diff --git a/maintainers/scripts/nixpkgs-lint.pl b/maintainers/scripts/nixpkgs-lint.pl
index baf2cbf8ba7..d74f5c740f5 100755
--- a/maintainers/scripts/nixpkgs-lint.pl
+++ b/maintainers/scripts/nixpkgs-lint.pl
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ my $info = XMLin($xml, KeyAttr => { 'item' => '+attrPath', 'meta' => 'name' }, F
 print "=== Package meta information ===\n\n";
 my $nrBadNames = 0;
 my $nrMissingMaintainers = 0;
+my $nrMissingPlatforms = 0;
 my $nrMissingDescriptions = 0;
 my $nrBadDescriptions = 0;
 my $nrMissingLicenses = 0;
@@ -77,6 +78,12 @@ foreach my $attr (sort keys %{$info->{item}}) {
         $nrMissingMaintainers++;
     }
 
+    # Check the platforms.
+    if (!defined $pkg->{meta}->{platforms}) {
+        print "$attr: Lacks a platform\n";
+        $nrMissingPlatforms++;
+    }
+
     # Package names should not be capitalised.
     if ($pkgName =~ /^[A-Z]/) {
         print "$attr: package name ‘$pkgName’ should not be capitalised\n";
@@ -159,6 +166,7 @@ print "=== Bottom line ===\n";
 print "Number of packages: ", scalar(keys %{$info->{item}}), "\n";
 print "Number of bad names: $nrBadNames\n";
 print "Number of missing maintainers: $nrMissingMaintainers\n";
+print "Number of missing platforms: $nrMissingPlatforms\n";
 print "Number of missing licenses: $nrMissingLicenses\n";
 print "Number of missing descriptions: $nrMissingDescriptions\n";
 print "Number of bad descriptions: $nrBadDescriptions\n";
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/ginac/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/ginac/default.nix
index 9bffc5548dd..9ea43023d57 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/ginac/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/ginac/default.nix
@@ -1,24 +1,25 @@
-{ stdenv, fetchurl, cln, pkgconfig, readline }:
+{ stdenv, fetchurl, cln, pkgconfig, readline, gmp }:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   name = "ginac-1.6.2";
 
   src = fetchurl {
-    url = "${meta.homepage}/${name}.tar.bz2";
+    url    = "${meta.homepage}/${name}.tar.bz2";
     sha256 = "1pivcqqaf142l6vrj2azq6dxrcyzhag4za2dwicb4gsb09ax4d0g";
   };
 
   propagatedBuildInputs = [ cln ];
-  buildInputs = [ readline ];
+
+  buildInputs = [ readline ] ++ stdenv.lib.optional stdenv.isDarwin gmp;
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [ pkgconfig ];
 
   configureFlags = "--disable-rpath";
 
-  meta = {
+  meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "GiNaC is Not a CAS";
-    homepage = http://www.ginac.de/;
-    platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
-    maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.urkud ];
+    homepage    = http://www.ginac.de/;
+    maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 urkud ];
+    platforms   = platforms.all;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/desktops/xfce/core/xfce4-power-manager.nix b/pkgs/desktops/xfce/core/xfce4-power-manager.nix
index 1e77ba39f8f..5f38308f6d4 100644
--- a/pkgs/desktops/xfce/core/xfce4-power-manager.nix
+++ b/pkgs/desktops/xfce/core/xfce4-power-manager.nix
@@ -10,6 +10,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     url = "mirror://xfce/src/xfce/${p_name}/${ver_maj}/${name}.tar.bz2";
     sha256 = "1sc4f4wci5yl3l9lk7vcsbwj6hdjshbxw9qm43s64jr882jriyyp";
   };
+
+  brightness_patch = fetchurl {
+    url = "http://git.xfce.org/xfce/xfce4-power-manager/patch/?id=05d12e12596512f7a31d3cdb4845a69dc2d4c611";
+    sha256 = "0rbldvjwpj93hx59xrmvbdql1pgkbqzjh4vp6gkavn4z6sv535v8";
+  };
+
   name = "${p_name}-${ver_maj}.${ver_min}";
 
   buildInputs =
@@ -18,6 +24,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ];
   preFixup = "rm $out/share/icons/hicolor/icon-theme.cache";
 
