Slashdot Mirror
TI-84 Plus Released
clear issue writes "The TI-84 Plus has now been shipped, and is avalible through a few distributors. (Try froogle) Besides the new stylish interface, when compared to the 83+, the 84+ has a number of technical advancements including a 2.5 times faster processor speed. To see how this new device compares to your current calculator, check out ti's comparison pdf chart. TI has even dedicated an entire web site for the promotion of the 84 Plus."
If you want to have a real chuckle, check out the Custom Graphics section. I was a TI 99/4A die-hard, and I couldn't help but remember my old system, and coding graphics from 99er Magazine, in all its glory, upon setting eyes on those custom graphics. I must have one of those calculators.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
How long before they relase the TI 99/4A?
Pan
I said no... but I missed and it came out yes.
With the TI-84 Plus, all students can now share their work by connecting their TI-84 Plus to any TI presentation tools for the whole class to see, fostering a collaborative learning environment.*
(*) Kids can now network to the smart kid in class and steal answers via infrared USB. No longer do you have to seat near the geek to get good grades!
"This isn't a study in computer science, its a study in human behavior"
They have the TI-92.
Isn't this like Intel trying to continue development of the Pentium II while the P4 is on the market?
I emailed "daddypants" while it was still in the Mysterious Future, but to no avail.
The TI-89 is still the king. If you're looking for the best calculator for the money, go with the TI-89. I paid right at $150 for mine five? years ago, and it's not decreased in price by a penny. It's a terrific calculator.
that was my first programmable device, probably the start of the end of my school and the beginning of my career as a programmer !
MP3 Search Engine
now i can play tetris 2.5 times faster!
It sure beats the hell outta my abacus but my abacus has really low power consumption.
The Erogenous Zone
but, does it run MULTICS?
when compared to the 83+, the 84+ has a number of technical advancements including a 2.5 times faster processor speed.
*sigh*...
Will there never be an end to the Megahertz Myth?
Anyone know if the TI calcs to RPN?
:).
IMHO if it can't do RPN it doesn't deserve to be called a scientific calculator. For that matter, anyone not using RPN should think twice about calling themselves and engineer or scientist
One should not theorize before one has data. -Sherlock Holmes-
Is this a calculator or a PDA?
OK, so I haven't actually purchased a calculator in 15+ years, but it looks like this model is really geared toward the education market - it includes algebra tutorials, etc. Will a new calculator ever be marketed to make me want to turn in my trusty HP-41CX? (which btw runs on "normal" batteries available in any drugstore, so I never have to worry about the built-in custom rechargable battery dying like with my old, now completely useless TI calculators.)
This may be a nice calculator, but you'll have to pry my ti-89 from my cold dead hands! That thing can do anything. That calculator just made me breakfast this morning. If you're in any aspect of engineering I recommend you buy one.
I remember the awesome training video that came with the TI-82. This weird guy with a pocket protector standing behind a bluescreen which projected a giant image of the TI-82 in the background. Then it would show extreme closeups of his hands hitting the buttons...pure calculator pornography!
There was also a great showdown comparing the TI-82 to Casio and HP competitors (TI won of course). It was funny because you could tell the calculator dork really liked the HP best, but had to put on a good face because it was a TI video, at least I think it was...does anyone else remember that? God, I have no idea what I'm talking about...
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
I liked the "convince your parents" section. I'm not really sure that being dependent on a calculator is such a good idea.
I see things like "14/2", "sin(0)", Integral(1/x,x), etc. in people's histories all the time. Those are the things that you should know how to do; the calculator is making you lazy. Now for things like 239874/12398 calculators are nice, but I'm not sure it's worth $130 to a high school student for something that a 30 dollar scientific calculator can do fine. Graphs are nice, though.
Going of on a tangent (heh), I rather dislike TI (I found a bug that kills your memory and TI refuses to fix it), so go with an HP48/49 if you need graphs. TI is for students that "want to do well on tests", HP is for people who do mathematics on a regular basis, IMO. That said, my TI89 is pretty useful.
My other car is first.
