> >        OS/2 - stabile, once you get it loaded, but its destined to die an
> >undeserved death since no one is writing software specficially for
> >this OS.
>
> Is this really true?  The advantage is that OS/2 is 32 bit, etc.  A local
> confocal rep said that this system is used quite a bit in the U.S., though
> not here in Oz - was he misinformed?
 
The BioRad 1024 software (which is very nice) is a native os/2 app.  However,
I am afraid the original poster is probably correct...the power of Microsoft's
marketing machine far outweighs the failings of it's software development
efforts.
 
I'm unclear on why the original poster dismissed UNIX as a platform for
confocal/image analysis software...UNIX has a well deserved reputation for
being arcane, but GUIs of many flavors exist which make a UNIX-based machine
as user-friendly as the next os, and it is by far the most powerful and
stable os around.  I think we should be lobying our confocal vendors to
port their software to linux so we could all run powerful, stable, free
operating systems and not rely on Microsoft or any company which caters to
business and the computer-illiterate.
 
Cheers