5 ms·

Leading Android scientific calculator now requires Caller ID

78 points by doctorshady 11y ago

crispyambulance 11y ago
FWIW, I found the Wolfram|Alpha paid app for android to be everything I need as a "calculator". The permissions don't seem excessive, although it does use GPS it does not slap ads on me.
- slazaro 11y ago
  Unfortunately, it needs internet to work, and the keyboard IMO doesn't work that well, I keep mistyping stuff, which doesn't happen with the regular keyboard.
Benjamin_Dobell 11y ago
Nothing improves your rating quite like a good ol' opposition sledging... http://i.imgur.com/tNwR3RW.png http://i.imgur.com/tNwR3RW.png To be fair, his points in the article are 100% valid. However, it would have been nice if he gained legitimate users and reviews, not just those adding reviews in spite of the opposition.
- jonlucc 11y ago
  I'm of mixed opinion on this. What is the correct way to point out that your opposition is doing something slimy?
  - Benjamin_Dobell 11y ago
    Well, what he's done is clever, but perhaps ever so slightly unethical. If he genuinely just cared about users he could have reported the issue without pushing his product. Mind you, I can't blame him from mentioning his app, it's a great chance for publicity. He probably didn't know he was going to get so many dodgy reviews/users up-front. Nonetheless, the appropriate thing to do now would be to edit the original post. State that he appreciates that privacy conscious users agree this is an issue and he is glad people have downloaded his app. However, he's after genuine feedback so that he can further improve his app - as such could users please ensure they try his application and only then provide legitimate feedback, either via Google Play reviews or another contact mechanism.
    - jonlucc 11y ago
      I think that would be an appropriate edit to make. In the beginning, I think it's fair to have the disclaimer that he has an interest in a competing app. So should he do that without naming the specific app he's working on? That might carefully walk the line.
    - perfectstorm 11y ago
      if he didn't mention his app as a disclaimer and when users find out about it (which is bound to happen), they will go apeshit. I think it's a smart move by the author. he gets his publicity and get a chance to slam his competitor.
castratikron 11y ago
A questionably legal but terrific calculator is any TI-8x emulator for Android. I think as long as your own a real TI-8x and extract the ROM yourself, you can legally use the emulator. One of the emulators is called "Andie Graph".
- dogma1138 11y ago
  Is it actually accurate without the hardware? I've seen graphical calculators go bonkers when emulated.
  - castratikron 11y ago
    I've never checked the accuracy. If he's emulating the hardware with 100% accuracy I wouldn't expect any difference in the output.
    - dogma1138 11y ago
      Well that's the question good calculators have quite sophisticated "rounding error" fixes that ensure that large calculations don't end up being off by a light year, it's not just a simple question of rounding up/down because if you always do that staggering errors or even a short calculation with a large exponent can throw you quite a bit off.
- buddylw 11y ago
  I'm a big fan of hp calculators and use an emulated HP-48 most of the time.
  - unsignedint 11y ago
    There is also a official HP Prime calculator.[0] Bit pricy but it somewhat easier to navigate than HP-48. Though it has limited RPN support... [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hp.primecalculator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hp.primeca...
  - 11y ago
ck2 11y ago
Xposed + Xprivacy = problem solved (or privacyguard if you have a custom rom) If you don't have root, you don't own your device, someone else does. (just wish the xprivacy ui was as easy as old CyanogenMod was, simply strike through the privilege to revoke)
- OhHeyItsE 11y ago
  Don't need any of that if you have marshmallow. Can now restrict or allow perms on a per-app basis.
  - Kevguy 11y ago
    Except you can't turn off internet access on a per-app basis...
    - andThen 11y ago
      If you're running Android 5.0 or better, this blocks internet on a per-app basis. https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/README.md https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/README.md
benologist 11y ago
It gets even sillier, despite having permissions that resemble malware it is correctly classified as suitable for "Everyone", the most lenient classification. https://medium.com/@PuzzleBoss/why-aren-t-app-permissions-reflected-in-app-classifications-44f27ff7d651 https://medium.com/@PuzzleBoss/why-aren-t-app-permissions-re...
brudgers 11y ago
I have the same HP11C I bought in 1989. It has hardware buttons, instructions on the back, and RPN. Needs batteries about once every three years of heavy use and fits in a pocket. Get off my lawn.
- rkangel 11y ago
  On the other hand, I already have a powerful computing device in my pocket, capable of providing an extremely flexible interface (admittedly not with physical buttons). Why should I carry another object just to do maths?
  - brudgers 11y ago
    When I need to do a math as part of my primary activity, I use my HP12C. In part that's because it is easier for me to use a dedicated device, even in the field, than to wade through an app store and it is more pleasurable for me to use something that is advertising free and more intellectually satisfying to me to not share personal data with advertizers when I perform calculations. I didn't say anything about what anyone else should or shouldn't do.
  - DanBC 11y ago
    i) Distraction free teaching aid ii) Labs. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10581563 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10581563 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571218 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571218
flyinghamster 11y ago
That's not a new problem at all. The top-ranked metronome app in the Play Store wants location data. Location data, for a freaking METRONOME?! Simple Metronome by Ethan Brown does what it says without asking for ANY permissions (as it should). God help you if you're looking for a flashlight app.
outside1234 11y ago
This is sadly sort of the norm. Shazam, for instance, is beaming back significant location changes and each time that you pass a BLE Beacon within its network (among other things).
atomic_cheese 11y ago
RealCalc is my favorite. It supports RPN and doesn't require any permissions other than storage.
steaminghacker 11y ago
Ah, this must be the unintended side effect of Play requiring developers to declare their apps having ads. :-/

78 points by doctorshady 11y ago

FWIW, I found the Wolfram|Alpha paid app for android to be everything I need as a "calculator". The permissions don't seem excessive, although it does use GPS it does not slap ads on me.

slazaro 11y ago
Unfortunately, it needs internet to work, and the keyboard IMO doesn't work that well, I keep mistyping stuff, which doesn't happen with the regular keyboard.