"Bar of Soap" is a design methodology that inherently is supposed to deteriorate, collect dust, and give the device an 'outdated feel and look' within 6 months time. On OOBE, it is supposed to feel like a bar of soap, give the user an intimacy like only a bar of soap can give you, and inspire that 'oooh, intimate toy' feeling. And then 6 months later, when it starts to get 'dirty', gives the user a desire to 'replace it with something new'
The old, rugged case, even with years of grime and dirt, still didn't give you the 'replacement' feeling. BoS is a dirty consumer electronics design trick, and it sucks to see the TI's going that direction
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
"2.5 times faster processor speed"
Think of the games you can play on this thing!
Having been a die hard HP48GX user since high school, I finally got sick of the bulky size, weight, and lack of development of the HP line (until now with the 49 etc). Well, HP isn't interested in making a dual line RPN stack calc, so I picked up a Casio fx-115MS and have never looked back. I would have gotten one of the TIs but, they didn't have the interface the casio has. So long RPN.
Just look at the apps that come built-in on this thing:
Cabri Jr. - now students can use their calculator to get all the answers in Geometry!
"Alter geometric objects on the fly to see patterns, make conjectures, and draw conclusions" No longer will students need to learn how to prove things, they can just draw two triangles and say "my calculator says so".
Probability Simulation - "Explore probability theory with interactive animation that simulates the rolling of dice, tossing of coins and generating random numbers on your handheld."
Come on, this is NOT necessary. Every TI I have seen has nCr and nPr function built in. Why not teach the students HOW those work rather than using this shortcut method?
When I was in high school, most of my teachers were really good about not allowing the use of calculators on quizzes or tests. There were a few in the school, however, that gave "use your calculator" as a solution to hard problems. Calculators like this will only add more to this growing problem.
PDAs have larger display region and are easier for programming. I thought that high-end calculators are obsolete. Please educate me if I am wrong.
^(oo)^pig~
When TI finally releases a better calculator, I hope they also release an upgrade for the 89. After all, the hardware will be sufficient for a long time. With 700k+ memory and a good-sized processor (I think it's 33Mhz underclocked to 11Mhz), it should work very well for just about everything but non-linear differential equations and other extremely CPU-intensive operations.
When the time comes, all we will need is a firmware upgrade to keep it around for even longer without having to upgrade. I've used this calculator for 6 years now, and I recommend it to everyone looking for a high-performance calculator. I hope to try the new HP calculator so I can compare to the competition, but I just don't think I can set my 89 down after all this time. I know it all too well.
The big question is will Drug Wars still work on this? I don't know how I coul have gotten through my highschool classes without that game.
Some people like dedicated calculators because typing in numerical formulations with a stylus on a palm's screen is really inefficient and not very comfortable.
Ugh. For the Nth time, you can't use a Palm on an exam. Plus, using a stylus on a calculator is like using a wooden spoon to do open heart surgery.
"Nature doesn't care how smart you are. You can still be wrong." - Richard Feynman
I feel bad and perhaps it is because I feel ripped off by the "you have to buy 20 diferent calculators during your schooling monopoly" (i.e. Class A requires TI-83 Class B requires TI-84, ect.. and no they will not let you substitute a diferent model number) but it seems like a racket. 99.999999% of the functions are available with palm os and windows CE software.. Why pay all this cash for a limited device when I can buy a cheap palm that can do 3x as much.. Oh yeah: The monopoly at school.. thats why.
-=SiGH=-
TI-89 is still much better according to the comparison chart. I think the 89 is the only piece of technology I have owned for more than a year w/o wanting a newer faster one.
Oh yeah, why are some people so hot for RPN? It's reverse, no wonder most people don't like it. I guess they market it to dyslexics(sp?).
This comment was copied and pasted from the article about the new HP calculator...
MY SECRET DIARIES
"It take 9 months to bear a child, no matter how many women you assign to the job."
Makes me really want to take Calc again.
The parent post is proof that the compression filter is worthless :)
Didn't you just say basically the same thing about the new HP calculator on Slashdot yesterday?
You sound like a broken record.
This is what stylish looks like.
http://www.hp41.org/41Drawing.jpg
Not saying the 41 is better as I have not reviewed the new TI. I still find it the best looking calculator ever designed.
Battery Life. I can bet your Palm can't come even close to this in battery life?
Price. I just want a calculator, thats it, and I'm not going to pay for the bells and whistles and option of d/l a calculator ? The silver84 was on amazon at $129.
Learning curve. I use alot of stat packages everyday in my current job. I love the ease of spread sheets and pivit tables, but if it's gotta be quick, and dirty, then my ti89 is the way to go.
just my 2 cents
Is this at the expense of battery life?
