diff --git a/src/common/bspf.hxx b/src/common/bspf.hxx
index 87409de9b..9a90ff7fa 100644
--- a/src/common/bspf.hxx
+++ b/src/common/bspf.hxx
@@ -66,10 +66,9 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <iomanip>
 #include <string>
+#include <cctype>
 using namespace std;
 
-#include <algorithm>
-
 // Defines to help with path handling
 #if defined BSPF_UNIX
   #define BSPF_PATH_SEPARATOR  "/"
@@ -78,7 +77,7 @@ using namespace std;
 #elif defined BSPF_MAC_OSX
   #define BSPF_PATH_SEPARATOR  "/"
 #elif defined BSPF_GP2X
-    #define BSPF_PATH_SEPARATOR  "/"
+  #define BSPF_PATH_SEPARATOR  "/"
 #endif
 
 // I wish Windows had a complete POSIX layer
@@ -110,15 +109,17 @@ using namespace std;
 #endif
 
 // Some convenience functions
-template<typename T> inline void BSPF_swap(T &a, T &b) { T tmp = a; a = b; b = tmp; }
+template<typename T> inline void BSPF_swap(T& a, T& b) { T tmp = a; a = b; b = tmp; }
 template<typename T> inline T BSPF_abs (T x) { return (x>=0) ? x : -x; }
 template<typename T> inline T BSPF_min (T a, T b) { return (a<b) ? a : b; }
 template<typename T> inline T BSPF_max (T a, T b) { return (a>b) ? a : b; }
-inline string BSPF_tolower(const string& s)
+inline bool BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(const string& s1, const string& s2)
 {
-  string t = s;
-  transform(t.begin(), t.end(), t.begin(), (int(*)(int)) tolower);
-  return t;
+  return BSPF_strcasecmp(s1.c_str(), s2.c_str()) == 0;
+}
+inline bool BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(const char* s1, const char* s2)
+{
+  return BSPF_strcasecmp(s1, s2) == 0;
 }
 
 static const string EmptyString("");
diff --git a/src/emucore/FrameBuffer.cxx b/src/emucore/FrameBuffer.cxx
index 9be4d2222..ac6c1dec9 100644
--- a/src/emucore/FrameBuffer.cxx
+++ b/src/emucore/FrameBuffer.cxx
@@ -1027,7 +1027,7 @@ const FrameBuffer::VideoMode FrameBuffer::
   //   If it's 'auto', we just use the mode as already previously defined
   //   If it's not 'auto', attempt to fit the mode into the resolution
   //   specified by 'fullres' (if possible)
-  if(isFullscreen && BSPF_tolower(settings.getString("fullres")) != "auto")
+  if(isFullscreen && !BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(settings.getString("fullres"), "auto"))
   {
     // Only use 'fullres' if it's *bigger* than the requested mode
     int w, h;
@@ -1085,8 +1085,8 @@ void FrameBuffer::VideoModeList::setByGfxMode(const string& name)
   GraphicsMode gfxmode;
   for(uInt32 i = 0; i < GFX_NumModes; ++i)
   {
-    if(ourGraphicsModes[i].name == BSPF_tolower(name) ||
-       ourGraphicsModes[i].description == BSPF_tolower(name))
+    if(BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(ourGraphicsModes[i].name, name) ||
+       BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(ourGraphicsModes[i].description, name))
     {
       gfxmode = ourGraphicsModes[i];
       found = true;
diff --git a/src/emucore/OSystem.cxx b/src/emucore/OSystem.cxx
index 73936a40a..0dff979b4 100644
--- a/src/emucore/OSystem.cxx
+++ b/src/emucore/OSystem.cxx
@@ -755,8 +755,8 @@ uInt8* OSystem::openROM(string file, string& md5, uInt32& size)
           // Grab 3-character extension
           char* ext = filename + strlen(filename) - 4;
 
-          if(!BSPF_strcasecmp(ext, ".a26") || !BSPF_strcasecmp(ext, ".bin") ||
-             !BSPF_strcasecmp(ext, ".rom"))
+          if(BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(ext, ".a26") || BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(ext, ".bin") ||
+             BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(ext, ".rom"))
           {
             file = filename;
             break;
diff --git a/src/gui/ContextMenu.cxx b/src/gui/ContextMenu.cxx
index 2c1987005..d0cc10309 100644
--- a/src/gui/ContextMenu.cxx
+++ b/src/gui/ContextMenu.cxx
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ void ContextMenu::setSelected(const string& tag, const string& defaultTag)
 {
   for(unsigned int item = 0; item < _entries.size(); ++item)
   {
-    if(BSPF_strcasecmp(_entries[item].second.c_str(), tag.c_str()) == 0)
+    if(BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(_entries[item].second, tag) == 0)
     {
       setSelected(item);
       return;
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ void ContextMenu::setSelected(const string& tag, const string& defaultTag)
   // If we get this far, the value wasn't found; use the default value
   for(unsigned int item = 0; item < _entries.size(); ++item)
   {
-    if(BSPF_strcasecmp(_entries[item].second.c_str(), defaultTag.c_str()) == 0)
+    if(BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(_entries[item].second, defaultTag) == 0)
     {
       setSelected(item);
       return;
diff --git a/src/gui/LauncherFilterDialog.cxx b/src/gui/LauncherFilterDialog.cxx
index daac05e15..b74b708f7 100644
--- a/src/gui/LauncherFilterDialog.cxx
+++ b/src/gui/LauncherFilterDialog.cxx
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ bool LauncherFilterDialog::isValidRomName(const string& name,
     const char* ext = name.c_str() + idx + 1;
 
     for(uInt32 i = 0; i < exts.size(); ++i)
-      if(BSPF_strcasecmp(ext, exts[i].c_str()) == 0)
+      if(BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(ext, exts[i]))
         return true;
   }
 
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ bool LauncherFilterDialog::isValidRomName(const string& name, string& ext)
 
     for(uInt32 i = 0; i < 5; ++i)
     {
-      if(BSPF_strcasecmp(e, ourRomTypes[1][i]) == 0)
+      if(BSPF_equalsIgnoreCase(e, ourRomTypes[1][i]))
       {
         ext = e;
         return true;