Mac OS X 15.x Sequoia and it's horrible "new and improved" Calculator application

[pm-r]

For those who do not appreciate Apple's new Calculator that comes with Mac OS 15 and find it very hard to work with and even View with its tiny text, I discovered that the version I had from an old OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan version cloned back up works very well easy to use and a decent size for the visually impaired and all the conversions were properly and far more easily than they're in a new and latest calculator version. The first time I dragged it over from the old backup, it produced a message saying it couldn't be used in some strange English language, but I tried again yesterday and it works just fine and it is still working today.

For those who do not appreciate apples new calculator that comes with Mac OS 15 and find it very hard to work with and even view with its tiny text, I discovered that the version I had from an old OS 10 1 0 1 1 6 Cell Capital 10 version
Nice and simple and easy to read and suits my needs very well.

I just mentioned this in case others are in the same situation and are looking for a third-party calculator/converter that might do the same thing as well and was free.

If anyone knows of an even better calculator/converter, that is simple and easy to read and use, I would appreciate knowing of their choice and their suggestion. I don't need any fancy calculator that does all that scientific stuff, just a plain simple basic calculator with a nice easy-to-read and use interface.




- Patrick
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[Rod]

Patrick there are a few free Calculators in Randy's recent Free Mac Software post all of which are better than the new native one which I agree is pretty small but it does do currency conversion which I find useful.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

If anyone knows of an even better calculator/converter, that is simple and easy to read and use, I would appreciate knowing of their choice and their suggestion. I don't need any fancy calculator that does all that scientific stuff, just a plain simple basic calculator with a nice easy-to-read and use interface.

I really love this calculator. It's FREE, and it includes several advanced functions (which can be hidden if you don't need them), including conversions, and, best of all, it includes a "tape" feature to show the history of your calculations.

KoalaCalc (free)
http://www.macropodsoftware.com/koalacalc/

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Patrick, recently you have been complaining about apps and text being too small and/or being badly laid out for you to see things properly. It's become a theme for you. I can relate, because my vision is waning too. In fact, I just had eye surgery last December that I'm still recovering from. (And sadly, the surgery didn't make things better.)

Being in the same boat, I think that you are approaching things the wrong way. Most other folks aren't going to be sympathetic, as they don't have vision problems, and so programmers aren't going to be sympathetic either. Complaining about this isn't going to get you anywhere with them.

You likely aren't going to find a replacement for every single application that you use that has big buttons/text, etc. What you need is an overarching solution so that you can do everything on your computer comfortably.

Quite simply, you need to make everything bigger on your screen. If you have to, make it huge. You can easily do this in System Preferences/System Settings. If the built-in settings don't make things big enough, get yourself a utility that will make them even bigger, like:

BetterDisplay/Pro (free/$15) (was: BetterDummy)
https://github.com/waydabber/BetterDummy

If you run out of screen real estate because you've had to make everything very large, it's time for a new, bigger monitor. For this you can get a huge 4K television monitor, which will give you all the real estate that you could ever use, plus it will be a fraction of the cost of a dedicated computer monitor, yet still provide excellent resolution. (I'm planning on getting a 43-inch 4K monitor with my next new Macintosh. My son already had one, and it's stunning and I'm constantly jealous.)

You don't have to constantly be struggling with the interfaces of various common programs and complaining about them.

 

[pm-r]

I really love this calculator. It's FREE, and it includes several advanced functions

Well bummer... I was looking forward to giving this calculator/converter a try but it seems that apple and Mac OS 15.x has other ideas according to the pop-up message which you can see in the screenshot below:




I guess there's not much of a simple workaround or is there?

As regards to my visual problems with the Mac OS and my 27-in iMac monitor, I've pretty well got everything under control and the way I want it, but I was a bit surprised at the GUI interface and the way Apple's latest Mac OS calculator works and I expressed my thoughts about it.

I'm sorry to hear that you were also suffering from some eyesight problems and I hope what the **** doesn't progress to a worse state even if the surgery didn't help things too much.


PS: I might try downloading and opening that calculator on my older 2011 iMac running OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan a bit later on in the day as it doesn't have quite as many Mac OS restrictions on may be able to extract it for use that way and then transfer it over to my newer iMac and maybe it'll run there as well. Here's hoping.




- Patrick
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[pm-r]

EDIT:
Using Mac OS 15.x security settings pane to "open anyway" still won't allow me to open the calculator installer:




So much for the Mac User having any control over their computer. Thanks but no thanks Apple. :-(


Exit:
No sense for me to try downloading it and installing it anyway as a check with back update shows it's a 32-bit application so it won't run on my 2020 iMac running Mac OS 15.x:

Download KoalaCalc for Mac | MacUpdate

Download the latest version of KoalaCalc for Mac for free. Read 31 user reviews and compare with similar apps on MacUpdate.

www.macupdate.com

Anyway thanks for the help and suggestions and the old Mac OS X calculator works for me quite well and there's certainly readable and easier to access the options for the various conversions.




- Patrick
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[toMACsh]

I agree that the new Sequoia Calculator is a downgrade. What I miss is the Paper Tape window, which I could leave open all the time. Now you have to look at a one-line History, which has to be invoked from the menu for any new session. I hope they will revert to an old and improved version soon.

 

[MacBiter]

If anyone knows of an even better calculator/converter, that is simple and easy to read and use, I would appreciate knowing of their choice and their suggestion. I don't need any fancy calculator that does all that scientific stuff, just a plain simple basic calculator with a nice easy-to-read and use interface.

If you get the free Alfred app (extremely useful in so many ways!), it comes with a built-in calculator.

 

[pm-r]

I hope they will revert to an old and improved version soon.

Don't hold your breath waiting, it seems that Apple thinks their latest Calculator version is the best ever. :-(
The Mac Calculator Version 10.8 (123) I dragged out of my older El Capitan backup has pretty well everything you were asking for if you have a coffee lying around that you could grab.

I'm not sure if its paper tape stays open or not, I very seldom ever used it but it certainly still seems to be working for me and is a nice relief to use something that works well and the interface shoots me.



- Patrick
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