ACS Blogging - Cambridgesoft

As I was wandering through the expo this morning trying to dry off after a soaking walk from my hotel, I stopped by the Cambridgesoft booth to chat about their Mac products excuses for software. It was very clear after inquiring about their development that they have no interest in trying to improve the Mac software. All I got was excuse after excuse about how we are only 5% of their clients and we really aren't worth investing in. Cambridgesoft is clearly a follower and not a leader when it comes to software development. They will only invest in their products if they are absolutely guaranteed to make a lot of money. What a pity. If they had this attitude when the company first started, they would not exist today. They still keep blaming all of the problems on Apple and Microsoft. Not that those companies don't share responsibility for the bugs. I guess it's time to give ChemDoodle a good trial. If i can get over the learning curve, it looks like the best solution for chemistry drawing on a Mac anytime soon.

Update: After lunch I returned to the expo and happened to bump into some of the McGraw Hill folks at the CambridgeSoft booth. They were showing their upcoming educational tools combining Connect with a ChemDraw plugin and Blackboard interface. This product looks very promising. Anyway, I got pulled back into some lengthy conversations. I do want to set the record straight. My rant above is all about CambridgeSoft's Mac support. Their windows products are actually quite good and improving all the time. Although I stand behind my statement that this company is a follower and not an innovator, I understand the economics of business. It is our job to let the company know that the market demand is out there. So, if all you pharmaceutical companies would just switch over to Macs and ask CambridgeSoft to start delivering their software to you, I would really appreciate it. And CambridgeSoft, I want to say please don't underestimate the growing Mac market. Frankly if you would just focus on making ChemDraw work well we would be ecstatic. And if you could make a simple Chem drawing app for the iPad that would be the icing on the cake!

Boston or Bust

I am heading to Boston today for a few days at the ACS meeting. If I see anything worth reporting, I'll share it here. That being said, I usually find myself at ACS meetings not attending as many talks as I would like but instead networking with friends and acquaintances. I am looking forward to some good dining experiences!