muMATH/muSIMP available

[micossi@vaxts0.ts.infn.it (Paolo Micossi)]

[Maybe I should have posted this csa2.marketplace, but I think
this is general interest news too]

I've just discovered that a classic Apple II software is still
being made/sold and I thought I should let you all know.
The software is the muMATH/muSIMP system, a computer algebra/symbolic
math package that originated on CP/M machines and is still currently
manufactured and sold for PC-type machines under the assumed name
of DERIVE. The CP/M version was released in 1979, and about one year
later a native Apple II version was ready. The company that built
the software (and still thrives selling DERIVE) was The Soft Warehouse.
Microsoft sold its own licensed version of muMATH too.
muMATH is fairly complete for a system that can run on a 64K (and
possibly 48K) Apple ][+. It does algebraic and trigonometric
manipulations, vector and matrix algebra, calculus (symbolic
differentiation and integration) and more. Its capabilities can
be expanded too, using the included language muSIMP. And it does it all
faster than one would expect. OK, you DO have to wait a few seconds
to see the output, but that is true of Mathematica too.
In fact, I think that what muMATH does on a 64K, 1 MHz, 
6502 machine is truly amazing.
Now that I have duly praised muMATH, I can tell you the news:
the University of South Carolina has got distribution rights for
muMATH/muSIMP and will sell you a set of disks and manuals for
US$50 + s/h. Shipping and handling is $10 for international orders,
should be sensibly less for US orders. Note that muMATH requires one
5.25" disk drive (two recommended) and uses its own DOS, so it's 
not HD installable.
The person to contact about muMATH is Ed Dickey; his e-mail address
is
 		Ed.Dickey@SC.edu

You can also write him at the address

		Ed Dickey
		College of Education
		University of South Carolina
		Columbia, SC 29208 USA

Regards
					Paolo Micossi