Tenon's Xtools Takes Home Apple Design Award

by , 2:00 PM EDT, June 12th, 2001

Tenon's X Window Server system for Mac OS X, Xtools, took home an Apple Design Award at last month's World Wide Developers Conference. Xtools provides users with a wonderful implementation of the X Window Server system, complete with the Aqua interface. According to Tenon:

Tenon's Xtools received two prestigious Apple Design Awards at the recent Apple 2001 Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose. Each year, the Apple Design Awards recognize developers for incorporating elements of Apple design standards into their applications. This year was a special year for Apple because their new operating system Mac OS X just shipped with new technologies and new capabilities. Xtools won the "Most Innovative Mac OS X Application" award and placed second in the "Best New OS X Product" category.

Xtools is an easy-to-use Mac OS X application that lets scientists and engineers display remote graphical applications on the Aqua desktop. With Xtools, these professionals can easily access remote applications while enjoying the uniqueness of their Aqua desktop. By enabling enterprise-wide Aqua desktops to connect to 3-D modeling and animations applications on UNIX, Linux, and NT servers, Xtools adds a new dimension to Mac OS X computing.

Xtools is a new, built-from-the-ground-up, object-oriented, multi-threaded Cocoa application that takes full advantage of CoreGraphics and Quartz. Xtools is optimized for the velocity engine and multiple processors and supports hardware accelerated OpenGL. Xtools is not only a vehicle for displaying remote X11 client applications, but also for developing local X11 clients. The Xtools X11 libraries let developers build clickable X applications that can be minimized in the Dock. Xtools is based on open source industry standards and is tightly integrated with Mac OS X and Apple technologies.

Xtools is available for US$199. You can find more information at the Tenon Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

One of the neat things about OS X is the ability to run an X Window Server and have, theoretically, access to the entire collection of X Window applications. A number of X Window apps have already made their way to Mac OS X, most notably The GIMP, and more are sure to follow.

Tenon