I finally got it - looks nice from what I can see.
Ken wrote:
> I am a big MINITAB fan, but I'll be as unbiassed as I can be. . .
>
> When I was looking for a general statistics package to provide for engineering
> use (basic stats, regression, GLM, reliability/survival analysis, DOE, etc) the
> only packages that had the tools I needed were Statistica, JMP, MINITAB, and
> StatGraphics. I spent a lot of time playing with each of these.
>
> I VERY seriously considered Statistica, it has a very good graphics engine, but
> I found it much too hard to use. I found it could do everything, but I was
> always struggling to get it done. It made my brain hurt. I seriously encourage
> you to download their demo - although it is probably so hobbled it may be hard
> to use.
>
> StatGraphics has a very old windows environment, so I ruled it out pretty early.
>
> JMP 4 is a pretty good stat package, but I've always found JMP to have an odd
> environment, especially for someone who knows what they want to do (what tests
> to run, etc). Their Fit Model tool drives me nuts. JMP 4 is slightly improved,
> esier to find stuff, but not much better. It does have a slightly better
> survival tool, but it is limited - right censor only - no interval censoring or
> plots that I can find. Do download the JMP 4 demo - it is hobbled, so you can
> only use their data, can't print, etc - at www.jmpdiscovery.com. It makes it
> hard to evaluate fully.
>
> As I said, I really like MINITAB, and strongly recommend it. It has very
> powerful GLM, , time series, regression, Survival, and basic stats tools. It
> also has good graphics, although not as nice as Statistica. They have a fully
> functioning demo (the only "hobble" is it stops operating after 30 days - and
> they can even extend that if you call them) at www.minitab.com.
>
> If your objective is to do statistics with less sweat, then MINITAB should be
> looked at.
> If your objective is to get slick graphics, but work hard, then check out
> Statistica.
>
> I think both JMP and MINITAB are about the same price - I think Statistica will
> be quite a bit more expensive.
>
> AJ wrote:
>
> > I am interested in opinions on the Statistica package. I have always used
> > SPSS, but now that I need to buy my own program, I am intrigued by
> > Statistica. Not surprisingly, their ads are very compelling. I need a
> > general, broad-based package with basic stats, GLM, regression, survival
> > analysis, and graphics. I have used SPSS since the mainframe days, but I am
> > Statistica (and Systat) appear to provide excellent value. I am a
> > behavioral science researcher with a moderate to strong background in
> > applied multivariate analysis (not a statistician). Any comments?
> > Thanks. -- Al J.
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