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Re: The Mathematica Book, Electronic Media and MathWorld

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg78548] Re: [mg78524] The Mathematica Book, Electronic Media and MathWorld
• From: Murray Eisenberg <murray at math.umass.edu>
• Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2007 05:30:09 -0400 (EDT)
• Organization: Mathematics & Statistics, Univ. of Mass./Amherst
• References: <f5qitl$5fs$1@smc.vnet.net> <200706270932.FAA01420@smc.vnet.net> <f5vrpf$kar$1@smc.vnet.net> <200707030941.FAA18707@smc.vnet.net>
• Reply-to: murray at math.umass.edu

I can sometimes get away with reading a newspaper or magazine at meals, 
but my wife draws the line at computers on the table!

As to display of symbols and equations at MathWorld:  Supporting math in 
web browsers has long been a problem.  Mathematically rich sites such as 
  MathWorld are necessarily aimed at the "lowest common denominator" -- 
relying upon graphic images for symbols -- and this is not a 
satisfactory way to display math on a web page, no matter how good the 
tools one uses to produce those images.

Much more satisfactory results are obtained if either one uses a 
proprietary "math viewer" with a correspondingly prepared web page or 
else one is viewing MathML on the  page in a browser that knows how to 
render it (and one has installed the necessary supporting fonts).

Bravo to WRI for supporting the MathML effort.

But MathML cannot be relied upon until the day that Microsoft builds in 
support for it in Internet Explorer (and transparently furnishes the 
necessary fonts).  Whether they ever will is a big question, given that 
MathML is "not made here" from Microsoft's viewpoint.  Meanwhile, one 
can download and install the free DesignScience MathPlayer in order to 
enable MathML display in IE, but that's a hassle.

David Park wrote:
> 
> We almost all love books. They still have some advantage over electronic 
> media....
> 
> Some of the decisive disadvantages of books and other printed media are:
> 
> ... At meals I always like 
> to read something or other. I can either read magazines or books or material 
> on our laptop. I find that I more and more gravitate to the laptop because 
> it is easier....
> 
> Take MathWorld. Here is a site that is top notch, A+++, as far as content 
> and organization go....It is much smaller and with less line 
> spacing than any technical book I can pick off my shelf. Also, the font used 
> for the equations is quite poor....

-- 
Murray Eisenberg                     murray at math.umass.edu
Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
Lederle Graduate Research Tower      phone 413 549-1020 (H)
University of Massachusetts                413 545-2859 (W)
710 North Pleasant Street            fax   413 545-1801
Amherst, MA 01003-9305

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: Re: The Mathematica Book, Electronic Media
    • From: Murray Eisenberg <murray@math.umass.edu>

• References:
  • The Mathematica Book, Electronic Media and MathWorld
    • From: "David Park" <djmpark@comcast.net>