Re: Which Mathematica product should I get?
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg74550] Re: Which Mathematica product should I get?
- From: siewsk at bp.com
- Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:30:39 -0500 (EST)
- References: <eu1r0r$j5m$1@smc.vnet.net>
On Mar 24, 10:22 am, "David Rees" <w3bdevilREM... at THISw3bdevil.com> wrote: > Hi, > > Currently being a Calculus student and my antique Ti-83 is really reaching > the limits of where it can help me (no pun intended) so I'm looking for s= ome > high-end symbolic calculation software to help me through my course. > > Mathematica 5.2 looks attractive, I've installed the demo and it looks > powerful enough, but I'm a little put off by the frontend's interface. Ri= ght > now I'm using MathType to typeset my equations and I'm not keen on return= ing > to LaTeX-type command-lines. I know Mathematica has "whiteboard-style" > expression support but I haven't seen how far that support goes. Is it > anywhere near as flexible as MathType? > > So if Mathematica is for me, which Mathematica product do I want? There's > "Mathematica for Students 5.2", "Mathematica CalcCenter for Students 3", = and > "Calculus WIZ", each of them are similarly priced (=A380, =A370, and =A350 > respectivly) > > I hear Calculus WIZ can integrate with Mathematica (as well as being > available as a seperate standalone product), is the extra =A350 worth it? > > I'm confused about the differences (and virtues) of CalcCenter over > Mathematica, the price difference is only =A310 (and I'm not going to buy > both). Can anyone clear this up? > > Finally, I've got a question about licensing and front-ends. I've been > toying with the .NET/Link SDK, can you link to a Mathematica kernel runni= ng > on another machine or via some kind of IPC? (i.e.can the Kernel run under= a > desktopless session (i.e. as a Windows Service or Daemon)?) I'm wanting to > create an uberized version of the WITM proxy for Mathematica (since Wolfr= am > still refuses to port Mathematica to the PocketPC/Windows Mobile platform= ), > that's all. > > Regarding licensing, is it on a per-user or per-device scheme? I've got > three computers I use regularly (my desktop workstation, my TabletPC, and= my > Terminal Server) and I don't want to have to shell out for Mathematica th= ree > times over. > > Thanks Mathematica is a tool. A very very useful tool but it is still a tool. Having said that, please get Mathematica if you can afford it because you will be using the same tool even when you enter a university. Having a consistent tool for the next 6 years will be of great benefit to you. Like all things in life, there will be a learning curve. I have no problems entering calculus equations in Mathematica, either using the keyboard or using the mouse with the Formula palletes.