|
The Interactive Geometry Software Cinderella
 |
Author: Ulrich H. Kortenkamp, Jurgen Richter-Gebert
List Price: $59.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 3540147195
Publisher: Springer Verlag (20 July, 1999)
Edition: CD-ROM
Average Customer Rating: 2.8 out of 5
|
Customer ReviewsRating: 1 out of 5
Nice Box, No Support
The box is very enticing, but the software will not run on Windows XP or Windows 2000. The "support" turns out to be a web site that is under construction and is full of broken links. The publisher (Springer) does not seem to offer support either, they refer you to the same useless web site.
Some of the provided precompiled java examples were interesting, but I never could get the package itself to run.
Without proper support, this product is a rip-off and should be withdrawn.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Good concept, but poorly supported
I was impressed by this software when I first bought it. The graphics are nice, the interface is clean and intuitive. But there are many features lacking: the ability to put arbitrary text in the construction, to draw arcs of circles, to make calculations with measurements and much more. Several of these features are promised `in the next update' on the product's website, but this update has never appeared, nor is there any timetable for expected upgrades. Another problem I have had with this software is in installation: whether installing to Linux, recent Windows or OS X, there are always difficulties -- again (I suspect) because the software writers have not been responsive to the problems with some java platforms.There are many free, open source alternatives to this product: for instance, the graphical KGeo (for Unixen), C.a.R. -- Compass and Ruler (java), and the text-based eukleides (Unixen and Windows). These have all the features of Cinderella and more; and, most importantly, they are actively supported: bugs and feature requests are dealt with.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Cinderella interactive geometry review
Cinderella is very similar to Geometer's Sketchpad. There are some important differences. Cinderella uses more sophisticated algorithms to draw objects and therefore, some minor annoyances of Sketchpad are eliminated. In sketchpad, objects defined as the intersection of two circles may jump from one intersection to another under some conditions. This does not happen in Cinderella. The only shortcoming of Cinderella (in comparison to Sketchpad) is that Cinderella does not do computations. That is, you cannot display the product of two segment lengths. Cinderella works very smoothly, and is half the price of Sketchpad. I like them both, but would go for Cinderella based on price.
|
