4 ms·

It seems inexcusable that TI is still running their calculators on a Z80... what an absolutely glacial pace of innovation. Are they just lazy monopolists or am

It seems inexcusable that TI is still running their calculators on a Z80... what an absolutely glacial pace of innovation. Are they just lazy monopolists or am I missing something crucial?

phinnaeus 6y ago
Do they have any competition? Those chips are probably effectively free for them. R&D isn't.
- nl 6y ago
  Casio makes very popular and we'll supported graphics calculators.
  - qq4 6y ago
    Agreed. Casio got me through my beginning of undergrad with a wonderful calculator. TI always seemed liked too little for the money.
  - watersb 6y ago
    Casio made the first graphing calculator. I got one, so great. Statistical Student's T at the lab bench for advanced freshman chemistry. In 1987.
  - TchoBeer 5y ago
    iirc Casio's offerings aren't any cheaper.
- mbirth 6y ago
  Technically, yes, there's competition from Casio and HP. However, all US textbooks contain examples specifically for TI calculators, all teachers get TI calculators for free and thus they don't recommend getting anything else but a TI calc.
- luke2m 6y ago
  My school requires the TI
saagarjha 6y ago
TI's newer calculators actually use the eZ80, which is pipelined and generally much faster than the similarly-clocked Z80 processors in the older devices.
aqfamnzc 6y ago
They are absolutely lazy monopolists in my view. They are still selling the TI-83, a device released in 1996, for $112 at major retailers.
don-code 6y ago
I don't see the TI-series graphing calculators as a general purpose computing device. If I need more horsepower than an old Z80 for some specific use case, TI actually has me covered, in the 68k-powered TI-89 and the ARM-powered TI nSpire. What _is_ inexcusable to me is that the calculator still costs as much as it does. I'd bet the bill of materials for a TI-84 is cheaper than that of a Raspberry Pi at this point. A few years ago I had to take apart my -83 and discovered from references online that there were revisions A through at least K of the hardware, with many cost cutting measures made along the way. And while there's something to be said for the supply chain for a 20+ year old device probably having dried up several times over, none of those cost savings seem to have been passed onto the consumer.

It seems inexcusable that TI is still running their calculators on a Z80... what an absolutely glacial pace of innovation. Are they just lazy monopolists or am I missing something crucial?

phinnaeus 6y ago

Do they have any competition? Those chips are probably effectively free for them. R&D isn't.

nl 6y ago
Casio makes very popular and we'll supported graphics calculators.
- qq4 6y ago
  Agreed. Casio got me through my beginning of undergrad with a wonderful calculator. TI always seemed liked too little for the money.
- watersb 6y ago
  Casio made the first graphing calculator. I got one, so great. Statistical Student's T at the lab bench for advanced freshman chemistry. In 1987.
- TchoBeer 5y ago
  iirc Casio's offerings aren't any cheaper.
mbirth 6y ago
Technically, yes, there's competition from Casio and HP. However, all US textbooks contain examples specifically for TI calculators, all teachers get TI calculators for free and thus they don't recommend getting anything else but a TI calc.
luke2m 6y ago
My school requires the TI

saagarjha 6y ago

TI's newer calculators actually use the eZ80, which is pipelined and generally much faster than the similarly-clocked Z80 processors in the older devices.

aqfamnzc 6y ago

They are absolutely lazy monopolists in my view. They are still selling the TI-83, a device released in 1996, for $112 at major retailers.

don-code 6y ago

I don't see the TI-series graphing calculators as a general purpose computing device. If I need more horsepower than an old Z80 for some specific use case, TI actually has me covered, in the 68k-powered TI-89 and the ARM-powered TI nSpire. What _is_ inexcusable to me is that the calculator still costs as much as it does. I'd bet the bill of materials for a TI-84 is cheaper than that of a Raspberry Pi at this point. A few years ago I had to take apart my -83 and discovered from references online that there were revisions A through at least K of the hardware, with many cost cutting measures made along the way. And while there's something to be said for the supply chain for a 20+ year old device probably having dried up several times over, none of those cost savings seem to have been passed onto the consumer.