+  patches = [ brightness_patch ];
+
   meta = {
     homepage = http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/applications/xfce4-power-manager;
     description = "A power manager for the Xfce Desktop Environment";
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL/default.nix
index 899c3bb5c8d..e58397fa9a5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL/default.nix
@@ -23,10 +23,11 @@ let
       '';
 in
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  name = "SDL-1.2.15";
+  version = "1.2.15";
+  name    = "SDL-${version}";
 
   src = fetchurl {
-    url = "http://www.libsdl.org/release/${name}.tar.gz";
+    url    = "http://www.libsdl.org/release/${name}.tar.gz";
     sha256 = "005d993xcac8236fpvd1iawkz4wqjybkpn8dbwaliqz5jfkidlyn";
   };
 
@@ -49,8 +50,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   passthru = {inherit openglSupport;};
 
-  meta = {
+  meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "A cross-platform multimedia library";
-    homepage = http://www.libsdl.org/;
+    homepage    = http://www.libsdl.org/;
+    maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 ];
+    platforms   = platforms.unix;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL_image/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL_image/default.nix
index 8f0d59bc212..a1d83950477 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL_image/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL_image/default.nix
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   name = "SDL_image-1.2.12";
 
   src = fetchurl {
-    url = "http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/release/${name}.tar.gz";
+    url    = "http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/release/${name}.tar.gz";
     sha256 = "16an9slbb8ci7d89wakkmyfvp7c0cval8xw4hkg0842nhhlp540b";
   };
 
-  buildInputs = [SDL libpng libjpeg libtiff libungif libXpm];
+  buildInputs = [ SDL libpng libjpeg libtiff libungif libXpm ];
 
   postInstall = ''
     sed -i -e 's,"SDL.h",<SDL/SDL.h>,' \
@@ -19,9 +19,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ln -sv SDL/SDL_image.h $out/include/SDL_image.h
   '';
 
-  meta = {
+  meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "SDL image library";
-    homepage = "http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/";
-    platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
+    homepage    = http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/;
+    maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 ];
+    platforms   = platforms.unix;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL_mixer/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL_mixer/default.nix
index af83f19dbbd..f5b40daaf68 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL_mixer/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL_mixer/default.nix
@@ -1,14 +1,13 @@
 { stdenv, fetchurl, SDL, libogg, libvorbis, enableNativeMidi ? false }:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  pname = "SDL_mixer";
-  version = "1.2.8";
-
-  name = "${pname}-${version}";
+  pname   = "SDL_mixer";
+  version = "1.2.12";
+  name    = "${pname}-${version}";
 
   src = fetchurl {
-    url = "http://www.libsdl.org/projects/${pname}/release/${name}.tar.gz";
-    sha256 = "a8222a274778ff16d0e3ee49a30db27a48a4d357169a915fc599a764e405e0b6";
+    url    = "http://www.libsdl.org/projects/${pname}/release/${name}.tar.gz";
+    sha256 = "0alrhqgm40p4c92s26mimg9cm1y7rzr6m0p49687jxd9g6130i0n";
   };
 
   buildInputs = [SDL libogg libvorbis];
@@ -17,7 +16,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   postInstall = "ln -s $out/include/SDL/SDL_mixer.h $out/include/";
 
-  meta = {
+  meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "SDL multi-channel audio mixer library";
+    homepage    = http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_mixer/;
+    maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 ];
+    platforms   = platforms.unix;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/dbus/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/dbus/default.nix
index fe4be4f3726..b47e3c4a0e0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/dbus/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/dbus/default.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 { stdenv, fetchurl, pkgconfig, autoconf, automake, libtool
 , expat, systemd, glib, dbus_glib, python
-, libX11, libICE, libSM, useX11 ? stdenv.isLinux }:
+, libX11, libICE, libSM, useX11 ? (stdenv.isLinux || stdenv.isDarwin) }:
 
 let
   version = "1.6.14"; # 1.7.* isn't recommended, even for gnome 3.8
@@ -89,7 +89,9 @@ in rec {
   tools = dbus_drv "tools" "tools" {
     configureFlags = [ "--with-dbus-daemondir=${daemon}/bin" ];
     buildInputs = buildInputsX ++ systemdOrEmpty ++ [ libs daemon dbus_glib ];
-    NIX_CFLAGS_LINK = "-Wl,--as-needed -ldbus-1";
+    NIX_CFLAGS_LINK = 
+      stdenv.lib.optionalString (!stdenv.isDarwin) "-Wl,--as-needed "
+      + "-ldbus-1";
 
