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DanMarotta12-Amethyst
12-Amethyst
September 21, 2010
Solved

Where did you first start using Mathcad?

  • September 21, 2010
  • 10 replies
  • 5011 views

Were you a student in a college or university? Was it on your first job? Did you make a career change that required Mathcad skills?

If you can answer that, how long have you been using the software? What version did you start on?

Very curious question

-Dan

Best answer by Ninetrees

I just took a quick look downstairs in my archives...I'd have to search electronic records to be sure, but it looks like somewhere in the mid-1980s..."The Electronic Scratchpad"..."We encourage you to ...[call]...our technical support line." ...the manual was produced in part with Ventura Publisher...remember that? I used that, too. OS required: MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.x or 3.x 😉 Mathcad and AutoSketch (by Autodesk) were two products that I adopted in V1 because I thought that they showed so much potential, and I still use them both. I have a cute story regarding getting my first copy of AutoSketch, but not one for Mathcad. I was always on the lookout for engineering tools that I thought would give us an edge in our work, from software to HP calculators. My (engineering) supervisor gave me a lot of freedom to "explore new worlds" because the payoff in productivity for the engineering group was worth the investment. Mathcad was one of those tools that I thought was HOT! Even now, recalling those halcyon days of engineering innovation here in the US that seemed to characterize the times, I get a bit of a thrill when I recall using Mathcad to //vectorize// and display equations with the root symbol and integral symbol - unheard of at the time in desktop tools...pardon me while, like that walrus in another tale, I shed a tear for days gone by...;-)

~R~

10 replies

RichardJ19-Tanzanite
19-Tanzanite
September 21, 2010

Version 3.1, in 1992. It was cheap and looked better than Excel for many tasks. I've never looked back

AlanStevens19-Tanzanite
19-Tanzanite
September 21, 2010

Around 1998 with version 6 (I think - can't remember exactly!), to help out a colleague at work who'd been using it for a few years. Didn't really use it on a regular basis though until the early 'noughties' when version 11 appeared.

Alan

IRstuff1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 21, 2010

1994, it was fast, clean, and WYSIWYG

Unfortunately, it's quite bloated.

It would be nice to resurrect and update Studyworks; for many users, that plus a bit of programming might be good enough.

TTFN

f.kohlhepp1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 21, 2010

Company issued commputers.

First one was a Macintosh, got Mathcad for that one. (how long ago was that?

jeanGiraud1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 21, 2010

My AutoCad specialist was trying to convince the firm about getting Mathcad to make Jean happy ! about editing some maths in the flow sheet. Finally E.C managed otherwise for the Greek and the rest of the design. That was in 1989-90. My first MC version was 8 Pro [2000].

MikeArmstrong1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 22, 2010

Don't think I should be psoting hear after reading all those above me.

Been using since 2007, started on Mathcad 8. University didn't use Mathcad, actually my university didn't use any relative software which I now use in the "Real World".

My current employer exposed me to Mathcad and I quickly jumped ship from Excel. Every young engineer who starts gets spoon fed Mathcad now.

Mike

Ninetrees3-NewcomerAnswer
3-Newcomer
September 22, 2010

I just took a quick look downstairs in my archives...I'd have to search electronic records to be sure, but it looks like somewhere in the mid-1980s..."The Electronic Scratchpad"..."We encourage you to ...[call]...our technical support line." ...the manual was produced in part with Ventura Publisher...remember that? I used that, too. OS required: MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.x or 3.x 😉 Mathcad and AutoSketch (by Autodesk) were two products that I adopted in V1 because I thought that they showed so much potential, and I still use them both. I have a cute story regarding getting my first copy of AutoSketch, but not one for Mathcad. I was always on the lookout for engineering tools that I thought would give us an edge in our work, from software to HP calculators. My (engineering) supervisor gave me a lot of freedom to "explore new worlds" because the payoff in productivity for the engineering group was worth the investment. Mathcad was one of those tools that I thought was HOT! Even now, recalling those halcyon days of engineering innovation here in the US that seemed to characterize the times, I get a bit of a thrill when I recall using Mathcad to //vectorize// and display equations with the root symbol and integral symbol - unheard of at the time in desktop tools...pardon me while, like that walrus in another tale, I shed a tear for days gone by...;-)

~R~

jeanGiraud1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 22, 2010

<I recall using Mathcad to //vectorize// and display equations with the root symbol and integral symbol - unheard of at the time in desktop tools< [Rich]

___________________

Like my story: AutoCad + Mathcad

LucMeekes23-Emerald IV
23-Emerald IV
September 23, 2010

I first used Mathcad somwhere in the late '80's, it was installed on a University computer, an original IBM PC with a CGA screen and an amazing 5 MB harddisk. Don't remember if it was version 1 or 2. I remember a MathSoft advertisement quote, directed to engineers; some thing like: "In school you would have cried for a tool like Mathcad, so why aren't you using it now?!"

I still have an installable version 2.01, came on two floppies, now occupying a neat 533kB in a small corner of my disk; that is including the .EXE of 321kB and some 55 sample files. Over the years I've done many work in versions 3, 4, 6, 2001i and 11

Luc

jeanGiraud1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 23, 2010

Oh ! Luc,

Your floppy Mathcad remembers me my first Matlab on cassette !

As good a story than the times cars & trucks were running on wood.

I still have original drawings from Peugeot !

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