Windows 10 bloody calculator replacement! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:14:58 am
content: The app does not have even 1/X in scientific mode, so I can not convert ns to MHz etc... easily! Do you recommend any better app for day to day use.

author: TheAmmoniacal
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:21:03 am
content: It does have 1/x, you just have to make the window larger. (also keep in mind that 1/x = x^-1)(The basic calculator has 1/x at any window size, above the division symbol)

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:25:45 am
content: Thanks, Finally found it! But I totally do not like this app, do you suggest a better alternative, the colors and numbers also feels sad! also some more functionality like regression analysis and graphing would be nice too if we could have in a freeware.

author: TheAmmoniacal
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:27:33 am
content: Never been a fan of those calculators either, but only because I'm indoctrinated in CAS /written notation.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:34:08 am
content: Quote from: PA0PBZ on June 23, 2016, 11:22:12 amWTF is that? Is that an actual screenshot of anactualapplication?

author: TheAmmoniacal
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:36:03 am
content: Yeah, that's the calculator options in Windows 10 (Modern UI calculator app), when the window has been resized to fit the options that includes 1/x

author: hendorog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:36:53 am
content: In scientific mode there is an upwards pointing arrow. Its in the bottom left corner in the picture above.That acts like Shift and shows the second function for the keys and 1/x is one of those.

author: TheAmmoniacal
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:38:53 am
content: Quote from: hendorog on June 23, 2016, 11:36:53 amOne learns something new every day, eh

author: hendorog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 11:44:27 am
content: Quote from: TheAmmoniacal on June 23, 2016, 11:38:53 amI hope so mate, cos when that stops its all downhill from there.

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 12:14:20 pm
content: Found calc pro HD, some portions are free! the question is that do we have a free or open source equivalent app too?

author: Messtechniker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 12:43:35 pm
content: Or simply nick calc.exe from your old XP computer.Should run stand alone.Yours - Messtechniker

author: Maxlor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 12:48:54 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on June 23, 2016, 11:34:08 amIndeed, that looks horrible. Funny, Microsoft popularized flat design for UIs, but Apple seems to do a better job at it:

author: DTJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 01:19:04 pm
content: What about the W7 calc under W10?http://winaero.com/blog/get-calculator-from-windows-8-and-windows-7-in-windows-10/I've installed and it seems to work fine.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 01:21:11 pm
content: I really don't like the Windows 10 calculator (W7 much nicer) and Microsoft also messed up the scientific calculator on Windows phone as well. It has so few scientific functions that I spent quite a while looking for the shift key to show the rest of them...it doesn't have one.Speedcrunch(Windows, Mac and Linux) andSpeQ(Windows only) are worth a look if you want a reasonable powerful calculator.

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 01:34:57 pm
content: Quote from: hendorog on June 23, 2016, 11:36:53 amOn screen shift key for a desktop with a mouseI really hope microsoft was having a giggle when they were putting this garbage together.On a desktop with a mouse (or other precision pointing device) and no touchscreen? How about you give me something optimized for my usage, instead of something for peoples fat fingers on a small touch screen. FFS

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 01:35:40 pm
content: real man uses real calculator... get real! if you cant find a better one in the net, generation X

author: Buriedcode
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 02:41:18 pm
content: Quote from: ali_asadzadeh on June 23, 2016, 11:14:58 amAm I the only one who has an overwhelming need to point out that the reciprocal of MHz isus... not nanoseconds

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 02:47:41 pm
content: QuoteThat's why I needed the calculator in the first place!

author: borjam
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 02:51:39 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on June 23, 2016, 01:35:40 pmwhere by "real" you mean "RPN" of course

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 03:00:41 pm
content: BTW most of the calculator functions have keyboard shortcuts. R for example is the 1/x (reciprocal) so there is no need to use the up arrow 'shift' to access much of the stuff, nor click your mouse on things.

author: suicidaleggroll
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 03:24:06 pm
content: Quote from: ConKbot on June 23, 2016, 01:34:57 pmAll of Windows 10 is that way...most windows are huge and look god awful on a desktop, there are entire settings dialogs dedicated to allowing apps to access maps, sms, phone, etc. on a god damn desktop computer. Microsoft never mastered the ability to have more than one desktop environment available, one that's optimized for touch screen mobile devices, and one that's optimized for a monitor/mouse/keyboard. And instead of sticking a desktop OS on their mobile devices, they stuck a mobile OS on their desktops, like there was no third option...

author: diyaudio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 03:34:01 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on June 23, 2016, 01:35:40 pminconvenience for on the fly arithmetic.

author: Pack34
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 03:41:51 pm
content: For a slight step-up, Microsoft Mathematics still works it's similar to a software version TI-89. Then just use wolfram alpha for graphing.https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15702If you need something more...https://www.gnu.org/software/octave/download.html

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 07:19:57 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on June 23, 2016, 11:34:08 amYes, unfortunately we've gone from bloated memory and CPU consumption to the addition of bloated screen use.Anyone have a recommendation for a cross-platform RPN calculator (Linux, OS X, Windows)? I've been usingRealCalcon my phones for a long time, instead of dealing with desktop calculators.

