programs that will be fairly easy to install and run for a new user?

Cool list folks. I saw a number I hadn't noticed before. I am still trying to get my Gnome setup completely up and running, but it is mostly there. In the meantime I still use Fink for almost all of my installation (and update) needs. I sometimes will look through the list of uninstalled programs

Code:
$ fink list -n | more

to see what might be fun to try. Most of the programs in the list that start with 'x' are for X11, although not necessarily all. There are a bunch of games you can try as well (xgalaga, xinvaders, xaos, xjig, xkobo, xmahjongg, xplanet, and more). And if you are brave enough to try Gnome or KDE (or something similar) there are tons more things to play around with. It's not necessarily for the faint of heart, but you didn't get where you are without trying a few things that are out-of-bounds for most users. I'd say go for it.

--Chip

[wataru]

FinkCommander is a great app for browsing through fink packages.

[headbirth]

If your into designing typefaces give FontForge a try. Free and has extensive features. Works great in Apple's X11.

http://fontforge.sourceforge.net/

[headbirth]

Oh ... one more PDFtk .... great for working with PDFs