diff --git a/modules/base/pymod/wrap_base.cc b/modules/base/pymod/wrap_base.cc
index 57dee930fb3d95db1266b84ad7079ffa035f0f35..d28c889ac2cd489b8cea178529af97f45576dcba 100644
--- a/modules/base/pymod/wrap_base.cc
+++ b/modules/base/pymod/wrap_base.cc
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE(_base)
   export_Range();
   export_Units();
   
-  class_<std::vector<ost::String> >("StringList", init<>())
-    .def(vector_indexing_suite<std::vector<ost::String> >())
+  class_<std::vector<String> >("StringList", init<>())
+    .def(vector_indexing_suite<std::vector<String> >())
   ;  
 }
diff --git a/modules/config/base.hh b/modules/config/base.hh
index a73b9a1b1f83f278595dc7ae07fc742fb77e2e6f..2e279e89d30524c0212fefca649902310b70f050 100644
--- a/modules/config/base.hh
+++ b/modules/config/base.hh
@@ -45,6 +45,15 @@ typedef unsigned int uint;
   typedef float Real;
 #endif
 
+#ifdef Complex
+  // undef Complex from xorg X.h to avoid clash with our definition
+  #undef Complex
+#endif
+typedef std::complex<Real> Complex;
+typedef unsigned short Word;
+
+
+
 #ifndef round_function
 #define round_function
 #ifndef round
@@ -96,10 +105,7 @@ inline double log2( double n )
 #endif
 
 
-namespace ost {
-
 typedef std::string String;
 
-}//ns
 
 #endif
diff --git a/modules/geom/src/exc.hh b/modules/geom/src/exc.hh
index cf583ee96c4d42bcdc28f8a643e9cb1654a3457f..d67e4c8e878850f74538852bd42fb366407ad2ad 100644
--- a/modules/geom/src/exc.hh
+++ b/modules/geom/src/exc.hh
@@ -35,19 +35,19 @@ namespace geom {
 */
 class DLLEXPORT_OST_GEOM GeomException: public std::runtime_error {
 public:
-  GeomException(const ost::String& m):
+  GeomException(const String& m):
     std::runtime_error(m) {}
 };
 
 class DLLEXPORT_OST_GEOM DivideByZeroException: public GeomException {
 public:
-  DivideByZeroException(const ost::String& m="Divide By Zero"):
+  DivideByZeroException(const String& m="Divide By Zero"):
     GeomException(m) {}
 };
 
 class DLLEXPORT_OST_GEOM OutOfRangeException: public GeomException {
 public:
-  OutOfRangeException(const ost::String& m="Out Of Range"):
+  OutOfRangeException(const String& m="Out Of Range"):
     GeomException(m) {}
 };
 
diff --git a/modules/gfx/src/map_iso.hh b/modules/gfx/src/map_iso.hh
index 3648697f0e69208f1d50acbb5605d7539aebe87d..c69979ef06aa9b9bc8082638ce27db1b8fcd32cd 100644
--- a/modules/gfx/src/map_iso.hh
+++ b/modules/gfx/src/map_iso.hh
@@ -43,9 +43,9 @@ typedef boost::shared_ptr<MapIso> MapIsoP;
 /// \sa gfx::MapSlab
 class DLLEXPORT_OST_GFX MapIso: public GfxObj {
 public:
-  MapIso(const ost::String& name, const img::MapHandle& mh,float level);
+  MapIso(const String& name, const img::MapHandle& mh,float level);
 
