Slightly OT: student usage of Maxima vs Maple

As a second-year mechanical engineering student, I have only
superficially examined Maxima for my needs. I find that wxMaxima meets
most of my current needs, but my future nneeds I do not yet know.
Today, the folks at Maple set up shop in my university and are selling
one-year student licenses of Maple for the equivalent of $15 USD. I
bought one so that I could use both programs for one year and compare
their usage.

I intend to solve my problems with both programs as often as I can, so
that I can know them both. However, unfamiliar with mathematical
programs in general, what features/properties should I pay special
attention to? What are the known advantages and disadvantages of each?
While in principal I prefer open source software (I use Kubuntu Linux
OS), I do believe in using the best tool for the job. I'm not looking
for an open-source vs closed source argument, but rather personal
comparisons of the programs regardless of price or license.

I hope that this does not turn into a flame war, but it seems to me
that the maxima list is much less willing to flame honest this-vs-that
questions than, say, the debian list :) Thanks in advance.

Dotan Cohen

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