As advertised Xcalculator is a "fully functional calculator for (the)Tablet PC user. You can use the xThink Calculator just as you would use a normal pocket calculator. The difference is, you enter numbers, operations and functions by writing on the tablet. The xThink Calculator uses xThink's intelligent recognition technology to recognize hand-drawn, two-dimensional expressions correctly."



This program is one of those applications that people initially look at and say "so what." People comment that they already have a calculator on their computer and they can tap the keyboard faster and with more accuracy than is provided by the tablet. These are, by the way, the same people that reject the functionality of the tablet pc because they can type faster than they can write. I again say (as I have for well over a year) these people completely miss the "appropriateness" of the tablet. Rather than preach to the choir, back to xCalculator.



As a veteran teacher (I guess I have reached that milestone with 25 years) I have seen many students successfully solve physics problems only to incorrectly enter numbers into a calculator either real or virtual. XCalculator allows the student to retain an association between work and solution. The recognition ability of the software is significantly improved but users need to remember to look at the lower left corner of their screen to "check their work" and see what the program read the input to be. Be sure to read the quick help screen first time out to see the very simple rules and avoid frustration. Visit xThink for additional information and useful videos on this revolutionary product.



I can't wait for their next product MathJournal due out later this year.

Added:  Thursday, May 13, 2004

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