that would be helpful. Chemical structures of the molecules are not included, however. In addition, the analytical chemist will find the lack of methods for analysis a limitation. To obtain this information, users might want to investigate Instant EPA's Pesticide Methods, a software package just released by Instant Reference Sources. It provides almost 300 pesticide method summaries and offers the same seamless hyperlinks to the other software in the series.
Overall, this software package/database is a convenient compilation of the information on pesticides that has been published by the EPA. For those who need only a limited amount of information, or information on only a few compounds, obtaining the original publications from the EPA would be less expensive, though also less convenient. Likewise, although most of the information included is available in book form in the Farm Chemicals Handbook (Meister Publishing: Willoughby, OH), the software's search facility and reference listings make it easy to find information of interest. The analytical chemist may find the program interesting, even though it doesn't contain methods or specific analytical data.
Reviewed by Lawrence R. Layman, Department of Chemistry, Lafayette College, Easton, PA
Abacus Concepts 1984 Bonita Ave. Berkeley, CA 94704-1038 510-540-1049; 510-540-0260 (fax); abacus@applelink. apple, com (e - mail) Version 4.1; $595
StatView for Power Macintosh, statistical software for Macintosh, is designed to let scientists manage and analyze their data, then graph and create presentations of their results—all within a single application. Its spreadsheet holds up to 32,765 columns and more than 2 billion rows, and
an innovative formula calculator provides more than 150 functions for dynamic transformation and manipulation of data. Comprehensive descriptive, comparative, and multivariate statistics methods are available, as well as browsers that speed the analysis process. Users can take advantage of 40 templates for frequently used analyses and graphs or create templates for tasks ranging from basic formatting to complex analyses. No command language is needed because the templates are graphically created. StatView 4.1 runs under System 7 or later on any Macintosh (LC or better recommended). It requires 2 MB RAM for 680*0 Macs or 4.5 MB RAM for Power Macs and a hard disk drive.
Un-Scan-It Silk Scientific P.O. Box 533 Orem, UT 84059 801-377-6978; 801-378-5474 (fax) Version 3.0; $350
Un-Scan-It 3.0 for Windows turns a PC and any scanner into an automatic (x,y) digitizing tablet. It allows users to automatically digitize scanned images such as graphs, strip chart output, and old graphs into the computer in (x,y) ASCII format at full scanner resolution. The program can also integrate peak areas, smooth data, take derivatives, enhance data resolution, edit and append data, rescale graphs, and store data in ASCII, JCAMP, or HPGL format for use in other software packages. Un-Scan-It requires an IBM PC 386/486/PS2 or compatible with at least 1 MB RAM, 1 MB free hard disk space, Windows 3.1 or higher, and any scanner.
Chemical Inventory System Window Chem Software 420-F Executive Court North Fairfield, CA 94585 707-864-0845; 707-864-2815 (fax) Version 2.0; $249
Chemical Inventory System, designed specifically for tracking chemicals and other
necessary supplies in the laboratory, maintains information about chemical names, CAS registry numbers, and chemical formulas, as well as vendor and catalog numbers, storage locations, and quantities of two defined container sizes (e.g., bottles and cases). Chemicals and other supplies can be sorted by name, CAS registry number, description, vendor, location, or chemical formula. Simple listings or detailed reports for any given chemical, supply, or group of items can be generated, including all relevant vendor information and on-hand quantities. The program runs on PC compatibles and requires a minimum of a 386 CPU, 4 MB RAM, 6 MB hard disk space, and Windows 3.1 or higher. A multiuser version that offers full network support is also available.
Kinetics for Windows ARSoftware 8201 Corporate Dr., Suite 1110 Landover, MD 20785 301-459-3773; 301-459-3776 (fax) Version 1.0; $595, commercial; $495, academic
Kinetics for Windows is designed to model complex chemical reactions and reaction mechanisms. Its Windows interface allows users to input complex chemical systems by typing the reaction equations and associated rate constants. The program automatically formulates the differential equations that are necessary to describe the kinetics of the chemical system under study. The rate equations are then numerically integrated using a modified GEAR algorithm. Chemical systems containing up to 100 reversible reactions can be evaluated, mechanisms with individual reactions as high as fifth order can be examined, computations on systems containing up to 50 chemical species are possible, and a plotting routine is included for viewing the results of the program. Minimum system requirements include an 80386 PC running DOS 5.0 (or later) and Windows 3.1,2 MB RAM, and VGA display. A math coprocessor is recommended but not required.
Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 67, No. 7, April 1, 1995 245 A
SOFTWARE RELEASED
StatView