Equations in Google Docs

I might be a big fan of Google products, but I've never gotten around to using Google Docs in place of a more traditional word processor. That is why I was quite shocked to find how much Google Docs has matured since I last caught a glimpse of it. Overall, the UI has been polished to perfection and the new features are an eye-opener.

Getting back to the actuary world, one feature struck me as quite useful. Google Docs now has a built-in equation editor who's syntax is very similar to LaTeX. You can take a look at the screenshots (after the break) to see how simple it is to insert the Quadratic Formula into any document.

Obviously, the equation editor is not a true LaTeX replacement. But it can definitely come handy when in some sticky situations.

And it's definitely fun to play with.

The code used to generate it:

x=\frac{-b\pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}

Photo Credit: Flickr user dullhunk, and myself