Free Download A Day

Geek alert! If you're wearing a pocket protector and carrying at least one mechanical pencil, you'll definitely want to download SpeQ Mathematics, a small but extensive math calculator. You'll probably also find it handy if you're just an average math student, because SpeQ performs most calculations you'll need for your homework. It even draws graphs. To use it, just enter your variables into the intuitive interface, and then choose the calculations you want to execute. You can easily edit your variables to test different outcomes, and plot a graph of your results. The program can perform calculations for arithmetic, statistics, trigonometry, integers, probability, and a number of other options. There are about 100 built-in constants for math and physics, including the popular "chaos theory".

SpeQ is easy on system resources, and will run on just about any Windows computer. It can also be executed from a flash drive or floppy disk. The help and user guides are detailed and extensive, so don't be intimidated. If you can use your Windows calculator, you can use Speq Mathematics.

Download SpeQ Mathematics

Computer-based dictionaries, spell-checkers, and thesauruses (thesauri?) are nothing new — after all, they come with the poplular word processors or can be acquired as add-ons. Independent products are available also: this is one of them.

Everest Dictionary's coverage is extensive: dictionaries are available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Romanian, and Bulgarian. There are several specialized dictionaries, too: medical and technical words, Biblical names, synonyms and antonyms, "hypernyms and holonyms", the French Larousse, and (intriguingly) "English Romanian proverbs", among others. Translation dictionaries are also supported. There are 37 in all at present.

In action, all the standard vocabulary capabilities are implemented. As well, the Everest Dictionary supports instant translation within most Windows applications by use of a special keystroke combination; instant translation of given words; and instant, complete translation of the clipboard. There's a glossary section that the user can update and make available to the world. There's even a voice component to pronounce English words!

Support is by a help file and forums. The author, Daniel Vladutu, invites comments, suggestions and donations; he also states that e-mail support is no longer available due to the number of viruses and the constant barrage of spam that have come to his support site..

Get Everest Dictionary

In Pictures, a company that publishers computer books that rely primarily on pictures rather than words to show how to perform tasks, has released its entire catalog of books as free PDF files for a limited time. The titles includes books about Microsoft Office, web graphics applications, web programming, OpenOffice.org, and more.

Get In Pictures Books

So Cheapie stayed up wayyyy too late last night playing with Google Earth, a program just released by Google. Google Earth combines satellite images with mapping functions for a fun and educational look at… well, everything on the planet. Start by entering a city and state, and Google Earth zooms in to that spot from space. You can then rotate and tilt the view — in some cities, you can even see 3-D representations of the buildings. You can get driving directions from place to place a la Google Maps, and overlay the images with notations about landmarks, restaurants, and schools.

(And if you like to keep up with the latest Google news and rumors, bookmark Google Blog Roundup.)

Get Google Earth

Ever wish that you could take a ride on a space shuttle? Celestia is a 3D simulation that puts you in the passenger seat for a ride around the galaxy. Celestia features all of the major astronomical bodies, along with many star clusters. If you can't find a particular celestial body, you can probably find it in the extensive add-on library. If you prefer sci-fi, you can download the Death Star from the Star Wars series and a laundry list of other fictional add-ons. The application is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux and takes up 12MB of hard drive space. The universe is yours to explore with Celestia.

Get Celestia