Hi, I have inquired at Schrodinger about the licensing for PyMol. I was surprised by their answer. The access to PyMol is only through a yearly licence. They do not offer the option of purchasing the software and using the obtained version without time limitation. This policy is very different from many other software packages, which one can use without continuing licensing fees and additional fees are only when an upgrade is needed. At least I believe that Office, EndNote, Photoshop and others are distributed this way. I also remember very vividly the Warren’s reason for developing PyMol, and that was the free access to the source code. He later implemented fees for downloading binary code specific for one’s operating system but there were no time restrictions on its use. As far as I recollect, Schrodinger took over PyMol distribution and development promising to continue in the same spirit. Please correct me if I am wrong. I find the constant yearly licensing policy disturbing and will be looking for alternatives. I would like to hear if you have had the same experience and what you think about the Schrodinger policy. Best wishes,
Mirek