While you might light having everything integrated into your handheld, there is no denying that a dedicated calculator is prefered by a lot of people. I personally would have more confidence in my calculator with button pushing than screen tapping. Tapping the screen just doesn't work as well and is definately prone to error. Don't even get me started on giving handheld devices to kids in middle school. Battery life is also terrible. The list goes on and on, so I hope you get the point.
Your reference to HP is a bit uncalled for since TI owns most of the graphing calculator business. It's definately not in TI's best interest for everything to go handheld since they don't have handhelds waiting in the wings.
They're nt sharing processor time or a domain name with a porn site? Geez, that's gotta cost big!
Before I begin this rant, I should mention that Texas Instruments does not actually make these things anymore. They sold off their calculator division long ago. Hence these things are TI's, not Texas Instrument calculators.
The company that does make them makes a good deal of their total revenue of these things. And in order to keep this revenue coming in, they have made themselves the official Calculator of Calculus (TM). Every major textbook is geared for this calculator, and even the AP exam requires it (or something very much like it) these days. I get students in Calculus straight out of high school who ask me to tell them what the "official calculator for the course" is.
Now, there are some really useful things you can do with a calculator in a Calculus class. The problem is 90% of all high school calculus teachers are not trained enough to use them properly. And using them improperly is worse than not using them at all.
I use to be head proctor for the placement exams for the Engineering school at Cornell. The year calculators were added to the Calculus AP, we saw a statistically significant drop in scores. However, when I complain about these problems, I get called a technophobe.
God, how I hate these things.
I always preferred the 85/86 to the 83/82. The "UI" of the 85/86 is just... better. The buttons are organized the way they should be, and not grouped according to if you're doing your taxes or not.
:D
What about those ones? According to ticalc.org, they're the "engineering" oriented calculators, maybe that explains the above paragraph...
Then there was also the 92/89 pair, but that always seemed a bit silly... I don't need to have 3d graphics, thank you
-Jesse
Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
Maybe you forget that you can't use your silly Palm on a test :P and wait, which is cheaper, a TI-84 Plus or a Tungsten T3? So wait, could you explain to a highschool kid why he/she should spend a boat load of money to get their y=2x^2 kind of graphs in higher resolution?
Oh, and by the way, you forgot to change the company name to TI from HP since you last used that exact same post. Great kharma whoring!
And yet my TI-81 still chugs along
Am I the only one that is disgusted by all these "Need to Convince Mom and Dad?" buttons (see bottom left) that are popping up everywhere?
I mean, how long before companies begin to advise children to cry out loud and shout that their parents don't love them if they don't want to buy them their product?
Yeah, it's a bit offtopic. I know.
The lack of support TI offers for users of the TI-86 calc is appalling. That friggin comparison chart _proves_ that for only $10US more than an 83+ Silver (dunno how much the new 84 costs) you get a _lot_ more features. This is the best TI calc you can buy for the money. The 89s and 92s are better of course, but they're about $70 more expensive last I checked. The 86 has more features in most areas and what it lacks can easily be made up for by a solid community of enthusiasts (www.ticalc.org) who write Z80 assembly apps to make their fav calc better. Looking at the chart, some of the notable things the 86 lacks that other calculators come with (or are added by TI with their own apps that are unavailable to out-of-date calcs (82, 83) and the 86) are spreadsheets(?!), chart graphing ie pie, bar, etc.(wtf would most people need this for?). Okay, I like the new mini-usb idea with the 84s and 89s, and you gotta start new ideas somewhere, but dammit I wish they would just support my 86 more than they do. I paid an extra $10 for a lot of good features and my calc has been exemplary, but some friggin gratitude towards 86 users would be nice. TI's own connectivity software (the new one, TI-CONNECT) doesn't even support 86s! That's _pathetic_! Come on, TI. People who bought your 86 deserve some love too. Dammit.
I agree with you. It's a lot harder to crack the screen on a graphing calculator (even with the cover off) than it is on a Palm.
Case in point -- my Palm IIIxe's screen was recently shattered due to carelessness on my part (had it in a pocket, working up on a ladder lifting heavy things), whereas I have carried a TI-89 (and a TI-85 before that) in a backpack for years with no problems at all.
