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VeSPA is an open source software funded with public money. They are investing time, money and expertise into it. Something good is going to happen. Here is what the software manual says: The Vespa package enhances and extends three previously developed magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) software tools by migrating them into an integrated, open source, open development platform. Vespa stands for Versatile Simulation, Pulses and Analysis. The original tools that have been migrated into this package include: - GAVA/Gamma - software for spectral simulation - MatPulse � software for RF pulse design - IDL_Vespa � a package for spectral data processing and analysis The new Vespa project addresses current software limitations, including: non-standard data access, closed source multiple language software that complicates algorithm extension and comparison, lack of integration between programs for sharing prior information, and incomplete or missing documentation and educational content. I a...

This piece of open source software is worth trying. It is not an application; it does nothing by itself. All it does is to create a virtual computer. Instead of buying a computer, you start a virtual machine. Think at the enviromental impact. You can even start many virtual machines simultaneously. In my case, I own a Mac but have found some interesting games that require Windows. I have already tried BootCamp, that is perfect, yet I also liked the possibility of keeping my game open while I was working. It made no sense to buy a commercial software to run a free game, but Virtual Box is different, because it is free. Advantages: Is free Is backed by a big company like Oracle Easy to install Many things work without the need of configuring them, for example when I install an operating system on a virtual machine, it is already connected to the internet Limitations: I have found a program (Chessmaster) that does not run on the virtual machine. Maybe you will find other programs that won...

Though you can easily move your spectra with a USB memory stick, the ancient FTP protocol is still the most popular way to transfer data from the spectrometer to the PC (or laptop) where processing is performed. When I started my first NMR experimentations, FTP was not available: local networks were extremely rare and the spectrometers didn't even contain an operating system. So you can guess I have used many FTP clients in my life. During the last 6 years, however, I have been using Cyberduck exclusively, not just because it's free (actually I donated my shareware fee long ago), but because it never fails. It's also very easy to use: the icon gives the exact idea of the complexity of this program. Over the decades I have always received the question: "Why can't I open my spectra on my PC/Mac?". The last time it happened was this morning. The first thing I say is: "Check your FTP client", because this is the most common cause of the trouble. The seco...

Six years ago I took the decision of investing my efforts into the creation of a software application. It was a complex project that potentially required thousands of hours of work. I had to make it financially viable. No sponsor was in sight, so the only solution was to make a commercial program and sell it. I was extremely lucky, because the facilities to sell it were readily available and convenient too. The difference between a normal application and a commercial one is that the latter must be copy-protected in some way. I had complete freedom about how which technology to choose to protect the program. It was clear to me, and still it is, that no money had to be spent for the protection. First, I was not sure that the product could sell enough to invest part of the money into its protection. Second, it's a non-sense to spend money to protect software by piracy. I think that those who steal a copy of a program are inherently thieves. They can't be convinced to buy a regular...

Even spectroscopists needs an Office suite. Just because I need it infrequently, and there are many free options available, I have chosen one of them. Initially I adopted OpenOffice, then switched to NeoOffice because of its more appealing and sensible graphic interface. The main problem with both of them was that the documents looked different when seen with MS Office. Now I have switched to IBM Lotus Symphony and that problem is solved. Maybe the latest versions of the other programs have improved, but I am so happy with my Symphony that I don't see any reason for trying something different again. This is a product nobody writes or talk about, so most people confuse it with the original Lotus Symphony suite. The two products have nothing in common but the name. Probably this arguable choice by IBM to recycle the brand was unfortunate: people refuse to even try the new Symphony because they think they already know it. The new Lotus Symphony is a blend of OpenOffice and Eclipse, to...

Our friends working in the field of biopolymers can study a single molecules for months and can afford to spend a lot of time with their NMR spectra, if the time invested translates into higher accuracy of their results. Software makers are more interested in creating automatic tools that work without human intervention, day and night, because of the higher appeal of any push-button solution. Is anybody helping our friends? Yes! One month ago a simple and effective tool appeared for measuring the volume of a 2-D cross peak, courtesy of iNMR . Let's see, with a practical example, what it does and how it works. We start from the normal contour map. Here you click on a single peak and optionally enter two labels to assign it. In the picture we have selected the peak at the bottom right. Many things automatically happen, if you like: the program can locate the maximum of the peak and fit the overall shape with a gaussian bell. Why a Gaussian instead of a Lorentzian? As you know, 2-D sp...

I said to myself: "What if I return to the original concept of the blog, that is to write reviews of existing NMR software"? I remembered there was one I had never tried. It's called NPNMR (where NP stays for: "Natural Products") and the web site has been in existence for a number of years, though I only heard about it from Google. The NMR wiki ignores it. I remembered there was a freeware version; I wanted to try it. The installation was successful. License was more problematic. The free license is not forever. It only lasts one year, starting from January 1, 2010. In practice it has already expired. "If you use the software on a regular basis, you should purchase a regular (commercial) license." I am waiting day after day, now I am a little tired of waiting and here is the review (without having tried the program!). From the little I have read of the manual, it could be a fine product, with all the functions that today are considered the bare minimum...