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 07:55:42 pm
content: An actual calculator works best for my use. I have Free42 on my android phone and looks exactly like my physical HP 42s calculators.I've never liked having to use a mouse to move and click virtual calculator buttons etc on a non-touch screen laptop. So, Free42 and my 42s calcs are my go to options and mostly Free42 since my phone is usually with me where ever I go.cheers,george.

author: newbrain
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 08:17:19 pm
content: Quote from: ali_asadzadeh on June 23, 2016, 11:14:58 amJust hit "r" to get the 1/x function (for "reciprocal"), "q" for squaring and @ for square root, "!" for factorial and so on.Not all of the shortcuts are mnemonic, unfortunately.

author: hendorog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 09:38:29 pm
content: Quote from: ConKbot on June 23, 2016, 01:34:57 pmI agree. Optimising for keyboard use seems rare nowadays.And when they bother to add keyboard shortcuts they are not visible so they are hard to remember.My benchmark application for efficiency has always been the DOS Lotus 1-2-3 - before everyone laughs, it made some very smart decisions:* Menus read horizontally left to right instead of from top to bottom, which is how people read the fastest. (or right to left dep on where you live)* Keyboard shortcuts are part of the commands - so you are learning them just by using the program and seeing them again and again* Simple macros were just sequences of keyboard commands. Anyone who could use the program could automate itAnd it was extremely fast even on crap PC's for the time. Someone with some experience could work so rapidly that a person watching couldn't keep up.

author: hendorog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2016, 09:41:28 pm
content: Quote from: Maxlor on June 23, 2016, 12:48:54 pmIrritating that there are no keyboard shortcuts at all on the mac calculator though.

author: gslick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 01:29:28 am
content: Quote from: georges80 on June 23, 2016, 07:55:42 pm+1 on Free42. I have that installed on my Android devices.http://thomasokken.com/free42/I just loaded it on a Windows 8 desktop system to try it there, see attached window capture.

author: Dubbie
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 01:51:00 am
content: Another 42s fan here. Have it on my phone and a real one on my desk at work.Sent from my phone using Tapatalk

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 05:45:46 am
content: Oh, Free42 does run on all the platforms I use. Excellent. I shall give it a go.I still have my 28S from college, but I rarely use it nowadays since I have an RPN calc on my phone.

author: tesla500
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 06:01:26 am
content: I still use the Windows XP calculator on Windows 7. I almost exclusively use the keyboard shortcuts, and they changed them on the W7 one, eg. Shift+2 for square on the XP calc now does the exact opposite (square root) on the W7 native one

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 06:47:16 am
content: No complaints here.

author: hendorog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 07:06:08 am
content: Quote from: Karel on June 24, 2016, 06:47:16 amWhats KDE like these days? I haven't used it for many years since I was forced back to Windows by 'corporate standards'.

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 07:28:57 am
content: KDE is quite nice and very configurable. I use XFCE more often, though, because it's super lightweight for use on old PCs and in virtual machines. Of course, it also works on new PCs. However, the tradeoff is that it lacks the "modern" features of KDE.Windows 10 in a VM is a dog. Or should I say a slug. It's slow.

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 07:32:49 am
content: Quote from: hendorog on June 24, 2016, 07:06:08 amIt's not bad but I think I should have switched to Cinnamon or Mate if I weren't so fond of Kate,my favorite text editor for programming.

author: hendorog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 08:39:04 am
content: Quote from: bitseeker on June 24, 2016, 07:28:57 amI'm using XFCE at the moment as it's on the linuxcnc box I'm working on. I think thats probably also due to it being lightweight.As you say its pretty basic and looks to me the same as it always did.I've got an old Thinkpad T420 which graphics card isn't properly supported under Win10. Of course that didn't stop it installing itself...But it performs poorly even just Alt-Tabbing between apps and is just generally sluggish. Maybe thats the same issue in a VM too?

author: DutchGert
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 08:45:58 am
content: In uni we used the Ti-89 so for years i am using an emulator for it on my desktop.Just remember to set the Emulator Option to 2x view for on any modern screen.http://www.mesacc.edu/~johrx98491/TI-Emulator.html

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 11:34:29 am
content: Quote from: borjam on June 23, 2016, 02:51:39 pmwhats that? oh no, not the RPN...the closest thing to my real casio fx-570ms in android is... powercalc...i only reach the OS bundled calc when i need quick arithmetic +,-,X,/ power (press y) and when its quicker than turning on and pressing buttons of my real calc right next to me and the monitor.

author: Pack34
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 03:41:26 pm
content: This will work on all desktopshttp://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=ti-89&_sacat=0

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2016, 06:01:06 pm
content: LOL, that it will, and it'll even work when your computer crashes.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2016, 06:06:50 am
content: Quote from: Karel on June 24, 2016, 07:32:49 amEasy enough to just grab the required KDE libraries to have it run. Rest is cinnamon or mate but you can happily run KDE parts along with minimal issues.