5 ms·

It looks like an underpowered copy of the HP Prime. Why should I own one, because it is open source?

janoc 8y ago
You are missing the point. These are calculators designed specifically for the high school market, with the special, mandated by law, exam mode and restricted functions. Nobody else really needs one. BTW, the Prime is $50 more expensive than this thing and doesn't have the exam mode -> illegal to use in exams in France, for ex.
- connorelsea 8y ago
  And Prime doesn't seem to run python or any scripting language. This open calculator does
  - siproprio 8y ago
    What do you mean by scripting language? I think that any advantage of being able to run python is moot considering that it has only 256KB of RAM.
    - jhall1468 8y ago
      I don't think you understand just how much memory that is for a basic python script.
    - gh02t 8y ago
      It's based on MicroPython, which is designed to run in highly constrained embedded environments. You can do quite a lot with 256KB of RAM, MicroPython is surprisingly efficient.
- siproprio 8y ago
  Actually, the HP Prime has exam mode. And for high-schools, personally, I think something simpler and less expensive would be nicer. And I also wish there would be a calculator more targeted at engineers.
  - falcrist 8y ago
    If you're looking for something for engineering, check out the HP 50g. It's discontinued, but it definitely trades blows with the TI 89ti (it even has an IRDA port, SD card slot, and an RS232 port). It's fundamentally an RPN machine, but the stack acts more like a command line, holding objects like equations, variables, and even programs. For something smaller, there's the Swissmicros DM42. That one is definitely an engineers tool, but it's exclusively RPN. It's basically a super modern HP 42s with a huge, georgeous screen and a USB interface (and a modern ARM MCU). The software is based on the excellent Free42 project.
    - qubex 8y ago
      I’ve had the 49G, the 50G, and the Prime. I definitely enjoy the latter, though I don’t like it’s gimmicks (such as the touch screen) I do some solid work on it. The CAS is quite serviceable for my level of algebraic manipulation, for anything it can’t handle I either use my brain or plod over to Mathematica (depending on mood, mostly).
    - blattimwind 8y ago
      The FX-991 is pretty common across engineering students - and actual engineers, too.
      - falcrist 8y ago
        The fx-991 fx-115, HP 35s, and TI 36x Pro are the best calculators allowed on the Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles of engineering exams in the US.
  - salzg 8y ago
    Isn't there concern of python availability during SAT/ACT exams? What is the criteria for allowing a calculator in these exams?
zeth___ 8y ago
Who owns a calculator outside of schools? Everything can be done better and faster in a cas on a laptop.
- siproprio 8y ago
  This is true. I'm still in college.
- wtallis 8y ago
  > Everything can be done better and faster in a cas on a laptop. Everything except actually typing in the problem. A good specialized keyboard and input method (RPN) will always beat QWERTY, especially one that doesn't even have a number pad.
  - zeth___ 8y ago
    Unless you need to do real calculations, in which case qwerty beats the pants off RPN because you are just programming. Calculators are a relic from a bygone era, kept in use only by regulations and a captured market.
    - wtallis 8y ago
      What do you mean by "real calculations"?
    - saagarjha 8y ago
      > Calculators are a relic from a bygone era, kept in use only by regulations and a captured market. Uh, no. I often find myself picking up a calculator rather than opening up Mathematica to do a lot of calculations.
      - zeth___ 8y ago
        Might I suggest Jupiter notebooks? They are like mathematica, but don't suck.
  - 1wd 8y ago
cepth 8y ago
My two cents, as a very happy NumWorks customer. Out of the box, there are Python scripts for calculating factorials, generating visual representations of Mandelbrot fractals, and finding roots of polynomials. On the NumWorks workshop, there are dozens of user-contributed scripts that perform various interesting functions and calculations. They've built a great open-source community, and the speed of their team in responding to issues and pull requests on Github is impressive. Secondly, as someone who had to use various TI calculators in school, trying to get TI Connect software to work was a huge pain. NumWorks lets you install software patches and transfer scripts directly from Chrome, with a one-time driver installation. Not having to deal with bloated and finnicky calculator connection software has been very enjoyable.

