In SPM, there are various compiled functions that get called by MATLAB.
Some of these are pre-compiled for various platforms, whereas others are
not.  It all depends what platforms, compilers and MATLAB versions I (or
a few kind others) have access too.

If you know about compiling mex files and using Makefiles, then it
should matter relatively little what platform you try to use (providing
you have MATLAB 6.5 onwards, and it is supported on your platform).  If
you know nothing about compiling etc (or nobody in your department
does), then other platforms can lead to problems. There are things that
I can't help with - as I only have access to limited numbers of
different platforms.

If you have very large datasets, then whether or not you use a 64 or 32
bit machine is likely to make a difference.  Speed and memory are also
influential.  Others will be able to tell you more though.....

Best regards,
-John

-----Original Message-----
From: SPM (Statistical Parametric Mapping) [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Michael Sanfilipo
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 5:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SPM] Differences in OS for SPM5 (Solaris vs Linux vs Windows
XP)

Hi,

I am purchasing a new computer for the purpose of running SPM5 and would

like to understand how SPM5 works with different computers and different

operating systems (OS).

Can anyone tell me the pro's and con's of using Matlab/SPM5 with
different 
computer-OS setups (i.e., Solaris vs Linux vs Windows XP).  Is the
"look" 
(interface) the same for all 3 OS?  Is one computer-OS setup more 
reliable, more of a "standard", or better supported than the others?
Any 
additional input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike