solver

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week readers had questions on security software recommendations for Macs, systems pausing while showing green pixels, garbled boot images when booting from the OS X DVD, and Office 2011's Solver utility crashing when launched. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Security software for a new Mac MacFixIt reader "scfox" asks:

Sudoku is a fun and challenging number puzzle, but sometimes it's a little too challenging. When you're stuck on a puzzle and feel that you can't rest until you solve it, you might want to try Free Sudoku Solver. Although the program does have a few functional problems, it still works fine for solving perplexing sudoku puzzles.

The program's interface is plain, just an empty sudoku grid and four buttons. Users enter the known numbers from the original puzzle into the grid using a drop-down menu (a strange and slightly inefficient way to accomplish this task), … Read more

Tutors and students for logic and computer programming will find this application for minimizing, simplifying and reducing Boolean equations and digital logic circuits a handy box of tools for increasing understanding.

Simple Solver launches a rather plain but functional interface. The large, mostly empty window includes a selection of buttons and check boxes accompanying two medium-size panes or sections, depending on the process being performed. The two panes or sections serve as an editor for inputting equations or criteria and for displaying output from the processes performed on the specified equations. The lack of clutter on the interface provides clarity … Read more