Microsoft has a high-end text editor, it is called Visual Studio. The express versions are available for free.
Microsoft does ship a more powerful calculator, also for free, as a "Power Toy". It is just about as powerful as you can get without competing against Mathematica or Maple. However, I'd assume they have not included it with the OS for fear of anti-trust complaints from Wolfram or Maplesoft. All that said, Windows 7 will include an upgraded calculator with a "programmer mode": http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/w...
The funny thing is that NO ONE (that matters) complains about calc or notepad. Calc and notepad are completely inconsequential to IT decision makers and personal buyers. The start menu, however, has not scaled to support the shear number of applications the average user has. It is a pain point which IT administrators complained about on a routine basis. It also supports an insanely high level of customization which is 100% controllable by group policy and the like. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Microsoft does ship a more powerful calculator, also for free, as a "Power Toy". It is just about as powerful as you can get without competing against Mathematica or Maple. However, I'd assume they have not included it with the OS for fear of anti-trust complaints from Wolfram or Maplesoft. All that said, Windows 7 will include an upgraded calculator with a "programmer mode": http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/w...
The funny thing is that NO ONE (that matters) complains about calc or notepad. Calc and notepad are completely inconsequential to IT decision makers and personal buyers. The start menu, however, has not scaled to support the shear number of applications the average user has. It is a pain point which IT administrators complained about on a routine basis. It also supports an insanely high level of customization which is 100% controllable by group policy and the like. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.