Hi,
Thank you for all the comments and to those to completed the survey (it is
still open, in case you hadn't had chance to do it yet). Just a quick
comment on stereo graphics and VR...
I think for people to take full advantage of auto-refinement/building
routines which speed up model building/refinement such as the "fit-protein"
script in Coot, you should have stereo graphics. While these routines are
really good in mono display with good quality-high resolution maps, for low
resolution maps (like someone already pointed out) or poor quality maps
(such as in the initial stages or partially disordered loops), you can't
take advantage of these features.
Full VR systems with motion tracking and are now affordable to most labs
(~$2500 for all the peripherals). However, I think that the practicality of
the setup needs to be considered before code is modified. Imagine you are
refining a model using a data glove, then flip up the visor to grab a pen to
write notes down... unless you somehow disabled the glove, your hand motion
may just have messed up the amino acid you were fitting. I personally hope
this will be developed in model building programs soon.
While money is always an issue, I think the gradual switch from image plates
to the much more expensive (but poorer quality) CCDs demonstrates that if a
benefit is there, people will pay for it.
Thanks,
Paul
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