math software

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What do you guys think is the best math calculator freeware? By best, I mean software with the most features. I need a program that can do calculus, trigonometry, algebra, geometry, solve equations, etc. Are there any ripoffs of Maple or Mathematica?

I've heard good things about Maxima and Octave, but for the most part, something like Mathematica or Matlab/Maple is a very complex piece of software and there are not a whole lot of alternatives.

Depending on your situation, the student version of mathematica is not that expensive and is extremely useful I've found, especially if you plan on doing higher mathematics above calculus.

If you're just doing calculus I think they sell a cheaper stripped-down version of mathematica called calculus-wiz...

Okay, I'm now trying to install Octave, but I have some issues. I've downloaded octave-3.0.0.tar.gz from the Octave website. When I look inside the folder with WinRAR, I see a bunch of files with odd extensions. I clicked on a file named INSTALL.OCTAVE, which seemed to give me guidance, saying I first need to open the 'configure' file. However, when I clicked on the configure file it gave me another text file of gibberish and coding. What do I do?

It sounds like you downloaded the source code instead of the actual programs. You probably want this instead:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=2888&package_id=40078

Personally I've found Mathcad the easiest most intuitive to use. It's not freeware though, but I have a feeling you would love it.

I think you can get mathematica or maple from torrent. You can also get emulators of TI-89 and maybe TI-92 emulators.

Yeah, I have a TI-86 emulator. Would the TI-89 be better?

As for Octave, I've installed it and all I see is a black screen. Aren't there supposed to be more features?

TI-89 is much better as it has a computer algebra system and can perform integration, differentiation, factoring, expanding, etc. in terms of variables.

http://www.sagemath.org/

All programs are slaves to the imagination of our brains. That means we must fully understand what to expect from our programs or the programs WILL eventually lie to us. That being said, MathCAD is the best and easiest software I have ever used. I have done in minutes with MathCAD problems that could take hours or days with other programs. I have done math problems that shouldn't even be allowed to be called math

MathCAD does vectors and matrice calculations with ease. Cross products, yup. Dot products, yup. Laplace transforms (both ways!), Runge-Kutte, Linear and Non-Linear DiffEQ's, and the most impossible block of equations you could image. It also does simple and complex integration, differentiation, and algebra. It does units also so you can convert miles/hour to cm/sec, and many more. It also remembers units when it solves Diff-Eqs. It does comlex algebra too. It's great, but engineers love it, especially for systems and heat transfer. www.mathsoft.com Of course if you want to do analog modeling, you probably want to use MatLab.

If you are a university student, you may find MathCAD installed in the college computer lab. The student version of MathCAD is $129.99 USD at my Alma Matter, well worth it!