Previous Beagle Software Reviews:
Reviewed by
(Issue 7 ? posted May 2, 1997; archived May 30, 1997)
Test Platforms:
Pentium 120 MHz processor running Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 with 16 Mb RAM
Pentium 166 MHz processor running Windows 95 with 24 Mb RAM
Overview . Program Features . The Bottom Line . System Requirements . Purchasing Information
Scientific Notebook from TCI Software Research is one of those rare packages that defies any single category. It is a full-featured technical word processor that includes all the tools necessary to communicate effectively a letter, resume, or report. It includes a mathematical-equation editor as easy to use as any word processor (see snapshot), as well as a special built-in version of Maple that makes it simple to solve and plot mathematical problems. Finally, the ability to create hypertext links in Scientific Notebook files allows accessing information within local files as well as between documents located anywhere on the World Wide Web. This combination of features, wrapped up in a package costing only $59.95, makes Scientific Notebook essential for anyone who must convey scientific and mathematical information.
Program FeaturesWhen Scientific Notebook is launched, it opens a specified template file or shell. This shell file places the user in the environment appropriate for the desired task. Some of the shell files available include Math Scratchpad, Scientific Article, Homework, Lab Report, Resume, and On Line Math. In addition, specific style sheets can be applied within any of these shell files, making it easy for users to create consistently formatted documents.
An extensive collection of floating toolbars greatly eases document formatting, navigation, and the entering of mathematical expressions. These toolbars can be moved by simply grabbing and dragging to any location in the Scientific Notebook interface. Moving the mouse cursor over toolbar buttons will display descriptions of each button, and clicking on them will insert a math symbol, open dialog boxes with additional operators or symbols, or evaluate an expression.
Technical Word ProcessingScientific Notebook creates documents in LaTeX format, the standard for technical word processing. Files can be imported into Scientific Notebook from a variety of formats including .rtf, .tex, and .txt, and it is easy to copy and paste text from Word documents into Scientific Notebook files. Many graphic formats can also be imported, including .gif, .jpg, .bmp, .tif, .wmf, and .tga files, among others. Unfortunately it is not as easy to export documents created in Scientific Notebook, and copied graphics or text cannot be pasted into other Windows programs such as Word.
If you have used any word processor in Windows, you already know how to use Scientific Notebook. Features such as templates or shell files make it easy to produce consistent-looking documents. Formatting features such as Section or Body Tags, as well as Text Tags, can be applied with a few mouse clicks. Item Tags are associated with specific style sheets in Scientific Notebook, and provide a convenient way for users to format a document's appearance. Tables can be created with a number of different properties by clicking on an icon, and math names, symbols, or constants can be added by selecting them from toolbars or drop-down menus.
Symbolic MathIn addition to producing documents with mathematical notation, Scientific Notebook is an excellent tool for solving various math problems. The special built-in version of Maple enables one to solve simple arithmetic and algebraic problems as well as a variety of partial and ordinary differential equations. Users can simplify expressions, find the roots of polynomials, and integrate or differentiate numerically or symbolically with a few clicks of the mouse. Built-in statistical functions make it easy to find the mean, median, or standard deviation as well as compute the correlation or regression analysis of input data. 2-D and 3-D plots of complex functions can be created by clicking on the appropriate icon or simply dragging and dropping the function into a plot frame.
Scientific Notebook enables users to convert among an impressive list of units of physical measurement. Quantities of force, frequency, energy, radioactivity, luminance, power, and volume, plus many others, can be converted with ease: Enter a value, then select the desired units from the Unit Name window.
Learning to use the mathematical computing features of Scientific Notebook is simple. Although it provides fewer features than symbolic math programs such as Mathematica and Macsyma, it is much easier to become fully functional in Scientific Notebook during your first session. This ease of use greatly facilitates experimentation when solving mathematical problems and ultimately increases productivity through efficient use of time and resources. Unfortunately, Scientific Notebook does not include built-in nonlinear curve fitting features, although linear regression and polynomial fits are available from the statistics menu.
Teaching/Educational ToolScientific Notebook, with its ease of use and comprehensive tools for communicating and evaluating mathematical ideas, is an excellent educational tool for math and science. The program also provides features for writing and taking tests on-line and enables users to create hypertext documents that include information in local files or on the Web. In fact, TCI Software Research provides a useful Resource Center accessible from within Scientific Notebook for users to peruse course materials, teaching tips, and other interesting math and science Web sites. As more users create and contribute content to this growing library of information, Scientific Notebook will become an invaluable teaching tool.
Internet SmartScientific Notebook is designed to share information easily via the Internet. Notebook files support hyperlinks to other locally stored Scientific Notebook documents or to Web sites. In addition, the program will automatically "wrap" documents for sending via a MAPI-compliant E-mail system such as MicroSoft Mail or Microsoft Outlook 97. Although this is an intelligent feature, implementation was not very intuitive if you do not already run one of these programs, and I found it easier to simply MIME-encode and send the .tex file via an E-mail program such as Eudora.
DocumentationThe CD-ROM version's printed documentation is primarily a guide to getting started. Fortunately, Scientific Notebook has an impressive collection of on-line help files as well a comprehensive reference library (see snapshot). In addition, the Resource Center provides additional reference material, discussion forums, and a newsletter.
Is There a Downside?Although it is very easy to learn, Scientific Notebook may at first confuse users because there are a number of different ways to accomplish any given task. This "problem" should be considered an asset, though, as it makes this program very flexible. However, there were a few other quirks that might take getting used to. For instance, several minutes were spent figuring out that "ctrl-click" was used to access hyperlinks in documents that were not saved as read-only, and that the spacebar was necessary during mathematical entries rather than the tab key. Also, the graphical environment of Windows relies heavily on the ability to copy and paste between applications. The inability to copy elements of Scientific Notebook files for pasting in other applications will definitely frustrate some users.
The Bottom LineScientific Notebook is an essential tool for anyone who must communicate mathematical and scientific information. It is intelligently designed, easy to use, and includes the necessary features to present and compute mathematical problems effectively. The program combines the best features of a technical word processor, an equation editor, and a symbolic math program. In addition, it seamlessly includes facilities for hypertext linking both locally and via the Internet.
System RequirementsMinimum system requirements are Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0, 10 Mb of hard drive space, a CD-ROM drive (if the program is purchased in this format) and an Internet connection to download Scientific Notebook and access the Scientific Notebook Resource Center. If the CD-ROM version is purchased, you may choose from minimum, medium, and full installations that require about 8 Mb, 27 Mb and 104 Mb of hard drive space, respectively.
Purchasing InformationScientific Notebook is available directly from TCI Software Research for $59.95. You can download a fully functional, time-locked version of Scientific Notebook from TCI's Web site to try it out before purchasing. Call 1 (800) 970-2016 to unlock your copy.
Scientific Notebook is also available on CD-ROM. You can place an order for the CD-ROM version of Scientific Notebook from TCI's Web site or by calling 1 (800) 874-2383. If you choose to purchase the CD-ROM version, be sure to download the updated document manager from the TCI Software Research site.
Dylan Bulseco is Research Associate at the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research.