     meta.platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
   };
@@ -104,7 +106,9 @@ in rec {
   tests = dbus_drv "tests" "test" {
     preBuild = makeInternalLib;
     buildInputs = buildInputsX ++ systemdOrEmpty ++ [ libs tools daemon dbus_glib python ];
-    NIX_CFLAGS_LINK = "-Wl,--as-needed -ldbus-1";
+    NIX_CFLAGS_LINK = 
+      stdenv.lib.optionalString (!stdenv.isDarwin) "-Wl,--as-needed "
+      + "-ldbus-1";
   };
 
   docs = dbus_drv "docs" "doc" {
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/haskell/splot/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/haskell/splot/default.nix
index f1b15a731d5..460dc3f8c43 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/haskell/splot/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/haskell/splot/default.nix
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
-{ cabal, bytestringLexing, cairo, Chart, colour, HUnit, mtl
+{ cabal, bytestringLexing, cairo, colour, HUnit, mtl
 , strptime, time, vcsRevision
 }:
 
 cabal.mkDerivation (self: {
   pname = "splot";
-  version = "0.3.9";
-  sha256 = "039k6lgwdvpyc8w74zh98wxi1wj2jmin69jnwp7gnmv43kjpbgh5";
+  version = "0.3.11";
+  sha256 = "0mpyfmafjjcf85v740h69p5mggyqsq3li8m1fa5c0z4rdd0395an";
   isLibrary = false;
   isExecutable = true;
   buildDepends = [
-    bytestringLexing cairo Chart colour HUnit mtl strptime time
+    bytestringLexing cairo colour HUnit mtl strptime time
     vcsRevision
   ];
   meta = {
diff --git a/pkgs/games/beret/default.nix b/pkgs/games/beret/default.nix
index 2e252a5cd54..a92fe4d7c67 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/beret/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/beret/default.nix
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [ SDL SDL_image SDL_ttf SDL_mixer ];
 
   NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = "-I${SDL}/include/SDL";
-
-  NIX_CFLAGS_LINK = "-lgcc_s";
+  NIX_CFLAGS_LINK = stdenv.lib.optionalString (!stdenv.isDarwin) "-lgcc_s";
+  NIX_LDFLAGS = stdenv.lib.optionalString stdenv.isDarwin
+    "-framework CoreFoundation -framework OpenGL -framework Cocoa";
 
   patches = [ ./use-home-dir.patch ];
 
@@ -28,11 +29,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     cp -av tahoma.ttf images music rooms sfx $out/share
   '';
 
-  meta = {
+  meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "A 2D puzzle-platformer game about a scientist with telekinetic abilities";
-    homepage = http://kiwisauce.com/beret/;
-    platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
-    license = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl2;
+    homepage    = http://kiwisauce.com/beret/;
+    license     = licenses.lgpl2;
+    maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 ];
+    platforms   = platforms.all;
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/pulseaudio/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/pulseaudio/default.nix
index 46f6735edee..629dcb5bbce 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/pulseaudio/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/pulseaudio/default.nix
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 { stdenv, fetchurl, pkgconfig, gnum4, gdbm, libtool, glib, dbus, avahi
-, gconf, gtk, intltool, gettext
-, alsaLib, libsamplerate, libsndfile, speex, bluez, sbc, udev, libcap
+, gconf, gtk, intltool, gettext, alsaLib, libsamplerate, libsndfile, speex
+, bluez, sbc, udev, libcap, json_c
 , jackaudioSupport ? false, jackaudio ? null
 , x11Support ? false, xlibs
-, json_c
-, useSystemd ? false, systemd ? null
-}:
+, useSystemd ? false, systemd ? null }:
 
 assert jackaudioSupport -> jackaudio != null;
 