You are missing the point. These are calculators designed specifically for the high school market, with the special, mandated by law, exam mode and restricted functions. Nobody else really needs one. BTW, the Prime is $50 more expensive than this thing and doesn't have the exam mode -> illegal to use in exams in France, for ex.

connorelsea 8y ago
And Prime doesn't seem to run python or any scripting language. This open calculator does
- siproprio 8y ago
  What do you mean by scripting language? I think that any advantage of being able to run python is moot considering that it has only 256KB of RAM.
  - jhall1468 8y ago
    I don't think you understand just how much memory that is for a basic python script.
  - gh02t 8y ago
    It's based on MicroPython, which is designed to run in highly constrained embedded environments. You can do quite a lot with 256KB of RAM, MicroPython is surprisingly efficient.
siproprio 8y ago
Actually, the HP Prime has exam mode. And for high-schools, personally, I think something simpler and less expensive would be nicer. And I also wish there would be a calculator more targeted at engineers.
- falcrist 8y ago
  If you're looking for something for engineering, check out the HP 50g. It's discontinued, but it definitely trades blows with the TI 89ti (it even has an IRDA port, SD card slot, and an RS232 port). It's fundamentally an RPN machine, but the stack acts more like a command line, holding objects like equations, variables, and even programs. For something smaller, there's the Swissmicros DM42. That one is definitely an engineers tool, but it's exclusively RPN. It's basically a super modern HP 42s with a huge, georgeous screen and a USB interface (and a modern ARM MCU). The software is based on the excellent Free42 project.
  - qubex 8y ago
    I’ve had the 49G, the 50G, and the Prime. I definitely enjoy the latter, though I don’t like it’s gimmicks (such as the touch screen) I do some solid work on it. The CAS is quite serviceable for my level of algebraic manipulation, for anything it can’t handle I either use my brain or plod over to Mathematica (depending on mood, mostly).
  - blattimwind 8y ago
    The FX-991 is pretty common across engineering students - and actual engineers, too.
    - falcrist 8y ago
      The fx-991 fx-115, HP 35s, and TI 36x Pro are the best calculators allowed on the Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles of engineering exams in the US.
- salzg 8y ago
  Isn't there concern of python availability during SAT/ACT exams? What is the criteria for allowing a calculator in these exams?

zeth___ 8y ago

Who owns a calculator outside of schools? Everything can be done better and faster in a cas on a laptop.

siproprio 8y ago
This is true. I'm still in college.
wtallis 8y ago
> Everything can be done better and faster in a cas on a laptop. Everything except actually typing in the problem. A good specialized keyboard and input method (RPN) will always beat QWERTY, especially one that doesn't even have a number pad.
- zeth___ 8y ago
  Unless you need to do real calculations, in which case qwerty beats the pants off RPN because you are just programming. Calculators are a relic from a bygone era, kept in use only by regulations and a captured market.
  - wtallis 8y ago
    What do you mean by "real calculations"?
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    > Calculators are a relic from a bygone era, kept in use only by regulations and a captured market. Uh, no. I often find myself picking up a calculator rather than opening up Mathematica to do a lot of calculations.
    - zeth___ 8y ago
      Might I suggest Jupiter notebooks? They are like mathematica, but don't suck.
- 1wd 8y ago

cepth 8y ago

My two cents, as a very happy NumWorks customer. Out of the box, there are Python scripts for calculating factorials, generating visual representations of Mandelbrot fractals, and finding roots of polynomials. On the NumWorks workshop, there are dozens of user-contributed scripts that perform various interesting functions and calculations. They've built a great open-source community, and the speed of their team in responding to issues and pull requests on Github is impressive. Secondly, as someone who had to use various TI calculators in school, trying to get TI Connect software to work was a huge pain. NumWorks lets you install software patches and transfer scripts directly from Chrome, with a one-time driver installation. Not having to deal with bloated and finnicky calculator connection software has been very enjoyable.