![[Day Permalink]](http://radio.weblogs.com/0112083/images/permaLink.gif){kind=small}
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
![[Item Permalink]](http://radio.weblogs.com/0112083/images/ur_bullet.gif){kind=small} Review of Matlab 6.5 for Mac OS X updated -- Comment()
I updated the review of Matlab 6.5 for Mac OS X with additional screen captures and commentary.
|
|
What Mac (and Apple) needs: Applications -- Comment()
Applications, applications, applications. If there are first-class applications for a certain area, people are at least willing to consider switching to a Mac. Perhaps even a group of people would be willing to switch. But this also could happen in the other direction. If there is a first-class application users can not live without, they will choose Windows, even though the general usability would be poorer.
What about, e.g., bioinformatics? Are there such applications on the Mac? Or on Windows?
|
|
Powerful and easy software development: Delphi vs. Cocoa -- Comment()
Delphi seems to be a strong and flexible tool for developing user interfaces, at least for databases and similar applications. I'm not familiar with the system, but my impression is of a nice environment, where there are lots of ready-made tools for programmers. This means that you don't have to "invent the wheel" as often as with many other tools.
There should be a similar tool for Mac OS X also. I believe there is a port of Delphi (Kylix) available (or soon to be) for Linux. Perhaps a Mac OS X version would be also possible?
Of course, on Mac OS X you have the Cocoa environment, which certainly has produced quite a few impressive software packages, for example those made by OmniGroup and those made by Apple. However, I'm not sure if Cocoa is quite the same as Delphi.
If I were interested in developing user interfaces for bioinformations, would Cocoa fit the bill? There should be easy connectivity to databases, good tools for visualizing and manipulating data, and flexibility in the layout of the tools. Perhaps Cocoa would be a good tool, perhaps not. Perhaps I should look at software developed with Cocoa for this kind of special application.
|
|
Mac OS X look for Windows -- Comment()
What about Windows vs. Mac OS X? I today saw a Mac OS X theme on a Windows 2000 computer, and the user was extraordinary happy about it, in fact wanted to demonstrate the theme to us.
It seems that Apple has done a great job with the PR value of Mac OS X. On the other hand, some aspects of this system are "eye candy" and don't improve the usability at all.
|
|
-- Comment()
I am writing this offline with my iBook, out in the garden and in sunshine. The temperature is about 26 degrees Celcius in shadow. (I have no idea how much that is in the Bradbury units used in the US.)
This is rather nice, in one browser window I can write my posts and in another edit the Matlab review, or define shortcuts. Perhaps I should get a AirPort/WLAN base station for home. Well, perhaps it is good that there is no possibility (and temptation) to get online in the garden.
|
|
Furher testing of Matlab 6.5 -- Comment()
I tried Matlab a bit more. The initial impression seems to be about right. I decided to write a separate review of Matlab 6.5 for Mac OS X instead of writing separate posts here.
I made some additional screen captures, which I'm going to include in the review when I have the time.
|