@@ -18,20 +16,18 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   # Since `libpulse*.la' contain `-lgdbm' and `-lcap', it must be propagated.
-  propagatedBuildInputs = [ gdbm libcap ];
+  propagatedBuildInputs
+    = [ gdbm ] ++ stdenv.lib.optionals (!stdenv.isDarwin) [ libcap ];
 
   buildInputs =
-    [ pkgconfig gnum4 libtool intltool glib dbus avahi
-      libsamplerate libsndfile speex alsaLib bluez sbc udev
-      json_c
-      #gtk gconf 
-    ]
+    [ pkgconfig gnum4 libtool intltool glib dbus avahi libsamplerate libsndfile
+      speex json_c ]
     ++ stdenv.lib.optional jackaudioSupport jackaudio
     ++ stdenv.lib.optionals x11Support [ xlibs.xlibs xlibs.libXtst xlibs.libXi ]
-    ++ stdenv.lib.optional useSystemd systemd;
+    ++ stdenv.lib.optional useSystemd systemd
+    ++ stdenv.lib.optionals (!stdenv.isDarwin) [ alsaLib bluez sbc udev ];
 
   preConfigure = ''
-
     # Move the udev rules under $(prefix).
     sed -i "src/Makefile.in" \
         -e "s|udevrulesdir[[:blank:]]*=.*$|udevrulesdir = $out/lib/udev/rules.d|g"
@@ -42,19 +38,32 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
        -e "s|chmod r+s |true |"
   '';
 
-  configureFlags = ''
-    --disable-solaris --disable-hal --disable-jack
-    --disable-oss-output --disable-oss-wrapper
-    --localstatedir=/var --sysconfdir=/etc
-    ${if jackaudioSupport then "--enable-jack" else ""}
-  '';
-
-  installFlags = "sysconfdir=$(out)/etc pulseconfdir=$(out)/etc/pulse";
+  configureFlags =
+    [ "--disable-solaris" "--disable-jack" "--disable-oss-output"
+      "--disable-oss-wrapper" "--localstatedir=/var" "--sysconfdir=/etc" ]
+    ++ stdenv.lib.optional jackaudioSupport "--enable-jack"
+    ++ stdenv.lib.optional stdenv.isDarwin "--with-mac-sysroot=/";
 
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
-  meta = {
+  # not sure what the best practices are here -- can't seem to find a way
+  # for the compiler to bring in stdlib and stdio (etc.) properly
+  # the alternative is to copy the files from /usr/include to src, but there are
+  # probably a large number of files that would need to be copied (I stopped
+  # after the seventh)
+  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = stdenv.lib.optionalString stdenv.isDarwin
+    "-I/usr/include";
+
+  installFlags = "sysconfdir=$(out)/etc pulseconfdir=$(out)/etc/pulse";
+
+  meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "PulseAudio, a sound server for POSIX and Win32 systems";
+    homepage    = http://www.pulseaudio.org/;
+    # Note: Practically, the server is under the GPL due to the
+    # dependency on `libsamplerate'.  See `LICENSE' for details.
+    licenses    = licenses.lgpl2Plus;
+    maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 ];
+    platforms   = platforms.unix;
 
     longDescription = ''
       PulseAudio is a sound server for POSIX and Win32 systems.  A
@@ -65,14 +74,5 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       sample format or channel count and mixing several sounds into
       one are easily achieved using a sound server.
     '';
-
-    homepage = http://www.pulseaudio.org/;
-
-    # Note: Practically, the server is under the GPL due to the
-    # dependency on `libsamplerate'.  See `LICENSE' for details.
-    licenses = "LGPLv2+";
-
-    maintainers = [ ];
-    platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.gnu;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index bf319ca4526..4a187b41ebc 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -5403,14 +5403,24 @@ let
 
   SDL = callPackage ../development/libraries/SDL {
     openglSupport = mesaSupported;
-    alsaSupport = true;
+    alsaSupport = (!stdenv.isDarwin);
     x11Support = true;
-    pulseaudioSupport = false; # better go through ALSA
+    pulseaudioSupport = stdenv.isDarwin; # better go through ALSA
+
+    # resolve the unrecognized -fpascal-strings option error
+    stdenv = if stdenv.isDarwin
+      then clangStdenv
+      else stdenv;
   };
 
   SDL_gfx = callPackage ../development/libraries/SDL_gfx { };
 
-  SDL_image = callPackage ../development/libraries/SDL_image { };
+  SDL_image = callPackage ../development/libraries/SDL_image {
+    # provide an Objective-C compiler
+    stdenv = if stdenv.isDarwin
+      then clangStdenv
+      else stdenv;
+  };
 
   SDL_mixer = callPackage ../development/libraries/SDL_mixer { };