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nostalgia of 386-level systems?!?

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rstofer:

--- Quote from: DiTBho on April 02, 2022, 11:12:27 am ---
--- Quote from: rstofer on April 01, 2022, 06:16:55 pm ---best toys!

--- End quote ---

if you have to choose between a ti84(1) and a ti89(2), which one would you choose  :D?

(1) z80-based graphing programmable calculator, programmable in basic, C, assembly
(2) 68k-based graphing programmable calculator, programmable in basic, C, assembly

--- End quote ---

Over the last few years, I have been paying attention to the calculators recommended in college textbooks and it looks like the TI-84 owns that market.  I think it trickles down to the high school level as well.  Where calculator examples are given, it seems that they are written for the TI-84.

So, I would go with the flow and at least own a TI-84 (which I do) although I own a lot of high end calculators.  My favorite for computing is the HP 48GX (the buttons are in the 'right' place) but the screen is too dim for my now aging eyes so I use an HP Primer Graphing Calculator for a lot of my work.  I do have HP48GXs on both of my desks.

The HP Prime has a lot more features than the 48GX but I wrote an entire celestial navigation program for the 48GX.  I liked programming in RPL.

I like the lighted display of the HP Prime so even though it is neither a TI-84 nor a TI-89, I still recommend it.  But there is every good reason to follow along with the textbooks.

There is also the issue of CAS - Computer Algebra System - and whether a calculator with such a feature can be used for standardized exams like the SAT.  Some calculators have a button sequence that the proctor can push to disable the feature for the duration of the exam, others are just prohibited.  The TI Nspire is in this group, CAS can be disabled, it isn't trivial.  The TI-84 does not have CAS, the HP Prime does and it is easy to disable CAS for a defined period of time.  The HP48GX does not have CAS.

There is the secondary consideration that the SAT and similar standardized exams may be going out the window.


SiliconWizard:

--- Quote from: DiTBho on April 02, 2022, 10:45:37 am ---
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on April 01, 2022, 06:01:57 pm ---Designing "vintage" stuff is a hobby as any other. Why would it make no sense to design a 386-based board when many still design 6502-based ones @1 MHz?

--- End quote ---

6502 is of two order of magnitude simpler, and beauty to be programmed in assembly.
i386 is complex, its ISA is not elegant, and on the top of this, DOS is full of crappy BIOS function calls.

--- End quote ---

That's your view.
It's not that complex, and can do a lot of useful stuff.

DiTBho:
8080 and z80 are simple for me, 80286, 80386 and above are too complex for me.

I seriously started programming in assembly with m68k and MIPS-R3K, not with x86, and still today when I have to work with the x86-softcpu incorporated in my dosemu-hack I have to work much harder because there are too many things to care about with x86.

DiTBho:
@rstofer
I would buy the calculator * only * to program it in assembly :D

There is a nice project for TI84: a full OS written in z80 assembly, somehow able to replace the original firmware, but, between z80 and m68k, I would prefer the latter.

aneevuser:
I suspect that one reason for significant i386 nostalgia is the fact that it was the first Intel device to support paged virtual memory, which I guess lead directly to the development of Linux, and sad, nerdy people subsequently spending hours downloading SLS ...

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