-  MapIso(const ost::String& name, const img::MapHandle& mh,
+  MapIso(const String& name, const img::MapHandle& mh,
          float level, uint a);
 
   virtual geom::AlignedCuboid GetBoundingBox() const;
diff --git a/modules/gfx/src/map_slab.hh b/modules/gfx/src/map_slab.hh
index fc93c46d3b38471b532267093ac6ea15e27b286d..3af06bd5ae3d59713dd39ffdcc0ff3f214cb42ac 100644
--- a/modules/gfx/src/map_slab.hh
+++ b/modules/gfx/src/map_slab.hh
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ public:
   /// \param name is the name of the object
   /// \param mh is a 3D image
   /// \param p is the plane that is intersected with \a mh
-  MapSlab(const ost::String& name, const img::MapHandle& mh, 
+  MapSlab(const String& name, const img::MapHandle& mh, 
           const geom::Plane& p);
 
   virtual geom::AlignedCuboid GetBoundingBox() const;
diff --git a/modules/gfx/src/shader.cc b/modules/gfx/src/shader.cc
index 10bb651931cb10db7eef144b744e26895e365ea8..e7d1cd5b73ab2d1a57e2d8be2c9d17c11ad8f7b1 100644
--- a/modules/gfx/src/shader.cc
+++ b/modules/gfx/src/shader.cc
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ void Shader::Setup()
 void Shader::Activate(const String& name)
 {
   if(!name.empty()) {
-    std::map<ost::String, GLuint>::iterator it = shader_program_map_.find(name);
+    std::map<String, GLuint>::iterator it = shader_program_map_.find(name);
     if(it!=shader_program_map_.end()) {
       LOGN_DUMP("switching to shader [" << name << "]");
       glUseProgram(it->second);
diff --git a/modules/gfx/src/shader.hh b/modules/gfx/src/shader.hh
index 228308364413fca1539b0fb7ccaa96ca69a0d730..054fdc37e1e98c19f27a6d29a17f20085547b895 100644
--- a/modules/gfx/src/shader.hh
+++ b/modules/gfx/src/shader.hh
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ private:
 
   std::stack<String> program_stack_;
 
-  std::map<ost::String,GLuint> shader_code_map_;
-  std::map<ost::String,GLuint> shader_program_map_;
+  std::map<String,GLuint> shader_code_map_;
+  std::map<String,GLuint> shader_program_map_;
 };
 
 }} // ns
diff --git a/modules/gui/pymod/export_data_viewer.cc b/modules/gui/pymod/export_data_viewer.cc
index e3ddea39f876e232ed54de55e0018c0eb8ef99c3..d8d9f91bc385498db8dad436052f8c9688058056 100644
--- a/modules/gui/pymod/export_data_viewer.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/pymod/export_data_viewer.cc
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ using namespace ost::img::gui;
 
 namespace {
 
-void add_dock1(DataViewerProxy* p, QWidget* w, const ost::String& name) 
+void add_dock1(DataViewerProxy* p, QWidget* w, const String& name) 
 {
   p->AddDockWidget(w,QString::fromStdString(name));
 }
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ void add_dock2(DataViewerProxy* p, QWidget* w, const QString& name)
   p->AddDockWidget(w,name);
 }
 
-void add_dock3(DataViewerProxy* p, QWidget* w, const ost::String& name, bool s) 
+void add_dock3(DataViewerProxy* p, QWidget* w, const String& name, bool s) 
 {
   p->AddDockWidget(w,QString::fromStdString(name),s);
 }
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/output_redirector.cc b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/output_redirector.cc
index 4e10d33ba31cd5731c4af2a76955292c9fa2bce4..2702b057a74abe66a3e52c8b0f695d7a8bb44f3a 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/output_redirector.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/output_redirector.cc
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 
 namespace ost { namespace gui {
 
-void OutputRedirector::Write( ost::String const& str )
+void OutputRedirector::Write( String const& str )
 {
   buffer_.append(str);
 }
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ QString OutputRedirector::GetOutput()
   buffer_.clear();
   return ret;
 }
-ost::String  OutputRedirector::buffer_; 
+String  OutputRedirector::buffer_; 
 
 
 
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/output_redirector.hh b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/output_redirector.hh
index 1a50ffce7fdcee2e95073cdebcb136da83802f06..664c696cbdb1bbe87c9e807cbbb0c0223db89572 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/output_redirector.hh
+++ b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/output_redirector.hh
@@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ namespace ost { namespace gui {
 
 class DLLEXPORT_OST_GUI OutputRedirector {
 public:
-  void Write(const ost::String& str);
+  void Write(const String& str);
   static QString GetOutput();
 private:
-    static ost::String  buffer_; 
+    static String  buffer_; 
 };
 
