Just a quick reply:

Actually the 4 options more or less boil down to two if you check what is done in detail:
1) install from source and install external dependencies before. 
This option should always be mentioned in case binaries do not work on a specific system (Tiger, Panther, Leopard etc) - and apart from that it can take a bit after rgdal binaries are available on kyngchaos after R updates (and some people may not want to wait after future updates). In addition, the installed tools may also be necessary for the R commander GUI, GIMP and other programs or if you need to install other packages from source.
So the way to go is: 
1. Install GDAL Framework on kyngchaos GDAL 1.7 Complete
2. Install R AND all tools for Mac: Gfortran gfortran-4.2.3.dmg TclTk tcltk-8.5.5-x11.dmg Developer pack devpack4-darwin8-bin4.tar.gz
3. Install Xcode tools - either from DVD that ships with every mac or after free registration here http://developer.apple.com/programs/register/ (the Xcode tools are also recommended in the Mac OS X FAQ for R http://cran.r-project.org/bin/macosx/RMacOSX-FAQ.html)
4. Install rgdal as already outlined
install.packages("rgdal",
configure.args='--with-gdal-config=/Library/Frameworks/GDAL.Framework/Unix/bin/gdal-config
--with-proj-include=/Library/Frameworks/PROJ.framework/unix/include-with-proj-lib=/Library/Frameworks/PROJ.framework/unix/lib/',dependencies=TRUE,
type="source")

2) as outlined by Barry
> 1. Download the kyngchaos GDAL Complete 'Framework':
> http://www.kyngchaos.com/files/software/frameworks/GDAL_Complete-1.7.dmg
> 2. Double click it, I think that opened it up and then somehow things
> from that get installed. Wish I'd kept screenshots
> 2.5 Wonder where in the .dmg file the rgdal binary is.
> 3. Download the kyngchaos rgdal binary:
> http://www.kyngchaos.com/files/software/frameworks/rgdal-0.6.29-1.zip
> and did install.packages on that.



In general option 2  is easiest - but on the long run option 1) will help you also with other packages (Can`t remember exactly but just installed a new Mac Pro and had to install a couple of R packages from source).
BTW: "Linux Techies"  should have no major probs with Mac, given that the Mac system commands are more or less the same as for Linux systems

Have a nice Xmas
Ralf


> Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:35:13 +0000
> From: Barry Rowlingson <b.rowlingson@lancaster.ac.uk>
> To: Agustin.Lobo@ija.csic.es
> Cc: r-sig-geo <r-sig-geo@stat.math.ethz.ch>
> Subject: Re: [R-sig-Geo] Help with rgdal on MACOS
> Message-ID:
> 	<AANLkTi=K2EmR2yNLUEzaz7PzTS9JuCQs5rhuy5x5Vf9Y@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> On Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 7:36 AM, Agustin Lobo <alobolistas@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> 4. Downloading binary from kyngchaos
>> http://www.kyngchaos.com/software/frameworks?s[]=rgdal
>> and installing with
>> install.packages("~/Downloads/rgdal-0.6.29-1.zip")
>> (I'm guessing the directory, is this the downloading directory by
>> default in Macs?)
>> 
>> Any advice on which one is the best alternative?
>> 
> 
> I was recently asked by a new student with a Mac to sort out how to
> read shapefiles into R for her. I know nothing about Mac packaging,
> binaries, compilers etc, and she knew even less.
> 
> After reading far too many confusing 'how to get rgdal working on a
> Mac' mailing list messages, I got it working. What I think I did was:
> 
> 1. Download the kyngchaos GDAL Complete 'Framework':
> http://www.kyngchaos.com/files/software/frameworks/GDAL_Complete-1.7.dmg
> 2. Double click it, I think that opened it up and then somehow things
> from that get installed. Wish I'd kept screenshots
> 2.5 Wonder where in the .dmg file the rgdal binary is.
> 3. Download the kyngchaos rgdal binary:
> http://www.kyngchaos.com/files/software/frameworks/rgdal-0.6.29-1.zip
> and did install.packages on that.
> 
> - this is your method 4 spelt out!
> 
> I did get the fear that I was going to have to figure out what 'Xcode'
> was, and that led me to the Apple developer page, and that seemed to
> require an account - and a paid account at that - but then maybe Steve
> Jobs thought I was going to try and write an iPhone app. I was at the
> point of giving up and saying 'this is your laptop, you are the
> superuser, you sort it out' when I spotted the rgdal binaries (which
> weren't downloaded with the 'Framework', whatever one of those is).
> 
> A walkthrough of installing rgdal for Mac with screenshots by this
> method would be much appreciated. Too many non-techie people are
> bringing Macs into the world and expecting techies with only Linux
> (and a smidge of Windows) experience to fix them up. William
> Kyngsbury's Mac resources are clearly a wonderful thing, but the
> documentation for non Mac-heads is a bit sparse.
> 
> Barry

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