Subject: Do the Windows NT have any impact on the comp chem field?

From: Leif Laaksonen <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 15:35:35 +0300 (GFT Daylight Time)

Dear CCL members,

Over the last years I have regularly asked the CC list the same question
whether PCs and Windows NT are of any value in molecular modelling or the
comp chem field in general. We now have the 400 MHz Intel processors with
100 MHz buses and OpenGL supported graphics cards in our PCs. The lowend,
and possible already midrange, graphics workstations are totally dominated
by Windows and Linux PC boxes. 

Both Linux and Windows NT are strongly entering the heavy "number
crunching" field trough multiprocessor boxes. There are a lot of
articles about building supercomputers out of inexpensive Intel or
Alpha processors.

My question is now whether Windows NT and Linux already play a significant
role in the computation chemistry field? Are the Windows NT and Linux
interesting platforms for the comp chem software companies? Will the
recent SGI announcement of NT-based machines make much impact on the 
chemistry market? Are there any new ideas in software development?

I do not want, once again, to start a Unix - Windows war. I just want
to know in which direction you think we are going. 

Yours,

-leif laaksonen

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