 }}//ns
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter.cc b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter.cc
index 3132a585c4ee105cde64123a8504036e8b6f36c1..4af471f17a8b2017fd32898fa0e99ed1808c1697 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter.cc
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ bool PythonInterpreter::RunCommand(const QString& command)
         bp::object repr=main_module_.attr("__builtins__").attr("repr");
         bp::object result=bp::eval(bp::str(command.toStdString()),
                                    main_namespace_, main_namespace_);
-        ost::String rstring=bp::extract<ost::String>(repr(result));
+        String rstring=bp::extract<String>(repr(result));
         if(rstring!="None"){
           output_redirector_.Write(rstring);
           output_redirector_.Write("\n");
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ CodeBlockStatus PythonInterpreter::GetCodeBlockStatus(const QString& command)
       try {
         bp::object result=compile_command_(bp::str(cmd));
         try {
-          String doc=bp::extract<ost::String>(result.attr("__doc__"));
+          String doc=bp::extract<String>(result.attr("__doc__"));
           complete=true;
           status=CODE_BLOCK_COMPLETE;
         } catch(bp::error_already_set) {
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter_proxy.cc b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter_proxy.cc
index 4b3c986167591e597bf0e19f8fd62b42d2e220a3..63353aeab7196ac054124da8962ec4306dd61a4d 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter_proxy.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter_proxy.cc
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ PythonInterpreterProxy::PythonInterpreterProxy(PythonInterpreter* interpreter):
 {
 }
 
-bp::object PythonInterpreterProxy::Run(const ost::String& widget)
+bp::object PythonInterpreterProxy::Run(const String& widget)
 {
   return interpreter_->RunInMainThread(widget.c_str());
 }
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter_proxy.hh b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter_proxy.hh
index 0addb86b54eeadf3be224b496d9a69ad2de05731..1cb54fa0b0113ab35d8dbbbed0712d62064dff30 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter_proxy.hh
+++ b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_interpreter_proxy.hh
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class PythonInterpreter;
 class DLLEXPORT_OST_GUI PythonInterpreterProxy {
 public:
   PythonInterpreterProxy(PythonInterpreter* interpreter);
-  bp::object Run(const ost::String& widget);
+  bp::object Run(const String& widget);
 protected:
  PythonInterpreter* interpreter_;
 };
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_namespace_tree_item.cc b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_namespace_tree_item.cc
index 606435ba0fd4282be1e8ca215af7409c47d99609..c4af0f2072b88e1574ee746e0083fdb85dfc06f8 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_namespace_tree_item.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/python_shell/python_namespace_tree_item.cc
@@ -94,14 +94,14 @@ void PythonNamespaceTreeItem::FetchMore()
   bp::list keys=bp::extract<bp::list>(dir(namespace_)); 
   unsigned int dict_length=bp::len(keys);
   for (unsigned int i=0;i<dict_length;++i) {
-    QString child_name=QString::fromStdString(bp::extract<ost::String>(keys[i]));
+    QString child_name=QString::fromStdString(bp::extract<String>(keys[i]));
     if(child_name.startsWith("__")){
       continue;
     }
     bp::object child_namespace;
     bool found=false;
     try{
-      String keystring=bp::extract<ost::String>(keys[i]);
+      String keystring=bp::extract<String>(keys[i]);
       child_namespace=namespace_.attr(keystring.c_str());
       if (bp::len(dir(child_namespace))>0) {
         found=true;
diff --git a/modules/img/alg/src/fourier_filters.cc b/modules/img/alg/src/fourier_filters.cc
index 9ea483d86e0c7fcfef9f1b8eedef1f6e531e5b13..dbf915e5b03b3fa9ba5db446d394054f5772cca6 100644
--- a/modules/img/alg/src/fourier_filters.cc
+++ b/modules/img/alg/src/fourier_filters.cc
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ public:
     }
   }
 