Benjamin_Dobell 11y ago

Nothing improves your rating quite like a good ol' opposition sledging... http://i.imgur.com/tNwR3RW.png http://i.imgur.com/tNwR3RW.png To be fair, his points in the article are 100% valid. However, it would have been nice if he gained legitimate users and reviews, not just those adding reviews in spite of the opposition.

jonlucc 11y ago
I'm of mixed opinion on this. What is the correct way to point out that your opposition is doing something slimy?
- Benjamin_Dobell 11y ago
  Well, what he's done is clever, but perhaps ever so slightly unethical. If he genuinely just cared about users he could have reported the issue without pushing his product. Mind you, I can't blame him from mentioning his app, it's a great chance for publicity. He probably didn't know he was going to get so many dodgy reviews/users up-front. Nonetheless, the appropriate thing to do now would be to edit the original post. State that he appreciates that privacy conscious users agree this is an issue and he is glad people have downloaded his app. However, he's after genuine feedback so that he can further improve his app - as such could users please ensure they try his application and only then provide legitimate feedback, either via Google Play reviews or another contact mechanism.
  - jonlucc 11y ago
    I think that would be an appropriate edit to make. In the beginning, I think it's fair to have the disclaimer that he has an interest in a competing app. So should he do that without naming the specific app he's working on? That might carefully walk the line.
  - perfectstorm 11y ago
    if he didn't mention his app as a disclaimer and when users find out about it (which is bound to happen), they will go apeshit. I think it's a smart move by the author. he gets his publicity and get a chance to slam his competitor.

castratikron 11y ago

A questionably legal but terrific calculator is any TI-8x emulator for Android. I think as long as your own a real TI-8x and extract the ROM yourself, you can legally use the emulator. One of the emulators is called "Andie Graph".

dogma1138 11y ago
Is it actually accurate without the hardware? I've seen graphical calculators go bonkers when emulated.
- castratikron 11y ago
  I've never checked the accuracy. If he's emulating the hardware with 100% accuracy I wouldn't expect any difference in the output.
  - dogma1138 11y ago
    Well that's the question good calculators have quite sophisticated "rounding error" fixes that ensure that large calculations don't end up being off by a light year, it's not just a simple question of rounding up/down because if you always do that staggering errors or even a short calculation with a large exponent can throw you quite a bit off.
buddylw 11y ago
I'm a big fan of hp calculators and use an emulated HP-48 most of the time.
- unsignedint 11y ago
  There is also a official HP Prime calculator.[0] Bit pricy but it somewhat easier to navigate than HP-48. Though it has limited RPN support... [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hp.primecalculator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hp.primeca...
- 11y ago

ck2 11y ago

Xposed + Xprivacy = problem solved (or privacyguard if you have a custom rom) If you don't have root, you don't own your device, someone else does. (just wish the xprivacy ui was as easy as old CyanogenMod was, simply strike through the privilege to revoke)

OhHeyItsE 11y ago
Don't need any of that if you have marshmallow. Can now restrict or allow perms on a per-app basis.
- Kevguy 11y ago
  Except you can't turn off internet access on a per-app basis...
  - andThen 11y ago
    If you're running Android 5.0 or better, this blocks internet on a per-app basis. https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/README.md https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/README.md

benologist 11y ago

It gets even sillier, despite having permissions that resemble malware it is correctly classified as suitable for "Everyone", the most lenient classification. https://medium.com/@PuzzleBoss/why-aren-t-app-permissions-reflected-in-app-classifications-44f27ff7d651 https://medium.com/@PuzzleBoss/why-aren-t-app-permissions-re...

brudgers 11y ago

I have the same HP11C I bought in 1989. It has hardware buttons, instructions on the back, and RPN. Needs batteries about once every three years of heavy use and fits in a pocket. Get off my lawn.

rkangel 11y ago
On the other hand, I already have a powerful computing device in my pocket, capable of providing an extremely flexible interface (admittedly not with physical buttons). Why should I carry another object just to do maths?
- brudgers 11y ago
  When I need to do a math as part of my primary activity, I use my HP12C. In part that's because it is easier for me to use a dedicated device, even in the field, than to wade through an app store and it is more pleasurable for me to use something that is advertising free and more intellectually satisfying to me to not share personal data with advertizers when I perform calculations. I didn't say anything about what anyone else should or shouldn't do.
- DanBC 11y ago
  i) Distraction free teaching aid ii) Labs. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10581563 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10581563 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571218 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571218

flyinghamster 11y ago

That's not a new problem at all. The top-ranked metronome app in the Play Store wants location data. Location data, for a freaking METRONOME?! Simple Metronome by Ethan Brown does what it says without asking for ANY permissions (as it should). God help you if you're looking for a flashlight app.

outside1234 11y ago

This is sadly sort of the norm. Shazam, for instance, is beaming back significant location changes and each time that you pass a BLE Beacon within its network (among other things).

atomic_cheese 11y ago

RealCalc is my favorite. It supports RPN and doesn't require any permissions other than storage.

steaminghacker 11y ago

Ah, this must be the unintended side effect of Play requiring developers to declare their apps having ads. :-/