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Re: Request for computer help.
From: D Winchurch
Date: 2005 Sep 6, 20:48 -0400
From: D Winchurch
Date: 2005 Sep 6, 20:48 -0400
Frank Jones,
I have some questions about Knoppix Linux.
If you could provide your email address I could inquire
without cluttering up this list with off topic inquires.
Dick
----- Original Message -----From: FJonesSent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 10:53 PMSubject: Re: Request for computer help.My 2-cents worth follows:I like free and open source software. You may want to consider using Knoppix Linux or one of the other numerous distributions for your operating system. The LiveCD approach seems good and you can modify your CD to include only applications you need. There are several options usually available for booting these smaller sized Linux distributions.For math, consider SciLab and Octave. I think these applications also have binaries available for Windows if you wish to use XP. Octave may provide better compatibility with MatLab however, I am not sure Octave is an active project these days. MuPad is also interesting but I recall it is tailored for symbolic calculations. GnuPlot is also recommended as part of your tool-kit.You may need to install CygWin for some of the above applications if you want to use it in the Windows environment. I haven't used that in a long time but I think the available documentation is good here.An internet search will yield plenty of information and is generally readable even if you're not a computer whiz. I prefer Linux and SciLab for an inexpensive and universal approach to math calculations.SciLab has a relatively active news group that you can pose specific questions to and usually find prompt help from users with a real mathematic background. Subscribe to comp.soft-sys.math.scilab news group if interested.Finally, I rarely use the above but have run them on occasion. I use a commercial package (MathCad) provided by my employer. MatLab is also very popular where I work. In my humble opinion, Excel is probably the most powerful math tool available for engineers and scientists. It is still a killer-app but may be a little difficult to program...I have mumbled long enough and know it, please accept my apologies and good luck in your search.Frank J>...snip...> Some recent postings on Nav-l have included listings of programs. This> has prompted me to ask for suggestions from list members about> suitable programs for doing simple calculations on a home computer.> ...snip...> George.>-- Frank
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