-  static ost::String GetAlgorithmName() {return "LP"; }
+  static String GetAlgorithmName() {return "LP"; }
 
 private:
   Real limit_;
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ public:
     }
   }
 
-  static ost::String GetAlgorithmName() {return "HP"; }
+  static String GetAlgorithmName() {return "HP"; }
 
 private:
   Real limit_;
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ public:
     }
   }
 
-  static ost::String GetAlgorithmName() {return "GaussianLP"; }
+  static String GetAlgorithmName() {return "GaussianLP"; }
 
 private:
   Real limit_;
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ public:
     }
   }
 
-  static ost::String GetAlgorithmName() {return "GaussianHP"; }
+  static String GetAlgorithmName() {return "GaussianHP"; }
 
 private:
   Real limit_;
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ public:
     }
   }
 
-  static ost::String GetAlgorithmName() {return "FermiLP"; }
+  static String GetAlgorithmName() {return "FermiLP"; }
 
 private:
   Real limit_;
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ public:
     }
   }
 
-  static ost::String GetAlgorithmName() {return "ButterworthLP"; }
+  static String GetAlgorithmName() {return "ButterworthLP"; }
 
 private:
   Real limit_;
diff --git a/modules/img/alg/tests/test_fft.cc b/modules/img/alg/tests/test_fft.cc
index a06a7cd87114630a8453315d420e5794bd9087d1..6dce5673cd33e885da09afacb7e48463bd4ca40a 100644
--- a/modules/img/alg/tests/test_fft.cc
+++ b/modules/img/alg/tests/test_fft.cc
@@ -524,7 +524,7 @@ struct test_memalloc_fnc {
     }
   }
 
-  ost::String GetAlgorithmName() const {return "";}
+  String GetAlgorithmName() const {return "";}
 };
 
 typedef ImageStateModIPAlgorithm<test_memalloc_fnc> test_memalloc_alg;
diff --git a/modules/img/base/pymod/export_data_algorithm.cc b/modules/img/base/pymod/export_data_algorithm.cc
index 96bb5dfdf137d565cfd40fdae7de0ae9dc9f414f..fc4c743d5156f74af03ba66d96505fc0f5d3494a 100644
--- a/modules/img/base/pymod/export_data_algorithm.cc
+++ b/modules/img/base/pymod/export_data_algorithm.cc
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ public:
   PyNonModAlgorithm(const PyNonModAlgorithm& a):
     NonModAlgorithm(a) {}
 
-  PyNonModAlgorithm(const ost::String& s):
+  PyNonModAlgorithm(const String& s):
     NonModAlgorithm(s) {}
 
   virtual void Visit(const ConstImageHandle& ih) {VisitImage(ih);}
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ public:
   PyModIPAlgorithm(const PyModIPAlgorithm& a):
     ModIPAlgorithm(a) {}
 
-  PyModIPAlgorithm(const ost::String& s):
+  PyModIPAlgorithm(const String& s):
     ModIPAlgorithm(s) {}
 
   virtual void Visit(ImageHandle& ih) {VisitImage(ih);}
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ public:
   PyConstModIPAlgorithm(const PyConstModIPAlgorithm& a):
     ConstModIPAlgorithm(a) {}
 
-  PyConstModIPAlgorithm(const ost::String& s):
+  PyConstModIPAlgorithm(const String& s):
     ConstModIPAlgorithm(s) {}
 
   virtual void Visit(ImageHandle& ih) const {VisitImage(ih);}
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ public:
   PyModOPAlgorithm(const PyModOPAlgorithm& a):
     ModOPAlgorithm(a) {}
 
-  PyModOPAlgorithm(const ost::String& s):
+  PyModOPAlgorithm(const String& s):
     ModOPAlgorithm(s) {}
 
   virtual ImageHandle Visit(const ConstImageHandle& ih) {return VisitImage(ih);}
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ public:
   PyConstModOPAlgorithm(const PyConstModOPAlgorithm& a):
     ConstModOPAlgorithm(a) {}
 
