Aster 9 vs 10... help me choose

Hi
Yes, it's kinda obvious Aster 10 and subsequents to come will always be better, but I'm facing a big problem: at work only Window$ is used, and they are very reluctant to allow me to use Linux. Fortunately if I consider that certain software is useful, they install it for me as long as it's FOSS.
I know that there are two versions of Aster ported to Windows made by two different companies, Necs and Pimeca. Necs ported a full environment but with Aster 9.1, while Pimeca ported Aster 10.3 but without Eficas or ASTK. FOr the latter there's a way to install both of them, but it's somewhat complicated (I cannot install the program by myself, I must ask the admin of the network to do it and they are not very much into FEA).
Since my experience with Aster is limited so far, I would like to ask those more experienced if the improvements made in 10.3 version are worth the difficult way (again, I'm quite new so Eficas and ASTK are a must for me) over the one-click procedure of the 9.1 port. I will perform classical mechanic studies (now I have to do some transient vibration analysis for example) with very occasional thermal analysis (most probabaly never, and if so I guess Syrthes would do better for the cases I'd handle). I won't do any paralell runs nor code couplings either. I will ask Salome for Windows too, but it's more probabale that I will go for Gmsh and Paraview too. I hope that info gives you more grounds to give me a hint.
Thanks in advance,

César

CAVT wrote:

Hi
Yes, it's kinda obvious Aster 10 and subsequents to come will always be better, but I'm facing a big problem: at work only Window$ is used, and they are very reluctant to allow me to use Linux. Fortunately if I consider that certain software is useful, they install it for me as long as it's FOSS.

I can suggest getting your admin to install VirtualBox in Windows then you can install Ubuntu or CAElinux inside it. Thereby satisfying that the useful FOSS is VirtualBox, and you can be the admin for the CAELinux (or Ubuntu) inside it, thereby keeping your admin rights confined to just the Ubuntu or CAELinux level. Maybe this will be more palatable to your company admin.

Regards, JMB<br /><br />Post edited by: JMB, at: 2011/04/11 19:09