I didn't have a PDA back in high school, but I can just see the evil eye I would have gotten from one of my math teachers had I tried to use one on a math exam. Graphing calculators were completely cool, though -- which is funny, because in college I discovered that it's possible to put just about the same, ah, information in a TI-89 as it is with a Palm...
Moreovert, unless you're buying a really low-end PDA, any graphing calculator from TI (with the exception of the discontinued TI-92) will cost far less.
I like having my calculator batteries last for months, if not years, on end. My ancient TI-85 is always near, always ready.
Plus, the input area on a TI calculator is much larger than even the screen on a PDA, which has to display both the input interface and the results.
Hardcoded keys are fantastic for memorizing quick patterns. Would you try to replace a computer keyboard with a few square inches of touch-sensitive LCD and a stylus?
...
Ugh. For the Nth time, you can't use a Palm on an exam
Exactly. I looked at that EasyCalc, too, and it doesn't seem to be able to derive or integrate (like my ti89). I could be wrong though...
You can get small laptops for 5-10 times the money of a calculator, but they make you more than 5-10 times more productive.
A $20 calculator and a $1000 laptop are both okay but I can't see there any place for devices in the middle ground that are not properly hackable.
Without the TI-82, I don't think I would have passed college physics.
Thank you TI-82
100% Insightful
Its a faster 83+. So what? Look under the "mathematics" section. It does no differential equations nor direction field graphing. Shouldn't we be concerned with engineering calculators rather than another calculator to play Zshell games on? Wow, jezzball is now 2.5 times faster. Thanks for the info.
In college I remember taking the final and 10 guys spent all of 10 minutes taking it. They had programmed their calculators with every possible question (from the homework) and all made 100%. I spent 3 1/2 hours taking the test because the test was so hard no one else was done in 3 hours so they gave us more time.
...
I still hate those guys, but I am not bitter
is that Parsec rocked, wish I wouldve never given my 99/4A away (complete with expansion box!)
The new screen may make the sprites designed for the Ti 83 not work. Ti has a long history of offering useless updates, many of which disable old assembly programs and games. For example all the OS updates to the 89. There were practicly no differences between all the 2.0x versions. It seemed all they did was disable assembly programs I was already using. So I just stopped at 2.05 and haven't cared since. BTW a great site to get all your Ti stuff is TiCalc.org, although it is now somewhat censored.
Vote for new mod!!! Score:-2,Imbecile
Did I miss something? It's just a frickin calculator! Yeah, it can graph and all that, but SO WHAT! You'll use it for your math classes and then it'll sit and collect dust. What a waste!
Easycalc looks like it'd be good if you have your palm and just happen to need a calculator. However, I'd rather have a calculator if I need a calculator a lot. TI has more stuff built in -- I don't see any sort of utility for symbolic (or numerical) integration, for instance.
Also, calculators are upgradable. It's possible to update the firmware on an old calculator, and I've seen some custom jobs out there, I think.
Also, Palms are freaking expensive.
Karma: Bad (mostly due to all those "In Soviet Russia" jokes)
To see how this new device compares to your current calculator, check out ti's comparison pdf chart.
What if I don't have a TI calculator? My calculator is a pencil and paper, you insensitive clod!
www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
Make a TI-86 with the same features, and the capability for wireless "multiplayer notepad" with a range of 20-30 feet buried down in the menus. I guarantee it will increase test scores more effectively than anything GWB has done so far ;)
Have you ever noticed that calculator improvements come in really odd sizes? Like, memory is sold in powers of two, but the 84+ has *three* times as much memory as the 83+. Huh?
Look, this calculator is all sorts of cool. What it is not is stylish. Not even remotely. Heck, it's so ugly, you'd get kicked out of Starbucks by your local Apple crowd just for bringing one!
It finally died last year (though I hadn't used it seriously in ages).
You could've hired me.
> Some people like dedicated calculators because
> typing in numerical formulations with a stylus
> on a palm's screen is really inefficient and
> not very comfortable.
Couldn'you just plug a small keypad into
a USB port?
I Noticed on your homepage (under the "equipment section") that you listed your TI-85 as " it's probably the single piece of computing technology I have used the most. I don't even remember how old this thing is, but it's still as useful as ever."
Which is it buddy?
If I hadn't seen this story, and someone told me that they just bought a TI-84, I'd be amazed that they'd bought something older than my trusty TI-85: "You paid how much for a model a decade old?"