-  PyConstModOPAlgorithm(const ost::String& s):
+  PyConstModOPAlgorithm(const String& s):
     ConstModOPAlgorithm(s) {}
 
   virtual ImageHandle Visit(const ConstImageHandle& ih) const {return VisitImage(ih);}
@@ -199,22 +199,22 @@ void export_DataAlgorithm()
 
   class_<NonModAlgorithm, boost::noncopyable>("NonModAlgorithmBase", no_init);
 
-  class_<PyNonModAlgorithm, WrapPyNonModAlgorithm, bases<NonModAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("NonModAlgorithm", init<const ost::String&>() );
+  class_<PyNonModAlgorithm, WrapPyNonModAlgorithm, bases<NonModAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("NonModAlgorithm", init<const String&>() );
 
 
   class_<ModIPAlgorithm, boost::noncopyable>("ModIPAlgorithmBase", no_init);
 
-  class_<PyModIPAlgorithm, WrapPyModIPAlgorithm, bases<ModIPAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("ModIPAlgorithm", init<const ost::String&>() );
+  class_<PyModIPAlgorithm, WrapPyModIPAlgorithm, bases<ModIPAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("ModIPAlgorithm", init<const String&>() );
 
   class_<ConstModIPAlgorithm, boost::noncopyable>("ConstModIPAlgorithmBase", no_init);
 
-  class_<PyConstModIPAlgorithm, WrapPyConstModIPAlgorithm, bases<ConstModIPAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("ConstModIPAlgorithm", init<const ost::String&>() );
+  class_<PyConstModIPAlgorithm, WrapPyConstModIPAlgorithm, bases<ConstModIPAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("ConstModIPAlgorithm", init<const String&>() );
 
   class_<ModOPAlgorithm, boost::noncopyable>("ModOPAlgorithmBase", no_init);
 
-  class_<PyModOPAlgorithm, WrapPyModOPAlgorithm, bases<ModOPAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("ModOPAlgorithm", init<const ost::String&>() );
+  class_<PyModOPAlgorithm, WrapPyModOPAlgorithm, bases<ModOPAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("ModOPAlgorithm", init<const String&>() );
 
   class_<ConstModOPAlgorithm, boost::noncopyable>("ConstModOPAlgorithmBase", no_init);
 
-  class_<PyConstModOPAlgorithm, WrapPyConstModOPAlgorithm, bases<ConstModOPAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("ConstModOPAlgorithm", init<const ost::String&>() );
+  class_<PyConstModOPAlgorithm, WrapPyConstModOPAlgorithm, bases<ConstModOPAlgorithm>, boost::noncopyable>("ConstModOPAlgorithm", init<const String&>() );
 }
diff --git a/modules/img/base/src/base.hh b/modules/img/base/src/base.hh
index 5c86b2aa0144ee4ff051b7f586cde20461e34831..15ec8ce1e0c9ea83a20d1aa9a63e5ecd1f0aef2c 100644
--- a/modules/img/base/src/base.hh
+++ b/modules/img/base/src/base.hh
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ namespace ost { namespace img {
 #ifndef String
   typedef std::basic_string<char> String;
 #else
-  using ost::String
+  using String
 #endif
 
 
diff --git a/modules/img/base/src/data_types.hh b/modules/img/base/src/data_types.hh
index 52a5285e9abf357d51e5b540cbb5295973733908..e7fd81c4ea8870afdad42ad66490e9d0993c51f5 100644
--- a/modules/img/base/src/data_types.hh
+++ b/modules/img/base/src/data_types.hh
@@ -30,16 +30,9 @@
 #include <ost/base.hh>
 
 
-
 namespace ost { namespace img {
 
 
-#ifdef Complex
-  // undef Complex from xorg X.h to avoid clash with our definition
-  #undef Complex
-#endif
-typedef std::complex<Real> Complex;
-typedef unsigned short Word;
 
 enum DataType {REAL=0,
                COMPLEX,
diff --git a/modules/img/base/src/image_state/dispatch.hh b/modules/img/base/src/image_state/dispatch.hh
index 4268854a36742f5a02575d2bf6f8b6b0b12641b7..b788cc8d46fba8e839a70825c19b858cf60bf958 100644
--- a/modules/img/base/src/image_state/dispatch.hh
+++ b/modules/img/base/src/image_state/dispatch.hh
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ namespace ost { namespace img { namespace image_state {
 
 class DispatchException: public Error {
 public:
-  DispatchException(const ost::String& m):
+  DispatchException(const String& m):
     Error(m)
   {}
 };
diff --git a/modules/io/src/binary_data_sink.hh b/modules/io/src/binary_data_sink.hh
index cb577718018f6fe6210af894be0d955e5a69c82b..269576b2c4d1f46cd3a04c3f3a5309fdb4c7edf7 100644
--- a/modules/io/src/binary_data_sink.hh
+++ b/modules/io/src/binary_data_sink.hh
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ inline void RawSerialize(BinaryDataSink& sink, char* value, size_t size)
     sink.Stream().write(reinterpret_cast<char*>(value), size);
 }
 
-inline void Serialize(BinaryDataSink& sink, const ost::String& str) {
+inline void Serialize(BinaryDataSink& sink, const String& str) {
   size_t str_len=str.length();
   sink.Stream().write(reinterpret_cast<char*>(&str_len), sizeof(size_t));
   sink.Stream().write(str.c_str(), str.length());
diff --git a/modules/io/src/binary_data_source.hh b/modules/io/src/binary_data_source.hh
index a8c15b006ad1af721825f4a8e7eff76174e3f47c..c18a1db6648e7610eeac134fb175728c8c5e684a 100644
--- a/modules/io/src/binary_data_source.hh
+++ b/modules/io/src/binary_data_source.hh
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ inline void RawSerialize(BinaryDataSource& sink,
     sink.Stream().read(value, size);
 }
 
-inline void Serialize(BinaryDataSource& source, ost::String& str)
+inline void Serialize(BinaryDataSource& source, String& str)
 {
   static char tmp_buf[1024];
   size_t str_len;
diff --git a/modules/io/src/img/map_io_mrc_handler.cc b/modules/io/src/img/map_io_mrc_handler.cc
index 0dc4681c8d4fb134ff752ac24c2af0a0a4a623ce..7590eefb74954be5a8c4fdef2f0488394f1f75af 100644
--- a/modules/io/src/img/map_io_mrc_handler.cc
+++ b/modules/io/src/img/map_io_mrc_handler.cc
@@ -665,7 +665,7 @@ void complex_dumper(BinaryOStream<CONVERSIONTYPE>& f,
       pnt[mapr]=header.nr/2-sr;
       for(int sc=0;sc<header.nc-1;++sc) {
         pnt[mapc]=-sc;
-        img::Complex val = conj(norm.Convert(isc->Value(pnt)));
+        Complex val = conj(norm.Convert(isc->Value(pnt)));
         f << static_cast<B>(val.real()) << static_cast<B>(val.imag());
         LOG_DEBUG(" " << pnt  << " " << val << std::endl);
       }
@@ -678,12 +678,12 @@ void complex_dumper(BinaryOStream<CONVERSIONTYPE>& f,
       int sc=0;
       for(;sc<header.nc-1;++sc) {
         pnt[mapc]=sc;
-        img::Complex  val =norm.Convert(isc->Value(pnt));
+        Complex  val =norm.Convert(isc->Value(pnt));
         f << static_cast<B>(val.real()) << static_cast<B>(val.imag());
         LOG_DEBUG(" " << pnt << " " << val << std::endl);
       }
       pnt[mapc]=sc;
-      img::Complex  val = norm.Convert(conj(isc->Value(pnt)));
+      Complex  val = norm.Convert(conj(isc->Value(pnt)));
       f << static_cast<B>(val.real()) << static_cast<B>(val.imag());
       LOG_DEBUG(" " << pnt << " " << val << std::endl);
       Progress::Instance().AdvanceProgress(&this_dummy);
@@ -746,7 +746,7 @@ void import_helper(img::MapHandle& image, std::istream& in, const MRC& formatmrc
       throw IOException("internal error in MRC/CCP4 io: expected RealSpatialImageState");
     }
   } else {
-    ::ost::String message_string;
+    ::String message_string;
     std::ostringstream mesg(message_string);
     mesg << "MRC/CCP4 import: unknown data type: " << header.mode;
     throw IOException(mesg.str());
diff --git a/modules/io/src/img/map_io_spi_handler.cc b/modules/io/src/img/map_io_spi_handler.cc
index 7be3859b56f3a3ebf08d3becc9987190fc328752..4a2f0a18f263fa71fe81c45aa8d9ff268f0f005a 100644
--- a/modules/io/src/img/map_io_spi_handler.cc
+++ b/modules/io/src/img/map_io_spi_handler.cc
@@ -148,11 +148,11 @@ void prep_header(spider_header& header, const img::Size& size, const geom::Vec3&
   float spatial_sampling = spacing[0];
   time_t time_value;
   time(&time_value);
-  ost::String time_string=ctime(&time_value);
-  ost::String date_for_header=time_string.substr(8,2) + "-" + time_string.substr(4,3) + "-" +
+  String time_string=ctime(&time_value);
+  String date_for_header=time_string.substr(8,2) + "-" + time_string.substr(4,3) + "-" +
                          time_string.substr(22,4) + " ";
-  ost::String time_for_header=time_string.substr(11,8);
-  ost::String title_for_header = "Generated by OST (www.img.org)";
+  String time_for_header=time_string.substr(11,8);
+  String title_for_header = "Generated by OST (www.img.org)";
 
