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Free, Open Source OS For TI Calculators

Posted by timothy on from the smallness dept.

nicklaszlo writes "TICalc.org announced yesterday that Patrick Pelisier has released a new beta OS, called PedroM, for the TI-89 and TI-92+ under the General Public License. Here is the source and binary. This is the first time a TI calculator has been free of proprietary software. The OS has 32 commands and backward compatibility for assembly programs. You can get a Windows/PC emulator of both calculators, for those who don't have either calculator, or don't want to risk their real system."

10 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. Nifty by General+Sherman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'll probably get modded down for this, but honestly, what's the point?

    Sure the OS on TI calculators is proprietary, but it does what it does quite well and I've never had issues with it.

    I think making OSS just for the sake of having OSS is stupid. Do something useful with your time. If you have such a great understanding, contribute packages to Linux or something.

    --
    - Sherman
    1. Re:Nifty by itsari · · Score: 5, Insightful

      An open source alternative can help keep the heat on TI to make a better product. Also, in the future, this OSS can even become a better alternative than the TI software. It also gives an oportunity for developers to enhance the O/S they use when the please.

    2. Re:Nifty by LocoSpitz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The pressure won't be there until the OSS alternative actually is better than the TI software.

    3. Re:Nifty by theefer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What's the point of OSS ? Making better software ?
      No.

      Having a free OS can ensure that you have full access to the system, and that you know how to interface your program with it, or maybe improve it somehow.

      Even if it is (were, actually, since I have not tested it yet) not as featureful as the original proprietary OS, it does not mean it is completely inferior. Have you ever worked on a TI-92+ ? I have. It sucks.

      The pseudo-shell is really more pseudo than shell, the programming language is a joke, etc. Sure, it works. Sure, there are cool (proprietary) apps with it. But it does not mean it cannot be improved (possibly keeping the compatibility to still access those cool closed apps). Examples of improvements would be a better shell (the screenshots seem to show one), a more powerful filesystem (allow directories into directories, w00t), completion (available through a wrapper, but it's not that good), etc.

      There is room for improvement. So them'em play with the system and release it Freely, it can only get better !

      --
      theefer
    4. Re:Nifty by windows · · Score: 4, Insightful

      With a lot of the new releases of the AMS (TI's operating system), TI has added new restrictions to what developers can do. For example, in AMS 2.03, assembly language programs are limited to 8k. In more recent versions, the limitation is 24k. There is no legitimate reason for this except trying to force developers to write Flash applications. This is significant because you have to pay TI to sign any applications you write if you expect them to run on any calculator. There are many other things that Flash applications can do that assembly language programs can't. These include support for language localization and adding commands to TI-BASIC. Another thing is assembly language programs cannot return values like ordinary functions can.

      While many of these restrictions have been fixed through nasty hacks found by developers, some of them cannot be easily fixed if at all.

      What's so bad about Flash applications? Because you have to pay TI to sign apps for the TI-89/TI-92+/V200. Most of us developers release our software for free. We don't have the money to pay TI to sign our software.

      As of now, these are the biggest advantages of the new OS, besides the fact that you have much more archive memory.

      Already, this new OS can make a game programmer's job a lot easier.

    5. Re:Nifty by Wateshay · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why? What does TI care? They don't make a cent off of their software by itself. All of their money is made off of the hardware, and if there's OSS that's better than their offering, it just means they may sell more calculators.

      --

      "If English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for everyone else."

  2. Real use of calculator... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think the true "caclulating" functions of the calculator have been lost to the geek crowd. I, for one, bought my 89 solely to do integrals for calculus. There is no way that I tricked my mom into buying it for me so I could play first person shooters, sweet greyscale games, run non-proprietary OS's, and make some awesome assembly progs. No way at all. Come on guys, really. Do some math...

  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. This could be how an ingenious person starts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am deeply disappointed in your attitude.

    As a 15-18 year-old, coding asm applications (this was before anyone had put together adequate C compilers for these calculator platforms) for my TI calculators was what introduced me to programming, gave me a creative outlet, and drove me to pursue and complete a CS degree.

    My high school didn't offer any CS or programming classes, and I didn't have any friends - much less any friends who would take the time from drinking and partying to learn to code z80 and m68k assembler. My interests in coding were how I defined and measured myself as a worthwhile human being, despite what anyone else thought about me.

    If someone like you would have come down all high and mighty and mocked my creative outlet, trivialized my many long hours working on what absolutely fascinated me, and told me I was wasting my time, I might not be where I am today. And judging by your tone, you could only dream of being in my shoes today.

    You know, I have a more interesting question:

    What have YOU done? What gives you the RIGHT to come in here and mock this young man's work?

    Get a life, really.

  5. Re:Nifty tsarkon reports by YOU+LIKEWISE+FAIL+IT · · Score: 5, Insightful
    That same kind of heat that Linux put on apple and microsoft that is going to be its own undoing. You show up the big boys and they place the bar beyond your reach.

    It might be bad for Open Source, but its definitely good for the consumer. I'm all for Apple and Microsoft raising the bar - I use their products every day. If that means I have to hack together the occasional bit of 'user experience' on Linux or whatever, sounds like an excellent deal.

    Your argument basically says, "Don't be good at anything, or the big guys will turn around and be even better." I think that sounds like a very desirable state of affairs instead of just persisting in mediocrity.

    YLFI
    --
    One god, one market, one truth, one consumer.