Science Software For The Macintosh: A Sudden Abundance Of Riches

Although the manufacturers of the Apple Macintosh contend that the Mac was never intended to be a toy, it has been little more than an entertaining desktop accessory for many scientists since it introduction in 1984. But Apple Computer Inc., realizing that the number of scientific and technical computer users is on the rise, set out a few years ago to develop software for the Mac that would be beneficial to this market. And it looks as though the company is succeeding. in Apple’s now-yearly publication, Engineering/Scientific Solutions Guide (available at Apple outlets), more than 200 applications for the Mac, Mac 51 2E, Mac II, and Mac SE are listed. Granted, some of the packages listed in the guide could be used by an accountant or an advertising copywriter as well as by a scientist— such as WriteNow, a word processing program, and Flexware, a database/programming application. And some are extremely esoteric— like Mac-Tally, a package that maintains leukocyte differential counts for a hematology laboratory, and other specialized packages for chemistry, physics, and psychology. But many of the packages have broad applicability to a number of scientific fields. For example, Mac— Èqn, TECH, and TechFonts are technical typesetting applications that let you construct equations, mathematical symbols, and even logic circuits on-screen. The Engineering Tool Kit is a statistics and graphics package for translating and presenting numerical engineering data. And for more “purely scientific” fields of research, there’s Stats Tool Kit and MacSS (Macintosh Statistical System), not to mention packages like SYSTAT, a popular statistics application also available for the IBM PC. There are data acquisition packages, such as DataFlash, MacScope, MacADIOS I and II, Lab Master H, Scan Analysis, and BenchTop; quality and process control packages, including NWA Quality Analyst (also available for PCs) and Parameter Manager Plus; drafting/design and CAD/CAM packages; and a wide array of software development tools. Overall, are Macs machines a threat to the IBM PC’s dominance of the scientific market? Well, they could be. The graphics capabilities of the Macs remain their strongest point, making them particularly useful for fields such as molecular chemistry, which rely heavily on technical visualization. And for construction and presentation of technical documents, Macs are virtually unmatched. The Mac’s weak spots, however, are two areas in which the MS-DOS-based IBM PCs are strongest: statistics and database management. The Apple Guide lists a half-dozen statistics packages; there are another 10 or so general-purpose “stat-paks” on the market. By contrast, IGA Research’s latest Report on Statistical Software listed 150 packages for the IBM PC family of computers. As for database management, although Macs boast fast disk-access time, their graphics-oriented interface is not particularly well suited to relational database handling. A Mac will adequately handle small- to medium-sized applications, but the available Macintosh database management system packages, such as 0mm and Helix, lag far behind the PC’s Clipper, dBase IV, and Fox-Base in capability. They are much slower at handling data, and their command languages are not nearly as powerful. And the maddening slowness of dBase for the Mac is guaranteed to drive a user of the PC-based dBase IV up a wall. Yet new Mac software is constantly being developed, and both statistical and database packages are being improved. Apple, in an effort to open up the scientific market, supports a thriving Third Party Developer program, which offers assistance to independent software developers working on products for the Macintosh. Many new packages for the Mac are coming on the market from other sources as well. The Apple Guide is open to listings from all developers with a suitable product, whether or not they belong to the Third Party Developer program. Developers who wish to be included in the next edition should contact Paulette Siclari, Redgate Communications Corp., (407) 231-6904. Market Share May Grow MS-DOS machines will likely continue to dominate the scientific personal-computer market for the next couple of years, simply because they do a satisfactory job in most cases. Even if they don’t have the most spectacular graphics or the fastest disk drives, they get the job done. And few people who have them will want to invest money, time, and trouble in a new system when the old one still performs adequately. As the old machinery starts to wear out, though, and as budgets provide for new or additional equipment, many labs will start looking at the Macs for their superb graphics and friendly user-interface. There are also many products now on the market that allow Macintosh computers to be integrated easily into a lab with existing hardware. Packages such as MacLink-Plus, AppleTalk, and TOPS let you network PCs and Macs together harmoniously to exchange data files, share laser printers, or establish an electronic mail system. The Apple-Talk networking software can also link Macs into a VMS operating system computing environment, for those labs with larger workstations or mainframes. The larger Mac systems, the Mac II and Mac SE, are better suited to scientific applications because of their bigger monitors, greater power, and more sophisticated graphics capabilities. These systems are still more expensive than even a PC 326 machine. But they aren’t out of reach for most labs, and while the price is not likely to come down significantly in the near future, the increasing abilities of these “toys” may make them increasingly popular. In addition to the efforts of Apple and its Third Party Developers program, scientific Mac users are forming independent groups. The purpose of these groups is to further the interests of users and developers in this increasingly efficient machine, ferret out specialized software for different scientific disciplines, and meet like-minded souls. One recently formed group is the Scientific Macintosh Consortium, a cooperative effort among end-users, software developers, and other interested parties. The consortium holds meetings at most major scientific/technical computing conferences and publishes a monthly update for its members. For more information on the Scientific Macintosh End-User/Developer Consortium, contact Shari Worthington, 49 Midgley Lane., Worcester, Mass. 01604; (508) 755-5242. Diana J. Gabaldon is assistant research professor at the Center for Environmental Studies, Arizona State University, and editor of Science Software.

Science Software For The Macintosh: A Sudden Abundance Of Riches

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