Stanford University School of Medicine
Mac OS X Consolidates Three Desktop Systems
“I grew frustrated with the fact that I couldn’t work on my research projects when I was away, unless I was doing some writing in Microsoft Word,” Cherry recalls. “We’d do our work in the office on UNIX, and I couldn’t run that on my PowerBook. But then the new PowerBooks and Mac OS X came out...and that solved the problem. Now I can be sitting in some airport somewhere and still be working away, even with UNIX-based files and applications. It just works great.”
“Now I can be sitting in some airport somewhere and still be working away, even with UNIX-based tools. It just works great.”
— Dr. Michael Cherry
Upgrade to Wireless Technology
Several areas at Stanford have undergone an upgrade to wireless technology in recent months, adds Cherry. He’s equipped his PowerBook with an AirPort Wireless Card, ensuring that he has the mobility to work “unwired” in the libraries on the Stanford campus that offer wireless Internet access.
The Only Computer a Scientist Needs
With Mac OS X, Cherry says he has the freedom to run virtually any research software program desired. The operating system easily supports Java, so he can run a Java version of Tree View visualization tool and he uses Microsoft Office for day-to-day reports and other productivity applications. Mac OS X’s UNIX underpinnings also ensure that the genomics researchers can work with virtually all available UNIX and Linux research applications.
In the near future, Cherry hopes to replace his lab’s collection of UNIX-based X terminals with dual processor Power Mac computers. The dual systems will help keep his department’s research computing efforts on track, Cherry predicts.
“Our computation needs are always increasing,” explains Cherry. “But with Mac OS X’s UNIX base and our Power Mac computers, I’m confident we will be able to keep up with our growing research requirements.”
