Dr. Howell, as soon as you could, would you give us a brief rundown on the differences between the Sierra software and Quickload? I am curious myself, and like manuals, I suppose the more references you have, the better.
I may be interested in a copy of the Sierra software if it would be a worthwhile addition.
I�m leaving the �fire for a while � maybe for good � but not without leaving y�all with a very weak and flimsy interim report of my
struggles with Sierra Infinity Suite Six. For now, my advice is � if you have version V Suite and you�re fairly well satisfied with it, save your money for a while. Better men than I am may have more success with it, and a vastly improved Version Seven may come along soon. (Hint, hint, hint, Sierra!)
I have no earlier version to compare it to, and I�m having a hard time with it� just trying to do the specific things that I want to do with it, and comparing it with what some of y�all have already posted in this thread. For example �
� I can not get rid of the default traces in the comparison graph. I assume that it�s possible to do so, but I haven�t found a way to do it, or any instruction on how to do it.�
� Therefore, I haven�t been able to enter my own traces for comparison � one of the most compelling reasons that I had such high hopes for this obviously powerful but extremely disappointing and frustrating software.
� I�d like to be able to make one, two, or more of the load traces bolder. The function that someone has described above isn�t available in v6 Suite. I haven�t been able to make any of the traces heavier.
� I apparently expected too much of the ability to enter my own bullets. I�d hoped that it�d let me
design new bullets, but it seems to allow no more than the addition of imaginary new bullet
weights,
etc. (I�m not complaining � just reporting.) It may be of some value when you want to enter new bullets that weren�t available when Suite Six was concocted.
I�ll just have to wrestle with it a bit longer, I reckon.
Oh, by the way �
V6 Suite does NOT include the Sierra Manual. You can access ON-LINE the Sierra.com data base of handloads. The data base may include some loads that aren�t in the manual yet � and maybe weren�t even in the data base a week ago. You can plug a plus sign next to this feature! It�s probably better than having the manual on the CD while Sierra continues to test and add new loads to what will eventually be another Sierra manual some day in the future.
�I don�t do well with �instructions� that tell me such things as �with this vehicle, you can drive from any location on the west coast to any location on the east coast.� Dumb ol� me, I need detailed maps and related information. For me, the struggle with software isn�t the entertainment game that computer nerds and programmers apparently like to play around with and assume that we users do, too.
I have to be told how to open the door, so to speak, then � step-by-step �how to go inside and make myself at home without falling over furniture and stubbing my little toe in the dark before I can fumble around long enough to find the light switch � or at least a candle. �The light switch is just inside the door, shoulder-high on the hinge side. Turn it clockwise for ON and to make the light brighter, counter-clockwise to dim the light or to turn it OFF. There are also auxiliary lamps on the side table on the left side of the room and the desk near the far wall � both with traditional push-button switches in the rear of their bases. In the event of a power outage, candles and strike-anywhere matches are in the waist-high cabinet just to the left of the door.�I hope that Version Seven will be worlds easier to use and will be more useful in a multitude of simple ways. Right now, I see plenty of possibilities for just that kind of improvement. Expert programmers �
if there are any who�re sensitive and sympathetic to the user�s tastes and preferences � should find �em reasonably easy to provide. Try-and-cuss experimentation isn�t the best way to learn how to use
any tool.
Sierra�s Infinity series is without doubt one of the best exterior-ballistics programs available. I just wish that Suite Six were easier to use. All my other disappointments are relatively easy to bear (and may not bother anyone else as much as they bother me). I wish that I could endorse it with unbridled enthusiasm. Maybe I�ll be able to later, when I�ve learned how to persuade it to do what it can do.