Math In Windows 7

I've been exploring Windows 7 on the new computer over the last few days, and it's been a hoot.

Perhaps my favorite part is the Math Input Panel program, which is hilarious to try and fool.

I've been working on pushing the limits on what it will and won't accept as mathematical equations, and have found some interesting results.

First, this crude drawing of a robot (produced by the same masterful hand that created the first Law of Purple guest comic ever) apparently counts as math.

Who knew?

I also tried my hand at a stick figure.

This made me wonder just how far I could push it before it flipped out, because there are limits to its patience.

So here's where I basically just straight up started screwing around, and amazingly, it was just fine with it.

Incidentally, the program apparently doesn't believe in "not equal" signs at all-I couldn't get it to make one no matter how hard I tried.

Here, I started sticking little dots everywhere. The program changed the equation with each dot, but still stuck with it.

The straws that broke the camel's back? A capital letter "G" and a vertical line underneath a dot.

MATH INPUT PANEL HAS NO USE FOR YOUR FOOLISH ACTUAL LETTERS AND NUMBERS.

So, in conclusion...

...you can draw all the robots you want, and Windows 7 will work extra hard to turn them into legitimate mathematical equations for you. Just don't draw triangles in their chests, because for some reason, it hates that. (Seriously. My kid brother drew a random triangle on one of these robots, and the program freaked out and refused to do anything with it until the offending simple three-sided shape had been taken away.)

I am not making a word of this up.

-Signing off.