Gaussian for Windows, followup to Doug Smith's comment
> Bottom line -- the product is excellent!
Very good, yes. Useful, yes. Excellent, not quite (IMO). Superior
value for the money, absolutely.
> The windows interface is nice. No molecular graphics, but a nice GUI for
> job setup and control. It is pretty intuitive, and really does not require
> that you read the manuals. I use either the AVS Chemistry Viewer or
> Hyperchem 3.0 for my molecular graphics.
On the one hand, what to I expect for $600, but the lack of molecular
graphics is a real limitation. Hyperchem and AVS viewer are not cheap
(and I say that both as an industrial chemist and as an adjunct professor).
This is the biggest problem I've got in terms of helping students use the
program, because right now we don't have a good way to get structures
in, and analyzing the data out is not much better than 1960's technology.
> It does not substantially affect Windows and other applications when
running
> in the background, so I can use Word, Excell, even HyperChem graphics
> without G92 stealing so much time that seconds elapse between my mouse
> click and an action.
I'll dispute the point. I run it on a 50 MHz 486DX2 with something like
600 Mb of hard drive space. Word and Excel are sort of useable underneath
Gaussian, but not if you want to do more than play around with a simple
memo. However, the pause feature of Gaussian does work nicely, so what
I've done for longer jobs is simply to pause them when I want to do something
interactive with the computer, and then resume them when I'm done. That
part seems to work like a charm.
> If I was limited in money and resources, I would definitely buy and use
> G92 for Windows.
Now, if someone could provide a cheaper way to get structure in and
look at them out, that would be even better. Particularly for understanding
the frequency mode calculations.
Bruce Wilson (bewilson # - at - # kodak.com)
Senior Research Chemist, Eastman Chemical Company
Adjunct Professor, East Tennessee State University