As a personal touch, I also find Biorad software much more intuitive.
This discussion, of course, is similar to comparing car brands -
experiences differ.
What mystifies me is a need for a service maintenance contract at all. Has
hardware become so much less reliable than in the past?
Granted, this Akta line is confusing but my impression that it is three
completely different machines, based on peristaltic pump, FPLC glass pumps
and conventional HPLC pumps. In about 20 years next to a working old-style
FPLC and two HPLC setups (Waters and Gilson), I haven't seen a single
service call. Just about the only maintenance FPLC requires is changing
pump seals, changing lamp in UV monitor and maybe changing valve
distribution plate (all trivial even for a hardware-challenged person like
me). In all these years I saw one thing wrong with HPLC - pump head ceased
(related to a negligent care) and needed to be replaced completely. Well,
and UV lamp replacements. That's it.
So, what are these magic Akta components that need constant care and repairs?
BTW, agree on Bio-Rad's software. Always felt that it is much more
intuitive than Pharmacia's equivalents.
- Dima
