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TapeCalc, Version 2.1
Copyright (c) 2002 Ziff Davis Media, Inc.
Written by Neil J. Rubenking
First Published in PC Magazine, US Edition, August 2002, v21n14
http://www.pcmag.com/utilities/
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PLATFORMS:
Windows 95/98/Me/NT4/2000/XP

DESCRIPTION:
The standard Windows calculator was upgraded between Windows 3.1 and Windows 95, but it hasn't changed noticeably since then. It offers a variety of advanced features that most users don't use, like the ability to enter hexadecimal numbers or take the hyperbolic sine of pi. Yet it lacks the most important feature found in an old-fashioned desk calculator: a tape to record the entered numbers and results. TapeCalc 2 is a practical desktop calculator with a "smart" tape that records your calculations and lets you correct any errors. Its built-in unit-conversion feature provides automatic conversion between dozens of different units of measurement. 

REVISION HISTORY:
Changes in Version 2.1:
This version corrects a couple of important lines in CONVERT.DAT that used pounds (troy) where they should have had pounds (avoir). It also fixes two other errors in the Volume category, adds a new Speed category, and adjusts the Astronomical measures to match those of the NIST. Specifically:
- FIXED: Weight|pounds (*avoir*)|grams|x453.59237 (was pounds (troy))
- FIXED: Weight|pounds (*avoir*)|grains|x7000 (was pounds (troy))
- FIXED: Volume|cubic meters|cubic decimeters|x1000 (was x10000)
- FIXED: Volume|cubic decameters|cubic meters|x1000 (was x10000)
- ADDED: Weight|pounds (troy)|grains|x5760 (for accuracy)
- ADDED: Length|nautical miles|miles|x1.150779448 (reader request)
- ADDED: Length|nautical miles|microns|x1852000000 (for accuracy)
- ADDED: New category "Speed"
- FIXED: The cubit has many varying interpretations, but the "English cubit" is apparently 18 inches, not 17.
- FIXED: I got more accurate astronomical units from NIST http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP811/appenB9.html.
FIXED: The NIST defines a century as 36,525 days, meaning a year is 365.25 days.
- FIXED: Corrected value for light-seconds -> kilometers based on NIST.
- ADDED: Added speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second) to Speed category.
- TWEAKED: A reader pointed out that since exact multipliers are best, the Volume section should use gallons (us) -> cubic inches = x231 (rather than linking gallons to liters), and cubic inches -> ccs = x16.387064 (2.54 cubed) rather than linking cubic feet to milliters.

THANKS TO OUR BETA TESTERS:
Bob Abrahams
Alec Burgess
Glenn Charles
Robert Eisenbach
Josh Fitzgerald
Ken Holt
Gary Johnson
Ray Norbert
Frank Phillips
Steve Sipe
Bruno Sonnino
Jan Werner
Greg Wolking

INSTALLATION:
To install TapeCalc, unzip the downloaded file into a temporary folder and run the supplied installation program SETUP.EXE. To uninstall the program, use the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Windows Control Panel. For details on program operation, refer to the program's online help file.

FILE LIST:
Setup.exe     - TapeCalc installation program
readme.txt    - the file you are reading
license.txt   - PC Magazine Utilities license agreement
tc_src.zip    - TapeCalc source code (for programmers)
fsm.zip       - Finite State Machine demo (for programmers)

SUPPORT:
Help for PC Magazine's free utilities can be obtained in our online discussion area on the World Wide Web (http://discuss.pcmag.com/pcmag). You may find an answer to your question simply by reading the posted messages. The authors of current utilities generally visit this forum daily. If the author is not available and the forum sysops can't answer your question, the Utilities column editor, who also checks the forum each day, will contact the author for you.

LICENSE INFORMATION:
PC Magazine programs are copyrighted and cannot be distributed, whether modified or unmodified. Use is subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement distributed with the programs.

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Neil J. Rubenking, the author of TapeCalc, is the Contributing Technical Editor to PC Magazine. Sheryl Canter is the editor of the Utilities column and a Contributing Editor of PC Magazine.

