(This buffer's contents looks almost right, the frame's title is correct, but *Messages* or *Buffer List* are a mess.) When I launch Emacs.app without parameter or by double-clicking on it or by using the open command, Emacs.app shows for long time these weird texts. Particularly error messages or warning (unsafe local variables, desktop file in use, etc.) cannot be understood. This state ends when the first frame is rebuilt to follow initial-frame-alist. From now on all texts are sane/OK. This behaviour started already with GNU Emacs 23.1.50 – at least such an old version (powerpc-apple-darwin8.11.0, NS apple-appkit-824.48, 2009-11-14, Windowing system distributor `Apple', version 10.3.949), built under Tiger, Mac OS X 10.4.11, shows this behaviour in Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5.8. I do seem to remember that I saw this scrambling in GNU Emacs 23.1.90 on Tiger. The X clients do not show this effect. Processor is PowerPC "G4" 7447A, i.e., big endian (intel/AMD are little endian). In GNU Emacs 24.0.50.1 (powerpc-apple-darwin9.8.0, NS apple- appkit-949.54) of 2010-06-05 on Latsche.local Windowing system distributor `Apple', version 10.3.949 configured using `configure '--without-sound' '--without-dbus' '-- without-pop' '--without-gconf' '--with-ns' '--disable-ns-self- contained' '--x-libraries=/usr/X11/lib' '--x-includes=/usr/X11/ include' '--enable-locallisppath=/Library/Application Support/Emacs/ calendar24:/Library/Application Support/Emacs' 'CFLAGS=-g -H -Wno- pointer-sign -pipe -fPIC -fno-common -mcpu=7450 -mtune=7450 -faltivec - fast' 'CPPFLAGS=' 'LDFLAGS=' 'CC=gcc-4.2' 'CPP=cpp-4.2' 'PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/sw/lib/pango-ft219/lib/pkgconfig:/sw/lib/xft2/lib/ pkgconfig:/sw/lib/fontconfig2/lib/pkgconfig:/sw/lib/freetype219/lib/ pkgconfig:/sw/lib/pkgconfig:/sw/share/pkgconfig:/usr/lib/pkgconfig:/ usr/X11/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/X11/share/pkgconfig'' Important settings: value of $LC_ALL: nil value of $LC_COLLATE: nil value of $LC_CTYPE: de_DE.UTF-8 value of $LC_MESSAGES: nil value of $LC_MONETARY: nil value of $LC_NUMERIC: nil value of $LC_TIME: nil value of $LANG: de_DE.UTF-8 value of $XMODIFIERS: nil locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix default enable-multibyte-characters: t Major mode: Dired by name Minor modes in effect: TeX-PDF-mode: t auto-revert-mode: t shell-dirtrack-mode: t diff-auto-refine-mode: t show-paren-mode: t display-time-mode: t desktop-save-mode: t delete-selection-mode: t tooltip-mode: t mouse-wheel-mode: t menu-bar-mode: t file-name-shadow-mode: t global-font-lock-mode: t font-lock-mode: t auto-composition-mode: t auto-encryption-mode: t auto-compression-mode: t column-number-mode: t line-number-mode: t transient-mark-mode: t Recent input: -- Greetings Pete Got Mole problems? Call Avogadro 6.02 x 10^23