Wolfram Research has released Mathematica Home Edition
(http://www.wolfram.com/homeedition), which lets folks explore their
personal interests "using all the power of Mathematica at a fraction
of the cost," says Peter Overmann, director of software technology.

"Over the last two years, as we've delivered powerful new
capabilities and integrated vast banks of curated data, we've
realized that Mathematica is not just the perfect tool for those on
the frontiers of research, in the top echelons of academia, and
throughout mainstream engineering, finance, and science," he adds.
"Mathematica is the perfect tool for a broader group--from amateur
scientists, to parents interested in introducing their children to
concepts in math, science, finance, and other areas, to anyone who
wants to make fully interactive models and simulations, analyze
real-time data on stocks, weather, or stars, transform and enhance
images, or explore infinitely more activities."

Mathematica Home Edition contains the full functionality of the
recently released Mathematica 7, which integrates technologies
including image processing, parallel computation, and rich data on
astronomy, geography, life sciences, and more. Over 4,500 dynamic
examples of concepts in life sciences, physical sciences,
engineering, creative arts, and many other areas have been published
as part of the Wolfram Demonstrations Project. They are available for
free at http://demonstrations.wolfram.com

In addition, over 100,000 examples of Mathematica functions and
capabilities are provided in the Wolfram Mathematica Documentation
Center at http://reference.wolfram.com

Mathematica Home Edition is a 32-bit program available immediately in
the United States and Canada for Mac OS X (Intel Macs only), Windows
(2000/XP/Vista) and Linux for a retail price of US$295. Mathematica
Home Edition isn't licensed for commercial, nonprofit, academic, or
government use.