In article <3ilglt$c96 at cronkite.ocis.temple.edu>,
Bert Gold <gold at astro.ocis.temple.edu> wrote:
>One of the universities where I work has decided to charge $ 100 per
>person per month for mainframe access. As everyone in these newsgroups
>knows, this kind of access is an absolute requirement for doing
>molecular biology in 1995!
If its really a mainframe its useless for molecular biology, because
there is little if any software. If its a VMS or UNIX system then it
could be within reason. I have no experience with any system that is
completely supported by user fees. If this system is not subsidized
then these fees could represent what it costs to run a large old
system. I would however except a newer system to be cheaper, assuming
there are a couple hundred users. All the systems I've used or been
involved with are subsidized by grants or the institution, and charge
at most maybe $250/yr.
However, if you already have a Macintosh or PC in the lab you could
use the money for software and probably be better off. It is becoming
easier and easier to do all your computing on a Macintosh or PC.
There are lots of e-mail search services. A basic sequence analysis
package for a lab Mac or PC costs from $200-2000.
Mike
cherry at genome.stanford.edu
