I am trying out programs for visualization in the Mac. I got a hold of a
TecPlot 360 license, and I am trying to install it. And when I say trying, I mean suffering a frustration and anxiety attack. It is one of the most idiotic and convoluted installers in the planet. I have used all kinds of software, from freeware to $15K 3D modeling soft with hardware dongles, and this program easily qualifies as horrendous. Have people learned nothing in the past 10 years of massively available GUIs?

My feeling, accompanied by what I got when evaluating TecPlot, is that it is a program designed around the beginnings of X11, and then on it never got an upgrade to a more human-friendly interface. Even more, it looks designed by engineers who clearly know very well how to do the technical part of the soft (which I know it's important), but don't have the slightest clue about design (which is also important, otherwise you can't use the so nice technical side of this program...)

In summary, so far I hate it. I wish these guys would take a hint from programs like DataTank.

Labels: extras, science, soft