X-Windows summary

From: "Douglas E. Stack" <destack $#at#$ unomaha.edu>
Subject: X-Windows summary
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 09:18:00 -0500
 Dear CCLers,
 I was overwhelmed by the response to my original post which queried about an
 inexpensive X-windows program for some new PC in our student labs.  The main
 purpose of the software is to connect to an SGI sever so that students can run
 Spartan remotely.  There were too many replies for me to just paste the messages
 at the end of this note, so I will summarize the general theme expressed from
 this large response.
 1.  Exceed by Hummingbird, www.hummingbrid.com:  Clearly the top choice if price
 is no option.  What interest me is an available add-on the can run OpenGL.  But
 the price is steep ca. $500, and more if the OpenGL option is purchased.  Too
 much for student use, but I may get a copy for myself :).
 2.  PC-Xware by NCD, http://www.ncd.com/ppcx/ppcx.html:  Also got high praise,
 second only to Exceed.  The price is $395.  They offer a 30-day demo, but I did
 not get a download for a test drive.
 3.  X-WinPro by Labf.com, http://www.ncd.com/ppcx/ppcx.html:  A free demo version is
 available that runs for 30 min at a time.  Did not download and try.  Full
 version, ca. $100.
 4.  Exodus/Web TermX by Whitepine, www.wpine.com:  I've used Exodus ver 5.6.4
 for a couple of years on my Windows PC, it works great.  It appears they've
 changed there product line with Exodus available for the Mac and Web TermX for
 the Windows platform.  Our university has license agreement for Exdous (old
 version for both platforms) that cost ca. $120 per machine.  This was the
 software is was going to buy because I've used it, it's simple, and has a lot of
 nice features.  Read below how I've found a cheaper option.
 5.  X-Win32 by Startnet, www.starnet.com:  This program does not have as many
 features as Exodus, but it does the essentials very well.  This includes,
 logging on to remote severs or broadcasting through a local network for log-ons.
 A large selection of fonts, including some special add-on fonts; one of these
 was specific for SGI and worked great.  Price:  a fully functional free demo
 that runs for 2 hours before having to be re-started.  I downloaded this demo
 version and try it for 2 hrs.  Everything worked fine, and a warning message
 appeared 15 min before the two hour deadline.  At that time, I log-off the
 sever, quit X-Win32, login again and was up for another 2 hrs.  The non-demo
 version is $200, but the Web page describes site license agreements that could
 bring this price down.  I think the demo option will be the route I take.  The
 main purpose of this software is to connect to Spartan, students (and myself)
 very rarely will model for more than 2 hours at a time.  If they do, the
 shutdown and restart takes about a minute and is not a real inconvenience.  I've
 scan the Web page and carefully read all Readme files that came with the
 software, and I don't see any license limitation to using 6 copies of the demo
 for the purpose stated above. BUT, if anyone here, or more specifically, if any
 one from Starnet reading this, knows of any impropriety of doing this, contact
 me!  Otherwise, I'm going to use the free demo for our students.
 Totally Free options:
 1.  MI/X by MicroImages, Inc., http://www.microimages.com/:  The program was able to run
 Spartan remotely; however, it does not have any features for connecting to the
 remote server.  One has to establish a connection with a telnet client first,
 type the command for the Xprogram while MI/X is running, and then the program
 appears in the single window provided.  This is not as easy to use when compared
 to programs that provide an xdm login prompt and provide an SGI desktop.  But
 since it total free (and since the company is located right here in Nebraska!),
 one should check this out for simple connections.
 2.  Linux by (insert your favorite Linux provider here):  Of course many
 responses gave Linux as the best option for free X windows support.  Don't get
 me wrong, I love Linux and I have a dual boot PC where I often turn to Linux
 when I need to have a lengthy logon to our server.  But placing an additional OS
 on all six machines, and teaching students how to boot Linux and run the OS
 would take too much time for someone who is not yet tenured.  While dual boots
 are handy, my next PC (the one I use in my office) will have just one OS on it.
 I still plan to run Linux, but on a dedicated PC.  I've come to the conclusion
 of one OS for one PC.
 Thanks again for all the responses!
 Douglas E. Stack
 Assistant Professor
 Department of Chemistry
 University of Nebraska at Omaha
 Omaha, NE 68182-0109
 (402) 554-3647
 (402) 544-3888 (fax)
 destack $#at#$ unomaha.edu