Has anyone managed to figure out this ordering? Doesn't it currently go something like 5 -> 6 -> 9 -> 3 -> 4 for the "8x" line? Sheesh.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Even many colleges ban the 89 from their lower level math classes (and even some upper level classes as well), mainly because the 89 can do just about everything in Calc 1-4, Probability and Statistics, and several other math courses.
We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
Most professors wouldn't fancy the idea of their students whipping out a palmtop during an exam.
Prior to 1983, I went through at least one TI scientific calculator per year -- literally wore them out as an engineering undergrad. After having one go on the fritz during a chemistry final, it was time for a change.
And what a change indeed. Bought an HP-41C, which was quite expensive on a student't budget, but I figured that maybe it would last two or three years. Twenty years later, it's still within arm's reach, looks just like the day I bought it, no bouncing keys, no flickering display.
But the real reason it's still in my arsenal is that it turned out to be the ideal tool for working EE AC circuits problems. The '41 can do complex math, in both polar and rectangular coordinates, and flip back and forth between those two representations with ease. I have fond memories of walking out of a tough exam after only 20 minutes, handing my completed (and aced) test to the very suprised professor. Thanks Dave and Bill!
...-.-
I took the Fundamentals of Engineering a couple weeks back, and they ban ANYTHING that can communicate OR be used as a text editor. Ergo, I couldn't use either my 92 or my 89.
Needless to say...I couldn't find my TI 36X Solar, and had to borrow somebody's financial calculator (BA II) Ugh. The stupid thing didn't even have log10(), no, I had to convert from ln() to log10()... mildly annoying.
I'll take you to the ball, Barbara Manitee!!!
I think that was intentionally left in... It kind of makes a point on its own that way.
I purchased the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition about a year and a half ago. The Processor is 2.5 times faster than the TI-83 Plus it has 24KB RAM and 1.5MB flash memory and it stores up to 94 applications. It also came with a cable to hook it up to an USB port. As far as I can tell, the 84 is nothing more than a repackaged 83 silver edition.
On a good note - despite heavy use I have only had to change the batteries once in the last 1 1/2 years.
http://www.ticalc.org/ is the place where I go to read calculator stories before they hit /.
You know, it's bizzare almost. This seems to be pretty much the only truly new calculator from TI in the 80x range since I was a sophomore in highschool, like 7 years ago.
:P. TIs were fun in HS, but it's just amazing to me how little they've advanced...
a 2.5x speedup? The machine I had then was a pentium 75! I guess this is what happens when you have no competition.
Why would you need more CPU power in a graphing calc? Well, graphing for one thing. It can take a couple seconds for these things to draw a graph. There are plenty of high-power low-cost chips out there that could crank most of those out almost instantly.
And lets not forget the games
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
project back in 1973/74. What a great calculator for it's time!! I designed the electronics for the card reader and the power supply section as well as the charger/adapter. There's one of those around somewhere in my calculator collection. I also still have a good working TI-150 handheld with the larger gas discharge display.
Did you ever see an SR-60? That was the desktop with the dot-matrix display. I did the card reader electronics as well as some of the main board circuitry on that one, too.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
Yep, I still have my TI-89 handy from years ago. It still purrs along and even though the 92 was banned, the 89 was just the same 92 but in a differnt form factor configuration (minus the keyboard). I used it a few times to cheat on a test or two, but it really helped!!
TI marketeers seems to think that the most appealing thing about this new calculator is that is holds phone numbers. I thinkink the TI-92 was advertised with 3d plots. Not to mention the changeable face plates . . .
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool HP48G user. In my mind, the TI is the calculator of Johnny-come-lately kids, the same sort of kids who only started using a computer when it stopped being considered nerdy (and when 3D games came out). Where I went to school, the AP and Gifted kids (and in college, the Honours students) used HP calcs, and the mundanes on the football team used TI calcs. Yes, I'm biased. ;-)
So... what I would like to hear is a serious, geekly discussion of why HP users should take note at the ever more powerful plastic doodads coming out from TI. I never met a TI geek in school, but given the facts that (A) TI's hardware is much more powerful than HP's, (B) SlashDotters are speed freaks and would appreciate this, and (C) SlashDotters are geeks, I'm sure there are quite a few geeks who can give a sound technical discussion of why they prefer the TI (other than the obvious "lol its faster".)
Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
If it's a test of memorizing things and learning to calculate in your head, they shouldn't allow any electronic devices, or give everyone a very basic one with arithmetics and a few functions. On the other hand, if it's a test on how well you can do the job with proper tools, they should have desktops with Mathematica and Webster dictionary. I guess it's actually a test on "how far can I bend the rules without getting caught". Now I understand it's suitable for MBAs, but lets give those Mathematica desktops to airplane designers, heart doctors and the like...
Got in 10 years ago for calc/physics and it still is my calculator of choice. Does most of the stuff on the comparion chart attributed to the TI-89. Just curious....
Most of the kids in my class hadn't read a single page of their calculator's manual, so I certainly wouldn't have been snide to them if they had 'only' programmed on their calculator.
What would be really great is a PDA with enough horse power to run Mathmatica and a version of Mathmatica that was optimized for ARM or what SH(X). There there would be no more need for these things.
Well, that was the best calculator I've ever used! I love it!
It only had
1/x x^2 sqrt(x) y^x sin cos tan log ln
buttons, and a "INV" button. With INV I got the inverse functions, and I learnd about inverse trigonometric functions before the other did that in school. Du to its basic nature, I was forced to think about in which order I had to do calculations. Thank you TI!
I learnt a lot due to the simplicity, I was forced to do some thinking on my own!
It should have been faster with the trigonometric calculations though.
Evolution of Language Through The Ages: 6000 BC : ungh, grrf, booga 2000 AD : grep, awk, sed
"Learn to make bread by harvesting the grain, grinding it on a windmill and showling wood in the oven"
"Learn to drive a car by manually injecting gas into the engine"
"Learn to program by manually connecting different parts of your computer with wires"
Granted, you will graduate with a very deep understanding of how things work. Except for little things like finding a job and actually enjoying doing something because you can easily solve cool problems. I say, use the most powerful/easy tools possible to solve really complex and interesting math problems. If people get interested, they will always learn more than if you force them. Look at those race car drivers...
When I purchased my first calc, 82's were standard, and I opted for an 85...read the manual, learned how to do everything on it, loved it. Two years later, teacher refused to let me use it for Alg II..she made me buy the 83 for it's matrix capabilities (limited compared to the 85).
I still hate the 83, unfortunately my 85 was damaged in a mod experiment.
Well, maybe you just don't remember what it is? It may supprise you but not all of us are math majors. Actually, most of us rarely use more than basic math in our everyday life. When you don't use shit, you forget it. I used to know sines and cosines to 30 degree incriments. Then that fell into disuse and all I could remember were the 90 degree incriments. Now I've just forgot. I know what they can posibly be, but I can't remember which is which. Why? Well I haven't used that knowledge in over 6 years. It's just not important to me so I forgot it.
So ya, I would punch it into a calculator if I needed it. Same with things like multiplication. One upon a time I was quick with it, I knew all the tables up to 12. You gave me two numbers, I'd spit out the answer without hardly thinking. Not any more, I just don't use that. It's something I could get back if I needed but why? Math isn't something I use much.
I think many people put way too much emphasis on memorization as meaning you are smart. It's not what you've memorized that makes you smart, it's how you can apply your knowledge to solve real world problems.
While studying in my first year toward a Computer Science degree, I wrote a cross-compiler for a high-level language for it, in Pascal, running on a CDC 6600 mainframe (c. 1979): TIPCAL: Texas Instruments Programable CAlculator Language. It was rather like a cross between BASIC and FORTRAN and spat out programming keystrokes.
Ah, the memories: A vaguely remember something about an SR60 desktop, yes.
You could've hired me.
I've had it with the TI graphing calculators. What is this nonsense on insisting on 64x96 resolution, when even the crappiest Nokia mobile phone has more + 64K colors?
And in fact, TI should watch it's back, as service and content providers my start selling Symbian applications that do just that: graphing! Note that some mobile phones have those flip full-QUERTY keyboards, so the "lack of keys" argument doesn't hold, either.
So which one would you rather buy, a TI graphing calc that stikk offers only 96x64 B&W resolution, or a software for your mobile phone, that will fit in a smaller formfactor, offer better graphics and be upgradeable.
Sigged!
Exactly.... I despise TI's calculators. They've been charging about $100 for the TI-83 for how many years now? For less than a TI-83 you can get a Palm Zire or similar PDA that can do a LOT more, a LOT faster, is a LOT smaller, and looks a LOT cooler. The only downside: you generally are SOL if you can't figure out how to use it.
