[ccp4bb]: OSX: A great Linux alternative. But Stereo?

["DeLano, Warren" <warren@sunesis.com>]

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As a crystallography platform, Mac OSX offers substantial advantages over Linux for users, developers, and administrators:

   - full desktop environment (Office, IE, & other key apps)	
   - full unix environment (trivial porting)
   - defined/homogenous platform (less diversity/less hassles)
   - almost no driver/hardware issues (the plague of Linux)
   - fast & reliable accelerated graphics (OpenGL)
   - good number crunching performance on recent G4s

Though you will pay a price premium for Apple hardware, all crystallographers should look very seriously at OSX instead of Linux as the platform to replace those ailing SGIs.  Likewise, developers (myself included) should provide key Mac ports ASAP.  I've been working on a fast G4 system for a couple of months now and have been very impressed -- with sufficent CPU power, this is a KILLER computing environment.  

However, the deep unanswered questions for crystallography are:   "Will ANY low-cost consumer system provide a reliable, hassle-free solution for stereographics?"   and    "Can we do anything about it?"

The Linux situation is bleak:

  * ATI has reportedly stopped production of the FireGL series
  * ATI's succeeding cards (8700/8800) don't do stereo. 
  * 3DLabs does not provide Linux drivers and is being bought-out by Creative
  * nVidia drivers are unstable and don't support stereo on Linux
  * hacked 3rd party solutions only do top/bottom stereo
  * key vendors will not open-source their hardware drivers.
  * broad Linux heterogenaiety impedes stable closed-source drivers.

The Bottom Line: Though Linux makes for great compute clusters, "turn-key" desktop stereo solutions for Linux are an unlikely dream.

So, what are Unix-Loving-Stereo-Graphics-Junkies to do?  

In my view, our best hope is to STRONGLY ENCOURAGE Apple to facilitate a stereo-graphics solution under OSX.  We need to help Apple understand this priority.  They ARE listening, and they do ACT on feedback.

If you agree with the points I've made, then please send a short email to their science and technology group.  State (honestly) that you are considering purchasing a Mac for crystallography, and mention the critical need for stereographics.  Here is the address:

   scitech@apple.com  
      (link: mailto:scitech@apple.com)

If you have authority to initiate large purchases, then you might also make contact to sales@apple.com

With a cooperative effort, I believe we can solve the post-SGI stereographics dilemma.

Cheers,
Warren

(PS. Wow! another PyMOL-free post to CCP4bb)

--
mailto:warren@sunesis.com
Warren L. DeLano, Ph.D.
Informatics Manager
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
341 Oyster Point Blvd.
S. San Francisco, CA 94080
(650)-266-3606  FAX:(650)-266-3501