In article 0710941317180001 at pc0519.ri.afrc.ac.uk, lawa at bbsrc.ac.uk (Andy Law (Big Nose)) writes:
> In article <17047852A.A428ENDE at VM1.SARA.NL>, A428ENDE at VM1.SARA.NL wrote:
> As to MacDNAsis being buggy, well I can't comment on that because I
> haven't seen it, but I get the general impression that most of the
> micro-based DNA analysis software is crappy, difficult to use and full of
> bugs. I also get the feeling that so many scientists are so used to having
> to fight with monolithic mainframe programs that they just accept whatever
> lands in front of them on their PC and assume that it is just the way
> things are. THAT MAKES ME MAD!!!!
> ( Lawa @ bbsrc.ac.uk Big Nose in Edinburgh )
> --- Campaigning for usable software ---
I think the pendulum has begun to swing the other way. I now use
a Sun Unix system for virtually everything I do: word processing, mail, graphics,
news, budget juggling, and oh yes , sequence analysis -- because these tasks
are EASIER to do in the OpenWindows environment than on any personal
computer system I've seen. With the increasingly central role of networks
in many aspects of everyday work, Unix is beginning to look more and
more attractive.
When you look at the cost of buying, maintaining, upgrading, and (gasp)
configuring a bunch of PC's for a large lab or department, you don't
have to get to a very large number of units before it becomes cost-
effective to buy a Unix server and X-terminals.
Sun Microsystems has a slogan "The network IS the computer". I think this
nicely sums up many of the reasons that centralized computing is an
idea whose time has come - again.
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Brian Fristensky |
Department of Plant Science | A question is like a knife that slices
University of Manitoba | through the stage backdrop and gives us
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 CANADA | a look at what lies hidden behind.
frist at cc.umanitoba.ca |
Office phone: 204-474-6085 | Milan Kundera, THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS
FAX: 204-261-5732 | OF BEING
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