In article <1224.29f2d848 at mbcl.rutgers.edu> goldman at mbcl.rutgers.edu writes:
>In article <9204161831.AA20397 at genbank.bio.net>, MANGALAM at SALK-SC2.SDSC.EDU writes:
>> Hi Netters,
>> Because of the traffic lately about Molecular Modelling Software for the PC
>> and in general, I'll pass this on: Perhaps some of you have seen the very
>> splashy, colorful, and somewhat bizarre ads for an Autodesk product
>> called HyperChem. I bit and ordered the demo and despite some infantile intro
>> screens, it is an intriguing bit of work. In a word, it's sort of an
>> Insight/Discover (very) Lite. But!
>. a lot about HyperChem demo & HyperChem requirements deleted.
>>I've also looked at the demo. It does look intriguing, but one would have to
>know what its performance is like in real life. So... Has anyone seen the
>product for real? If you have, do you know if displays in stereo or not? The
>demo only shows mono displays of molecules, which ain't much use for
>macromolecules, IMHO.
>> Adrian
To those of you who are interested in more information about HyperChem:
as a member of the HyperChem development team, I would be able and happy
to answer any questions you may have. I don't want to make commercial
postings to the net, so I will only give a couple of quick answers to
the above questions here. If you want any further info, please e-mail
me at:
michael at bobino.bri.nrc.ca or moller at hyper.com
or send e-mail to Tom Slee, our Product Support Manager, at:
slee at hyper.com
Quick answers:
1) HyperChem does link to other Windows applications via DDE and the clipboard.
So, you can run HyperChem from Excel macros, or from Visual Basic programs,
for example. You can also transfer drawings of molecules from HyperChem
to a word processor or drawing program.
2) Yes, you will need a big PC to simulate proteins. Here at BRI, I use a
25MHz 386 to display papain (212 residues, 3300 atoms), but this machine
is too slow to do many energy calculations on such a large molecule. You
will need a 486 for that. However, HyperChem will run perfectly well on
a 386SX (I use one at home), for small molecules (about <300 atoms). For
those with BIG molecules, we are planning to release a version of
HyperChem for SGI workstations.
3) Yes, HyperChem does do energy minimizations, and will also do molecular
dynamics, while continuously updating the display. HyperChem can do
both molecular mechanics and semi-empirical quantum calculations.
4) HyperChem can display in side-by-side stereo, so you will need a pair
of stereo glasses to see it. One can also export a stereo
picture to a word processor, and print it out for viewing.
HyperChem has a number of other features, which I will be glad to describe
via e-mail.
Cheers,
Michael
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| Michael Moller | michael at bri.nrc.ca |
| Hypercube, Inc | "If you understand what you are doing, |
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