SoftwareInfo

=Software for Analytical Chemistry=

Unfortunately, our university decided this summer to discontinue the student license for Microsoft Office products as a cost-saving measure. They felt that the expense to the university was too high given that many students purchased their own copies of the software when they purchased their computers, as well as the fact that there is a plethora of freeware alternatives (such as Open Office or Google Docs). I personally wonder if there was discussion of whether most students actually use the MS Office software suite, as I expect the cost to the university depends on the number of students enrolled (i.e., the number of possible users) as opposed to the number of actual users (I don't know even how this could be determined). I see that this affects an Instrumental Analysis course in two very specific ways (of course, I am writing from how I have used these packages over the years). First and foremost, spreadsheets are widely used for calculation, simulation and data analysis- note that there are even a number of books (including E. Joseph Billo, __Excel for Chemists: A Comprehensive Guide__, 2nd ed., Wiley-VCH, 2001, Robert de Levie, __Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis__, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2008, and David Bourg, __Excel Scientific and Engineering Cookbook__, O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2006) that describe Excel applications to scientific problems. I concede that the basic tools are available in most (if not all) spreadsheet alternatives. However, I have extensively taught with the statistical tools located in Excel's Data Analysis Toolpack Add-on (and yes, I have read much of the on-line discussion of the problems with statistical calculations in Excel- there ARE problems, but most of them can be avoided). Losing access to these extra statistical analysis tools in the Data Analysis Toolpack is what is problematic. The second specific issue is the loss of the Track Changes tool in MS Word which I use extensively to provide feedback (both as comments and direct corrections) to students on their written lab reports.

I've spent a little time over the last month since this announcement looking for alternatives. I thought I would document here some of what I have discovered in the process, to perhaps help anyone else that finds themselves in the same situation. I'll start with the Excel alternatives:


 * Freeware Alternatives to Excel**

//Google Spreadsheet// (part of Google Docs, see []): The advantage of Google Spreadsheet is that it is both free and on-line; it is also designed to be used in a collaborative way (enabling easier sharing between students working together on labs or sharing with the instructor). While the basic tools and functions (all very conveniently named exactly the same as the corresponding MS Excel functions- but that is true of many of these alternative spreadsheet programs) are there, the statistical tools available in the Data Analysis ToolPack are not. Google Spreadsheet can be extended with the use of scripts; you must be logged in to Google Docs with a Spreadsheet open in order to access the list of scripts. Under **Tools**, select **Script Gallery** and a new frame will open with a list of available scripts. On the left side you will see a list of categories, select **Statistics** to see the available statistical scripts. DC Sampson has provided a couple of files named //One-Way ANOVA// and //Statistics for Google Docs//, both provide very nice ANOVA tools, but not the detailed regression analysis tools available in Excel.

//Calc// (part of Open Office, see []): Open Office (the current version is 3.3.0) is now a widely used alternative to the MS Office suite. Most (all) of the standard Excel functions are available, but wizards equivalent to the Data Analysis Toolpack are not. Open-Office can be extended through the use of macros; a list of available macros for the end-user can be found at [although there is an error on the page 7/28/11]. A working link to various macros can be found directly on the Sourceforge website at []. The most recent statistics related macro (OOoStatV0_5.zip, latest version 0.5) unfortunately wasn't the replacement I was searching for.

//Gnumeric// ([]): After a good deal of hunting I have found an alternative freeware spreadsheet program named Gnumeric that in my opinion has better statistical analysis tools than those in Excel’s Data Analysis Toolpack. You can download the software from the site above (the current version is 1.10.16). The on-line User's Manual for the program can be found at http://projects.gnome.org/gnumeric/doc/gnumeric.shtml.

//R// (see []): R is an amazingly complete (and free) statistical analysis environment- an overview can be found at [] (the current version is 2.13.1). It is a "statistical analysis environment" much like Maple is a "mathematical computing environment" as opposed to a spreadsheet like Excel, Google Spreadsheet or Gnumeric. There are extensive on-line manuals at []; it is helpful to have a good reference book to use as a guide- I have found Paul Teetor's __R Cookbook__ (O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2011) very useful. There is a GUI named R Commander available (see []). This //Rcmdr// package is installed like any other R package. Full installation information for the R Commander GUI can be found on []. While this somewhat simplifies use of R, you will still need to spend quite a bit of time with this package. If you want to do serious statistical analysis- learn R. I am starting to learn it and will likely introduce it into my graduate statistics class, but I worry that R, even with the R Commander interface, will be beyond many students at the undergraduate level.


 * Freeware Alternatives to Track Changes in Word**

I haven't yet spent any time looking for whether there are freeware replacements for the Track Changes feature in MS Word. Any thoughts out there?