Review of LiveMath 3.5

The program under review, LiveMath, is described in the supplier’s literature as a “visually-based computer algebra and graphing exploration and publishing system”. It comes from the same stable as Theorist , Expressionist, and MathView/MathPlus - there is an interesting historical account on the web site www.livemath.com of the evolution, changes of ownership and titles of these programs. The software is supplied on a CD, together with a very slim booklet giving installation instructions and how to get started. The two programs, LiveMath Maker and LiveMath Plug-in, together with MathEQ Expression Editor (not reviewed here), can be installed under Microsoft Windows 95 or higher, under Mac OS 7.5.3 or higher, and there are also Linux and Solaris versions…This computer algebra package can handle complicated calculation and modelling examples where the underlying mathematics is well known. LiveMath also allows a tactile mode, whereby the "pencil and paper" approach to maths is possible...