January 15, 2008 (Vol. 28, No. 2)

URL:
http://macresearch.org

Rating:
Strong Points: Place for scientists and programmers to interact
Weak Points: None

Summary:
I used to be one of those Macintosh zealots who are so famous (and obnoxious), but as I have gotten older I have become less strident in my views. That has largely been helped by Apple, which is now producing computers that its users no longer feel the need to defend. Indeed, the Mac is having a great resurgence not only in the home environment but also notably in scientific laboratories. It is timely, therefore, for this look at MacResearch, which focuses on the use of Macs in research. The site’s opening page covers news, and most of what I saw was of general interest to scientists. It included the 2007 Nobel Prizes, an article about the eroding of Moore’s Law, and a display of chemical structures in FileMaker. An active forum section puts users in touch with each other, and the Script Repository will be welcomed by programmers of all colors. They include sections for people interested in bioinformatics, chemistry, ecology, and oceanography, among others. There’s a lot to like here in this dandy little site that is tightly focused on its subject.

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