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Hardware Hacking Hardware Build

Calculator Networking With CALCnet and Doors CS 60

Posted by timothy from the site-for-sore-thumbs dept.
KermMartian writes "In an effort to make your trusty graphing calculator more like a computer, a shell called Doors CS has been developed, with an integrated networking stack, CALCnet2.2. The protocol is demonstrated in a nine-calculator pong-type demo, and the many file management, GUI, and other features of Doors CS can be seen at here. All the associated software is available for download."
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Calculator Networking With CALCnet and Doors CS More

Calculator Networking With CALCnet and Doors CS

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  • To my TI-80?

    Oh, what. I could already play Pong on it (c=

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by MBCook ( 132727 )

      It doesn't (just to spoil the joke). As you know, the TI-80 doesn't have a link port, so it can't be connected to other calculators. That's also why it took so long for someone to release games for it, because it wasn't easy to hit (unlike the 85, for example, which had things installed with a simple corrupt dump).

      Note: Information current as of ~1999, not responsible for design changes TI made in the last decade

  • This would be awesome if they could get MIDIMaze running on it.

  • If schools start replacing textbooks with tablets, there's a high probability that they will install a graphing calculator app too. Complete with access restrictions restrictions during tests I'm sure.

  • Can I use it to break on through to the other side? Light my fire?

  • The reason to get a TI calculator is they are very powerful calculators, and easy to use. When you need to get your math on, they do a great job of it with minimal fuss. If you start adding to them, well then you kinda take away from that. I mean if you want a small computer, get a small computer. There's no shortage of candidates these days, including things like smart phones. They also usually have things like a color screen, built in networking and a way more powerful processor.

    The whole point of a speci

    • The TI calculators are also far more expensive for the functionality that they grant than comparable general-purpose devices. Save only that all the math departments still require 'em, they would have lost all marketshare years ago.

      • This just goes to show that after some point you really don't need any more functionality. Some times old tools serve you quite well. In the last 10 years computers have grown exponentially more powerful, and linearly cheaper. However all this power is being squandered on 'friviality'. Better graphics, in smaller and smaller devices. A larger array of mind numbing applications e.g. 'Angry Birds', and Facey Book.all with exponentially slicker interfaces, that keep our minds off the futility of modern lif

    • Do you mean to tell me that a TI calculator is "very powerful" compared to a smartphone, when TI's designs haven't changed notably in twenty years?

      Compared to a smart phone, a TI calculator loses on so many fronts, including the three most important: CPU power, RAM, and display. I have little doubt that playing Angry Birds on an Android device or an iPhone generates more mathematical operations in five minutes of play than the TI graphing calculator I used in high school (and which is still being made twe

      • Obligatory xkcd comic [xkcd.com] about TI calculators.

      • TI's advantage is in their software. Anyone who has actually tried to get through a math course using a general-purpose computer knows what I'm talking about. Sure, Maple, Matlab, and Mathematica will all compute faster on my $300 netbook than my $200 TI-89, but it's so much easier to enter the equation into the TI, the total time spent is less.

        If anyone has had a different experience, please share with me your resources for learning how to use the software.

        (It's not like I'm bad with computers, either; o

        • LOL troll.

          but it's so much easier to enter the equation into the TI, the total time spent is less.

          Yeah, if you include the time it takes to boot your computer. You're saying with a straight face that it takes more time to type solve(1.5 = 2*PI*sqrt(L/g), L); and hit enter that it does to go into the menus and have to use function keys on keypad the size of a condom wrapper.

          (It's not like I'm bad with computers, either; one time I found it easier to write a C++ program than learn the equivalent Maple code.)

          Wow, you're good. instead of typing int(1/Sqrt(1 - Cos(x), x, x=0..inf); you wrote your own complex integration program in C++? [stoned] Whoooooooa, dude. Elite. [/stoned]

      • By "very powerful" I don't mean CPU. You'll notice that I noted smart phones and so on have more powerful CPUs. I mean in terms of calculator functions. TI calculators are extremely capable, especially their higher end ones. They handle pretty complex symbolic manipulation, numerical analysis, graphing, and so on. In terms of ability, as a calculator, they are really good. In fact, I don't really know of any computer programs that match them save for Matlab which is rather complicated and overly expensive.

        • They do a good job of being as complex as needed, but not more.

          Exactly. Which is why my TI-89 spent so much time being carried around everywhere in my bag, while my much heavier computers remained at home. Besides, computers are often at some risk in lab situations where bench space is at a premium and liquids are being handled. The TI spreadsheet and stats applications are perfect for such portable use.

