Hi Guys,

    There has been alot of interaction over the last week, so that a
detailed summary, in my opinion, is not needed.  The major comments and
concerns are:

1.  Even Bill Cotton can not now say the aips++ (casa) does not have a
reasonable user interface.  The present task bundling, inputs and help,
while not as extensive and detailed as suggested by the focus group
earlier this year (in an unfocused way), is a big step in the right
direction.  There are lots of details to work out, and the inputs and
help documentation need improvement.  I hope we can agree on a method in
which astronomers can help in this effort.

2.  I did play around a bit at the tool level and found it easier to use
than the previous tool syntax.  It's in-line documentation support is
even more limited, however.  What is the future of the User Reference
Manual?

3.  My feeling is that the basic user cookbook should be a bit more
linear, perhaps concentrating on recipes for reduction of
straight-forward data sets.  Some of the examples in the cookbook could
be placed in the help (explain??) sections of the on-line help, although
this may make them too long.

4.  The basic calibration and imaging/cleaning (boxes excepted) are
working, but with a fair number of mostly minor problems, inconveniences
and mis-understandings.  The feedback from the users to the developers
with regard to these 'problems' was the most important and useful part
of the week's work.  Users are a pain-in-the-ass, but they are the
customers you have to satisfy.

5.  Use of casa by selected astronomers must continue over the next few
months to test the improved software and exercise the system even more
extensively.  How should this be organized?  Do we need another
concentrated push like this past week?  How much should we interact with
the 'ALMA' test, now scheduled for March.