   header.fNslice = nslice;
   header.fNrow = nrow;
diff --git a/modules/io/src/img/map_io_tiff_handler.cc b/modules/io/src/img/map_io_tiff_handler.cc
index d25d92eb8f26b34f40fdbe5976b2f41802dab30f..7203d99b0102e50a471c958642c2b1195ae9b678 100644
--- a/modules/io/src/img/map_io_tiff_handler.cc
+++ b/modules/io/src/img/map_io_tiff_handler.cc
@@ -339,32 +339,32 @@ void MapIOTiffHandler::do_export(const img::MapHandle& image,TIFF* tfile,TIF& fo
     case OST_BIT8_FORMAT:
       fmt=SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXINT;
       bpp=16;
-      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<img::Complex,std::complex<int8>,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
+      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<Complex,std::complex<int8>,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
       break;
     case OST_BIT16_FORMAT:
       fmt=SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXINT;
       bpp=32;
-      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<img::Complex,std::complex<int16>,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
+      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<Complex,std::complex<int16>,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
       break;
     case OST_BIT32_FORMAT:
       fmt=SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXINT;
       bpp=64;
-      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<img::Complex,std::complex<int32_t>,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
+      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<Complex,std::complex<int32_t>,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
       break;
     case OST_FLOAT_FORMAT:
       fmt=SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXIEEEFP;
       bpp=64;
-      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<img::Complex,std::complex<float>,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
+      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<Complex,std::complex<float>,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
       break;
     case OST_DOUBLE_FORMAT:
       fmt=SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXIEEEFP;
       bpp=128;
-      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<img::Complex,img::Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
+      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<Complex,Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
       break;
     case OST_DEFAULT_FORMAT:
       fmt=SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXIEEEFP;
       bpp=128;
-      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<img::Complex,img::Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
+      fsc=detail::do_tiff_write<Complex,Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>;
       break;
     }
   } else if(image.GetType()==img::WORD) {
@@ -656,7 +656,7 @@ void MapIOTiffHandler::load_image_data(TIFF* tfile, img::ImageHandle& image,  co
         }else if(fmt==SAMPLEFORMAT_UINT){
           detail::do_tiff_read<uint16,Real,img::image_state::RealSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isr,current_row,spp);
         }else if(fmt==SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXINT){
-          detail::do_tiff_read<detail::complexint8,img::Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
+          detail::do_tiff_read<detail::complexint8,Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
         }else{
           std::ostringstream ostrs;
           ostrs << "TIFF images with "<<bpp << " bits per pixel and sample format "<< fmt<< " are not supported.";
@@ -671,7 +671,7 @@ void MapIOTiffHandler::load_image_data(TIFF* tfile, img::ImageHandle& image,  co
         }else if(fmt==SAMPLEFORMAT_IEEEFP){
           detail::do_tiff_read<float,Real,img::image_state::RealSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isr,current_row,spp);
         }else if(fmt==SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXINT){
-          detail::do_tiff_read<detail::complexint16,img::Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
+          detail::do_tiff_read<detail::complexint16,Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
         }else{
           std::ostringstream ostrs;
           ostrs << "TIFF images with "<<bpp << " bits per pixel and sample format "<< fmt<< " are not supported.";
@@ -682,9 +682,9 @@ void MapIOTiffHandler::load_image_data(TIFF* tfile, img::ImageHandle& image,  co
         if(fmt==SAMPLEFORMAT_IEEEFP){
           detail::do_tiff_read<Real,Real,img::image_state::RealSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isr,current_row,spp);
         }else if(fmt==SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXINT){
-          detail::do_tiff_read<detail::complexint32_t,img::Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
+          detail::do_tiff_read<detail::complexint32_t,Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
         }else if(fmt==SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXIEEEFP){
-          detail::do_tiff_read<std::complex<float>,img::Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
+          detail::do_tiff_read<std::complex<float>,Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
         }else{
           std::ostringstream ostrs;
           ostrs << "TIFF images with "<<bpp << " bits per pixel and sample format "<< fmt<< " are not supported.";
@@ -694,7 +694,7 @@ void MapIOTiffHandler::load_image_data(TIFF* tfile, img::ImageHandle& image,  co
         uint rowcount = cread/(width*16*spp);
         if(fmt==SAMPLEFORMAT_COMPLEXIEEEFP){
           // std::complex<double> refers to the dataformat used in the tiff file and is independend of single/double precision compilation
-          detail::do_tiff_read<std::complex<double>,img::Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
+          detail::do_tiff_read<std::complex<double>,Complex,img::image_state::ComplexSpatialImageState>(buf,rowcount,width,isc,current_row,spp);
         }else{
           std::ostringstream ostrs;
           ostrs << "TIFF images with "<<bpp << " bits per pixel and sample format "<< fmt<< " are not supported.";
diff --git a/modules/io/src/mol/entity_io_sdf_handler.cc b/modules/io/src/mol/entity_io_sdf_handler.cc
index 9dc70e65c32684f4056c24df973609695794c803..d3d0bda1d2db993ae0e44721d4c66b132998cd71 100644
--- a/modules/io/src/mol/entity_io_sdf_handler.cc
+++ b/modules/io/src/mol/entity_io_sdf_handler.cc
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ void EntityIOSDFHandler::ParseAndAddAtom(const String& line, int line_num,
   }
 
   String ele=boost::trim_copy(s_ele);
-  String aname=boost::lexical_cast<ost::String>(anum);
+  String aname=boost::lexical_cast<String>(anum);
 
   mol::AtomProp aprop;
   aprop.element=ele;
diff --git a/modules/io/src/mol/pdb_reader.cc b/modules/io/src/mol/pdb_reader.cc
index a66c4d34226b56d3d40a3024c198942331350be4..5c8f137f792bd62efaddbaec076af3f9c983725d 100644
--- a/modules/io/src/mol/pdb_reader.cc
+++ b/modules/io/src/mol/pdb_reader.cc
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ void PDBReader::ParseAndAddAtom(const String& line, int line_num,
   mol::XCSEditor editor=ent.RequestXCSEditor(mol::BUFFERED_EDIT);
   char ins_c, alt_loc;
   char res_key[5], c_name;
-  ost::String a_name;
+  String a_name;
   std::pair<bool, Real> charge, radius;
   std::pair<bool, Real> occ, temp;
   geom::Vec3 apos;