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Thread ID: 136631 2014-03-24 21:35:00 Switching on scietific mode in Ubuntu Galculator argus (366) Press F1
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1371189 2014-03-24 21:35:00 I am trying to find a workable scientific calculator for Ubuntu - ie one with trigonometric functions including inverse functions (arcsin, arctan etc). The widely recommended one is Galculator. I see screenshots for it that include keys for all the functions I want and more, together with a menu bar at the top.

But what I download only gives me basic functions + - x /, square root, percentage and memory manipulation. In particular there is no menu bar. I right-click on the body of the calculator and "show menu bar" comes up. I click that and it puts a tick against it - but that's all; there is still no visible bar.

Either the download has somehow been corrupted - but I removed it, re-downloaded and reinstalled and got the same again - or the menu bar or other means of unlocking scientific mode on the calculator is cunningly hidden somewhere.

Can anyone help, please? And bear in mind I've not long been using Ubuntu on a regular basis; I'm still a novice; so try not to bury me in Linux jargon.
argus (366)
1371190 2014-03-25 00:53:00 What version of Ubuntu are you using? If 12.04 or later, use the HUD and type in Scientific Mode. Alternatively in the top menu go view -> scientific mode. The default calculator also has a scientific mode, accessed in the same way. Nick G (16709)
1371191 2014-03-25 02:28:00 Tilt in into landscape mode and... oh wait that's android :P
It's these kind of issues with simple tasks that make me believe Linux is still not ready for mainstream users.
Sorry irrelevant I know, but it looked like Nick already answered the question.
dugimodo (138)
1371192 2014-03-25 02:35:00 Tilt in into landscape mode and... oh wait that's android :P
It's these kind of issues with simple tasks that make me believe Linux is still not ready for mainstream users.
Sorry irrelevant I know, but it looked like Nick already answered the question.

When a user can't do a simple task on Windows, where does the problem lie? For example, my sister (Uni student) had her taskbar set to autohide by a friend, she didn't know how to change it back. Would you blame the OS, or the user?

Personally I don't think either setting the taskbar to autohide on Windows or changing the view mode of a calculator in Linux is difficult to find. I sure wouldn't say its an OS issue.
Nick G (16709)
1371193 2014-03-25 03:52:00 You are familiar with both so it seems easy to you, and autohiding the task bar isn't quite as common a task as wanting to access a standard feature of a program.
I'm sure most users would find the scientific mode of the windows calculator without resorting to a forum even if they'd never used it before (I just tried it on XP - there's a drop down view menu with standard and scientific as options - don't remember ever trying before).

I'm not saying windows is perfect and trouble free, just that Linux is more difficult for a new user and more prone to obscure problems still. I've tried it, I've liked it, I've always gone back to windows. Linux is great, and for people willing to learn you can't argue the value - but for the average non PC savvy user I personally still don't think it's there yet.

I'm sure if you try you can find things that are easier or better on Linux and it's a lot more friendly than it used to be, I still don't think it's caught windows for the average user yet.
dugimodo (138)
1371194 2014-03-25 21:53:00 askubuntu.com

This help?
Whenu (9358)
1371195 2014-03-26 01:44:00 Maybe, but I can't see how its any more difficult in Linux than Windows. View -> change modes as you wish. Nick G (16709)
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