Customer Reviews

The Interactive Geometry Software: Cinderella, Version 1.2

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have played around with other software for making geometric constructions, but this is by far the easiest to learn. The basic options are all listed for you at the top of the screen, so that they are easy to access and with a little practice very complex geometric designs can be easily created. Once your design has been created you can grab a point, move it around, and see the effect on other points in the design. The "locus" feature is fantastic for understanding how the motion of one point effects other points in the figure. Your control over point and line, color and size is outstanding. The line clipping function and the ability to make parts disappear while still playing their function makes it possible for you to create designs which demonstrate your ideas in a clear manner. The printed results, with respect to lines and circles, is for the most part outstanding. I congratulate the authors. The price is right. Buy it.

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.

Hi,

this is just an answer to the complaint found below. I am sorry for the current state of our website, but you should not mix-up our website with the support you get when you buy Cinderella. The web site is done in our spare time; the support is handled by Springer-Verlag. In your case, just contact Springer at service@springer-ny.com -- they can help you with the Windows XP issues you are experiencing.

Ulli Kortenkamp (one of the authors of Cinderella)

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.

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.

Despite the hype, this software is really a much clunkier implementation of exemplary dynamic geometry software like The Geometer's Sketchpad and Cabri. I found the interface cluttered and the responsiveness of the software to be sluggish.