Have you looked at expod.net? They came out with a version of expod for the ppc, but I haven't tried it. I used their software for the casio be-300 and loved it. Not sure what all it has - it's free to try and I think reasonable. More of an overlay than another os - or at least it used to be.
Hey, lauren - tell your hubby to work on a better calculator for the axim.

I have this tapecalc calculator I scavenged from some suite in the dim past and kept over the years. It's great! Shows like a tape calculator all the numbers you've entered. That would be a great program for a handheld - you can even save the tape and print it. I have no idea where I scavenged it from, but I would dearly like to find something like it for my ppc.