Numeric or numarray?

[gong li]

hi

im a python newbie, i have a few questions. i am attempting to write 
some numerical code (high dimensional monte carlo integration) using 
python, to see how it performs and to learn the  language.  at the numpy 
sourceforge, it appears there are 2 versions, numarray 0.5 and Numeric 
23.  numeric 23 installed on my machine (slackware9) but numarray 
complained about some filename etc.

1. the readme says that previous version of numarray must be   removed, 
is it referring to Numeric also?

2. which package should i use?

im primarily interested in speed, need linear algebra routines (least 
squares), and dont want to encounter
too many bugs. seeing as numarray .5 already ran into some trouble, im 
leaning towards Numeric 23, since 23 > .5, but if Numeric is being 
abandoned, then perhaps its better to go with numarray.

3. whats the status of these projects?

thanks for any info!

-gong