> Yes, I'm mostly concerned with paths. I'd like to write everything > in Unix style and just have it  ¨Βυτονατιγαμμω γοξφεςτεσονεθοσο εφεςωτθιξη σταωςεματιφεμω μεηιβμε®

You shouldn't write a filename or whatever in unix style. Ruby has
excellent libraries for dealing with pathnames. Take a look at the
File and the Pathname classes, which provide everything you need for
writing cross-plattform apps, and use the methods they provide.