Like it or not, biologists have to deal increasingly in informatics as their experiments generate ever larger and more complex data sets. Few laboratories have the resources to develop their own microarray analysis software, so they must use one of the many commercial packages. With the list of options growing fast, Affymetrix of Santa Clara, Calif., one of the world's leading makers of DNA microarrays, hit on a novel way to help its customers sample the field: They held a series of Web-based seminars, or "webinars."
The company invited leading vendors of microarray analysis software to run their products on a common data set and present their results over the Web, taking written questions afterwards. The event was a win-win-win situation: Software developers got the opportunity to showcase their products; customers could compare and contrast software they might otherwise never get to see; and Affymetrix was able to demonstrate (without ...