That's why I think there needs to be an open source graphing calculator project that closely emulates a TI-83 sort of calculator - it would be available for Palm, PPC, cellphones, possibly even on some calculators that support it, not to mention all major PC OS's. And it would be free, and the TI monopoly that causes students to waste millions on hopelessly obselete hardware would cease. Then TI could lower the prices of some of its higher-end calculators that are actually worth using.
I've got more mod points and GMail invi
i've used my ti89 for about 6 years now and i don't feel the need to upgrade or get anything new.
Judging by the picture on the Applications page, this thing ain't a pocket calculator or PDA.
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
how often do you replace the batteries in your calculator?
there is a mismatch in expectations.
And as far as school use, professors will have a fit if you try to use a palm as a calculator.
My TI-85 uses AA batteries. Granted, this calculator is over a decade old.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Actually, you're wrong. The Educational and Productivity Solutions division is still very much a part of Texas Instruments. (See TI's 2003 annual report at: http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/investor/ar03/page2.ht m )
You may have become confused because TI doesn't actually manufacture the calculators anymore (that's outsourced to a contract manufacturer), although TI does do all the design, marketing, etc.
As a percentage of total revenue for TI, the calculator business is not major contributor to TI's total revenue. E&PS typically hovers around $500 million in annual revenue. TI's other two business segments, Semiconductor and Sensors & Controls, came in at approximately $8 billion and $1 billion in revenue for 2003.
Strange how everyone keeps buying the same warmed over retreads from TI.
Check out the ClassPad at http://www.classpad.org
It's a graphing calculator that doesn't substitute faceplates for real innovation.
How long until the new calculators get a new more powerful body and attempt to take over the world?
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
I use a great calculator on the Palm called RPN, and I was often able to use it on exams when I was in school. I kept both the Palm and a cheap TI calculator in my backpack. Before the exam, I'd go up to the teacher and just go ask them. "Is it OK if I use my Palm Pilot on the exam? I have a calculator on it that I'm really efficient with and really like using. Or if not, I have a regular calculator I can use." Most of the time the response was something like, "Sure, no problem." Or sometimes it was like, "You don't have stuff on there you're going to use to cheat do you?" and then I'd say "No" (because I didn't), and they'd say, "OK, no problem, go ahead and use it."
And by the way, funny you should say "for the Nth time", because actually the calculator I use comes from a company called Nth Labs. Hello to Russ Webb, if you are out there -- your calculator made my college life that much easier.
This stuff is being put to print even like this, and people still don't get it. I'm thinking of writing a book entitled, "Succubi, leechers, and bums or how to idemenify and/or destroy those who would suck your lifeforce dry, and fuck your liveliehood raw".
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
My Calculus teacher has had the TI-84 Plus Siver Edition for about two months now, and I've had the chance to play around with it alot. I can tell you that it really is alot faster than my 83 Plus, as I've done speed comparisons as far as graphing is concerneed. They also seem to have refined certain menus with a smaller font, but overall, the OS remains about the same. Not worth the upgrade from the 83, but certainly a plus for people in the market for a new calculator.
Old stuff, new wrapper.
::shrug:: For what its worth.
They advertise it as "keystroke-for-keystroke" identical to the 83+.....
The guts of the TI-84+ Silver are identical to the TI-83+ Silver - They simply overclocked the processor even farther. Its just simply the same stuff underneath, but they have added a USB connection to it.
To make it more appealing, they have preloaded some new apps on to them - which can most easily and fluidly be put on a TI-83+ Silver or even a TI-83+ (Flash space providing).
Any geek with a soldering iron and a radio shack nearby can make their 83+'s spin fast enough to catch the 84's, no problem
But hey, it looks new! And its all shiny!
And consider the market: Most teachers and administrators do not know enough about these things to tell the difference... mostly they can see that they look all new and pretty, so they must be better technology.
Jeepers, Wally, I remember arguments about what calculators were the coolest when I was in school 30 years ago. Its good to see todays generation of aspiring engineers haven't changed at all. Just remember, kids, then as now, having the most buttons hanging on your belt still won't get you that date with the cheerleader.
we're real he-men. We use runga-kutta ALL THE WAY TO DA MOON!!!
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
Especially since these can communicate..
The Doormat
If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
Looks like this place become and advertisement terminal (at least for calculators:) Didn't I see HP ad couple days ago?
