[PyMOL] PyMOL in 2002

[Warren L. D. <wa...@su...>]

Dear PyMOL Users:

   Happy New Year!  2001 was a great year for PyMOL, with the following
developments: cartoon ribbons, improved rendering quality, transparency,
CCP4 maps, concise atom selections, increased stability, bug fixes, and
many other minor improvements.  According to SourceForge's updated
statistics, PyMOL has accumulated about 75,000 web-page hits, 15,000
file downloads, and 72 subscribers to the mailing list.  Hooray!

   Given this wonderful response, I intend to continue developing PyMOL as
a hobby in 2002 under the same unrestricted software license.  Some of my
goals include:  updated documentation, tutorials, a better user interface
and API, an improved builder with structure clean-up, MOL2 file support,
electrostatic potential display, generalized volumetric rendering, a
native OSX version, and an ActiveX control (to replace Chime).  

   Although PyMOL is free and unrestricted, the reality of software
development is that it takes substantial time and money.  If you
haven't yet considered whether it would be in your interest to support
PyMOL with a monetary donation, then please do so today!  DeLano
Scientific can now take donations via credit card or check, or we can even
sell your company or institution a standard software license -- whatever
is most convenient.
   
   Details at http://www.pymol.org/donate.html 

   Even if you are cash-poor, there are many others ways in which you
can advance the PyMOL vision.  See the "contribute" section of the
home page for more information on what you can do.

   As an individual scientist, I am striving to make the PyMOL vision a
reality, but it will not happen unless many other scientists join me in
this quest.  As of today, only 2 parties have made donations, and 3 more
have made pledges.  Less than ten people have directly contributed to 
development.  This is a good start, but let us turn this promising little
snowball into a roaring avalanche which validates the PyMOL approach for
developing free and unrestricted research software.

   Join me in taking a stand against outrageously expensive commercial
research tools.  Working together as individual scientists, we can create
free and unrestricted alternatives.  Please support PyMOL today!

   Cheers,

   Warren L. DeLano, Ph.D.
   PyMOL Creator
   DeLano Scientific
   San Carlos, CA, USA