In my last post, I wrote about some new full screen calculators I made for Mac OS X Lion. While I was developing those, I had an idea for another unique kind of calculator. Yeah, more calculators. But listen. This one is really helpful.
So the idea is simple: a calculator whose window always stays on top. How many times have you had multiple windows open — maybe you’re going back and forth between two different spreadsheets — and your little calculator window gets buried in the confusion? It happens to me a lot.
Despite the fact that a spreadsheet is really just a visual calculator (hence the name of the first spreadsheet, VisiCalc), I still use a standard calculator (either physical or virtual) in conjunction with the sheet. It’s a quick way to crunch some numbers without disrupting the sheet with temporary cells.
But, as I mentioned, the calculator has a way of being hidden under all those windows. Very inconvenient.
So my new pair of calculators for Mac OS X solves this by forcing the calculator window to remain above all other windows at all times. The window is also translucent, so you can see behind it. Like my full screen calculators, Always on Top Calculator comes in a standard algebraic version and an RPN version. If you’re not familiar with RPN, you’ll want the standard model, but you might want to learn RPN because it’s so much better.
You might ask, why didn’t I just add an “Always on Top” feature to my other calculators? The reason is that I want to be able to click an icon in the Dock or in Apple’s new Launchpad and go right to my Full Screen Calculator, or right to my Always on Top Calculator. While it is more economical to put a lot of features into one app, I think there is ultimately more value in simple apps that do one or two things really well. There are advantages to being able to launch the calculator of your choice and not have to then push a button or select a menu item to enter the mode you want. Since these calculators are only 99 cents like the others, it won’t break the bank to have both.
Just so you know, these ones only work with Lion (Mac OS X 10.7).
A calculator that stays on top is a very small but helpful thing. I hope you find it as useful as I do.