A PDA with a keypad usually is not a handheld any more because at that point you can't hold it in one hand and type with another..
http://education.ti.com/us/about/main.html
heidi
TI canned some cool projects with powerful calculator networked in a virtual classroom because they were afraid it could cannibalize their existing base...
Most people in the calc division were sacked, TI is not doing any R&D anymore, only pushing plastic (sounds like HP).
The TI-83 is a cash cow: it costs them peanuts to make, and their >90% market share help them force the price on their distributors who make peanuts on them.
The TI-84 might cost a tad more to produce, but because of the extras, they hope to sell it for even more, and eventually replace the 83 (low cost, high margin) with the 84 (bit higher cost but even higher margin).
I'm sure the 84 is a good calc for its market, I just find it sad that they don't have the guts to start a much-needed revolution... HP tried but Carly came in. Casio and Sharp don't have the weight.
Who will save us from the luddites?
(All this is my take on information I found around places, but I believe it's fairly close to the truth)
The problem isn't recognizing and reading Chinese characters, it is writing them. My experience is with Japanese, but it applies to Chinese too, I think. When writing Kanji (Chinese characters) by hand, you need to remember the correct stroke order and you need to practice a lot otherwise your handwriting looks like crap. On a computer, however, you simply type the phoenetics of the word and then select the correct character or characters from the IME (input method extension). Using a computer allows you to replace remembering the correct way to write a complex character with simply recognizing or reading the character.
The end result fr me is that on a computer I can use characters I don't really know the stroke order of or how to write by hand. However, I know the words and recognize and know the characters so I can still use them correctly. However, if I had to write something out by hand, I would have a hard time and I would either make a lot of mistakes or I would have to write everything using hiragana, katakana, and simple kanji and my writing would end up looking like a 3rd grader's.
My other first post is car post.
The TI ordering is kinda weird. The 8x series is actually 3 different families. Series 1 82 -> 83 -> 83+ -> 84+ Series 2 85 -> 86 Series 3 89 I think that is what it is more or less. I'm not sure where the 81 goes though. Either with series 1 or as a separate series.
Yes...it's pretty. So freaking what - it's YAGC, and I'm sorely unimpressed by it. I'm in the market for a calculator, and I'd like to see one with a high-res color screen (so I can tell where and which plots are which), the ability to transfer graphs in jpg or gif format to my computer, and some basic pda functions so maybe I can store notes on it. Hell, a touch-screen would be nice too. Am I asking too much?
I've read through all the comments at +3, so maybe those that share my view already got modded down as redundant, but here goes.
I have a TI-86 that I bought from a friend for $60. It's a nice little calculator and I've been dragging it with me in course after course at a community college where their "official" calculator is the TI-83. (Like hell I'm going to blow that much money on another calculator when I have an even better one just sitting around.)
Okay, enough yammering. What I want to know is this. Why on earth are they still putting out these, low-resolution, machines with practically no horsepower and a few k of memory? I could see if the price was brought down proportional to the cost of the technology, but it isn't. For the same price as a brand-new TI calculator (even a crappy one like the 83), you can get a GBA or PDA with technology that is quite literally decades ahead. I *want* a higher resolution. I *want* color graphs. I want graphs that don't take their sweet time to draw before my very eyes. Heck, a backlit display would even be useful in many cases.
But even more than that, I just don't want to pay over $100 for a calculator that looks like it was just plucked out of 1985.
TI-85 won't do logistic regression. If you don't need f(x)=c/(1+ae^(-bx)), then it works great. I'm ditching my TI-85 for a calculator that can do topology, however, so if anyone needs one, call me in two weeks.
You need an HP-48. Runs on 3 AAA batteries. IMO, the 48SX was the best one. The G series had a faster CPU but a fatter menu system. The net effect was that the S series was faster for common operations than the G series.
All your base are belong to us.
Say what you will about the venerable TI series. I purchased a TI-85 10+ years ago for about $80. Today you can buy a TI-86 new at amazon for $117.99 even though it is only marginally more powerful. The TI-85 is the only computer I've ever heard of that has _appreciated_ in value for over a decade even without an antique factor! I still have it on my desk right next to my Athlon-XP. Even though the TI-85's processor is equivalent to an 8086, it has enough power to get the job done. The TI combines all the functionality I need with a highly usable physical and software interface. That is what gives it real value.