The last Release 4.0 update has been sent out a few months ago, so I assume that everyone has converted to the new release by now and, hopefully, has had a chance to look at least at some of the new features it offers. Judging from the few phone calls I received, the conversion seems not to have caused any unexpected problems.
For this issue, Denis Lebeuf of INRO has prepared the first of a series of articles to analyze the performance of EMME/2 on all the different computers and peripherals which are supported. The first part is looking at the processors; graphic performance will be the the focus of the upcoming second part.
If you are among those who have ever wished to have a possibility to display zonal data in another form than the "chimneys" we are used from module 3.13, turn to page 3 for finding out all about POLYZONE, a new service offered to EMME/2 users.
Finally, if you live in a German speaking country as I do, you are just in time to register for the first EMME/2 User's Meeting organized especially for our part of the world - see page 13 for details.
Heinz Spiess, Editor
EMME/2 Support Center
Haldenstrasse 16
CH-2558 Aegerten
Switzerland
tel: (41) 32 53 20 57
fax: (41) 32 53 57 86
There are many items of interest in this issue of EMME/2 News. The article on EMME/2 benchmarks, that compares the CPU times for the auto and transit assignments with the standard Winnipeg data base on various computing platforms, is of particular significance as it reflects the remarkable increase in computing power offered by today's microcomputers and workstations. We are continuously striving to port EMME/2 for use on more powerful processors, as they become available, in order to offer new options to EMME/2 users in their choice of computing equipment. Many have already taken advantage of INRO's policy of facilitating upgrades and we expect more to do so in the future, as increased computing power translates directly into increased productivity.
In particular, as the Definicon DSI-32 co-processor board is no longer produced since the beginning of this year, we will be offering special upgrade conditions to DSI-32 users who wish to opt for new and more powerful technology, although we will continue software support for such installations which are covered by software support agreements.
It is worth while to note that the EMME/2 users community continues to grow. The interested reader may refer to the new list of EMME/2 users to find out that EMME/2 is installed now at organizations in 23 countries, the latest additions being Trinidad and Korea.
Michael Florian, President
INRO Consultants, Inc.
4950 Queen Mary Rd. #100
Montreal, Que H3W 1X3
Canada
Tel (514) 738-8336
Fax (514) 738-8579