I want to install OpenOffice.org on my MacBook running Mac OS 10.4.10. Apparently, I need to install something called X11 first.
Here’s the problem: I don’t have the first clue what I’m doing. I need someone to walk me through this step by step, like you would with a ten-year-old. No, wait… Most ten-year-olds these days know this stuff better than I do. I need someone to walk me through this like you would a ten-year-old from 1988.
Of course, I’m exaggerating slightly, but I’m really, really lost here. Can someone please help me?
X11 is an optional program supplied on the Mac OS X 10.4 installation discs. It enables you to run Unix programs that use the “X11” system of drawing their windows and handling input. X11 programs behave differently than regular Mac programs, though. Each X11 window has its own menu, like on a Microsoft Windows PC.
Open Office is not the only program that uses X11; The Gimp (an image-editing program like Photoshop) and Inkscape (a vector drawing program like Adobe Illustrator) also use it.
You might want to think about NeoOffice, which is based on OpenOffice but runs on the Mac without the need of X11. I tend to use it instead of OpenOffice.
I recently bought a second hand iMac for my daughter and it didn’t have the install disks with it. If you find yourself in this situation, you can’t download X11 from the Apple site (there are update downloads, but nothing for a first install). There are places you can download it though (and they’re not knock-offs - because it’s based on an open source project and so isn’t restricted). I can’t find any of the links at the moment though…