      • TI's scientific and statistical calculator market share is waiting for an Android tablet or iPad app to come along and render it completely irrelevant.

        What do you mean waiting? I have an iPhone app, Perpenso Calc 4 [perpenso.com] that offers the functionality of the non-graphing TI and HP scientific, statistical and hex calculators and more. It offers a la carte pricing so you only pay for the functionality you need. Features like the alternate worksheet interface leverage the handheld computer nature of the device.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Agripa ( 139780 )

          TI's scientific and statistical calculator market share is waiting for an Android tablet or iPad app to come along and render it completely irrelevant.

          What do you mean waiting? I have an iPhone app, Perpenso Calc 4 that offers the functionality of the non-graphing TI and HP scientific, statistical and hex calculators and more. It offers a la carte pricing so you only pay for the functionality you need. Features like the alternate worksheet interface leverage the handheld computer nature of the device.

          Do the

          • What do you mean waiting? I have an iPhone app, Perpenso Calc 4 [perpenso.com] that offers the functionality of the non-graphing TI and HP scientific, statistical and hex calculators and more.

            Do they run for weeks to months on 4 x AAA user replaceable batteries?

            People tend to keep their phones charged. Face it, convergence has happened with standalone MP3 players and it is currently in progress with respect to dedicated calculators.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Agripa ( 139780 )

              What do you mean waiting? I have an iPhone app, Perpenso Calc 4 [perpenso.com] that offers the functionality of the non-graphing TI and HP scientific, statistical and hex calculators and more.

              Do they run for weeks to months on 4 x AAA user replaceable batteries?

              People tend to keep their phones charged. Face it, convergence has happened with standalone MP3 players and it is currently in progress with respect to dedicated calculators.

              I actually have more of a problem with custom and non-user-replaceable batte

              • Unlike the standalone calculator the functionality is not tied to the hardware. The phone's battery may die over time but people tend to replace their phones before that happens. The calculator app may be portable to the new phone. If not it was probably a very small fraction of the cost compared to the standalone.
      • They stopped manufacturing the TI-86 in 2004. Regrettably.

    • The only reason to by a TI calculator is because your teacher tells you to.

      When you need to get your math on (or your physics or engineering), you use an HP:

      My HP-15C is a pocket-sized programmable scientific calculator capable of handling matrices, complex numbers, and numerical root finding and integration. Its battery life is 2-3 years under moderate use.

      My graphing calculator is an HP-50g, which has a 200Mhz ARM9 processor (by default underclocked to 75Mhz), an SD card slot that enables you to store all

  • In related news the developers of Doors CS were sued by Nintendo of copyright and trademark infringement because of their games Mario, Space Invaders and Tetris and their website got a DMCA take down request from the calculators companies claiming that the hack will remove any DRM on their calculators. The calculators companies spokesperson gave the statement in an interview: "With our calculators, our companies built in numerous hardware and software safeguards designed to reduce the chances of product tam
  • Yo, Dawg, I heard you like calculators, so I put a network in your calculator so you can play NetPong while you calculate.

  • Imagine a Beowulf-Cluster of these (Score:3, Funny)

    by maweki ( 999634 ) on Thursday December 16, 2010 @05:33PM (#34580990) Homepage
    Oh, you already did?!
  • The Ti-83/4 series are utter garbage, why not develop for the Ti-89? or how about the nSpire? The 89/92/Voyage have absolutely wonderful processors, the Motorola 68000 compared to the dogshit z80 chip in the 83/4?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by hufman ( 1670590 )
      Because high school students, the main target of calculator hacking, will be using the cheaper algebra-oriented TI-8[34], instead of the more expensive calculus-oriented TI-89.
      • Also, they don't let you use the higher-up ones on the ACT, SAT, etc. The qwerty 92, 92+, Voyage are too much like a PDA, the Nspire has just ridiculous math functionality, and I don't know whether 89s are currently okay. It might vary.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rdnetto ( 955205 )

      Probably because newer calcs are more expensive. Also, the nSpire is more locked down than the previous models - the 89 (Ti) can run (compiled) programs written in assembly/C, but the nSpire can only run slower (interpreted) programs written in BASIC.

  • Microsoft Bob. The networking part is cool, but the rest is a 'meh'. And it's still a crappy TI calculator. I'll take my HP any day.

  • Might be nice if I can do this with my trusty old HP-48GX. I once installed VT-100 (emulation) terminal software on it, connected it to a TNC (Terminal node controller aka AEA PK-88) and connected to my AX.25 packet 2 meter Internet gateway and used w3m to surf the Internet. Slow, but cool.

  • Many software development companies [q3tech.com] will try to create application related to dis.....:)

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