Rather than resurrect a subthread in "what did you do today" or "ye mac thread", I thought I'd start a new one.
What is the math software of choice to do DSP, modeling, etc.? I wouldn't mind paying a little bit, but of course I would prefer free, since I'm only a hobbyist at this point. I actually do need it at work (not really, my assessment), but CSC is so cheap they won't spring for anything the customer doesn't put in the contract as 'required'.
Shelly posted that she hated the way Mathematica does licensing, and after investigating it, I concur that my infrequent use of it will not justify paying $155/year or $20/month. I might actually be in the Matlab beta program (I still get an email every time a new beta release comes out).
Sounds like this reddit thread, except I'm asking youse guys (Chris, KG, Shelly, Birgir, et al)...I'll try Octave in lieu of any other recommendations or disrecommendations. Any and all thoughts appreciated.