General > General Technical Chat
What calculator do you use ?
ftransform:
:o ti89 of course. I cannot imagine using anything other then a Ti89. They are truly a modern marvel.
Units? Check
Calculus made easy? Check
programs that deal with just about anything? check. Doing DSP stuff on a calculator is pretty cool.
Granted such things are not really necessary unless you are a student because there are computer programs and web apps that can out perform it. Having a calculus/algebra/differential equations/dsp/boolean logic portable device is undeniably neat... though I think the end of calculators is coming because of tablets which can perform all the functions with higher resolution/less cryptic programs.
I think the main problem with programmable calculators is the long learning curve, especially for user made programs. You have to read text files and remember commands, how to format stuff.. it would be much easier with a touchscreen gui.
Then again a calculator has the benefit of lasting a long time, being durable, having nice buttons. I would still prefer a ti89 tablet though. Though I suppose you might as well just run mathematica or maple on the tablet.
slateraptor:
--- Quote from: ftransform on April 23, 2012, 07:28:19 am ---though I think the end of calculators is coming because of tablets which can perform all the functions with higher resolution/less cryptic programs.
--- End quote ---
One thing that all these tablets have in common is touch interface...which necessarily means that they all inherently lack one critical factor of the user experience: unique tactile feedback. As Johnny Lee has pointed out, we often neglect the probability of failure and its associated cost on the user experience when considering new glamorous technologies that popular consumer banter would suggest as a replacement for "the old way". Consider the damage caused by "iphone autocorrect". Now replace relatively harmless text messaging with calculating numbers; most people don't crunch numbers for a quick "lol".
P.S. I don't what it is about this presentation, but it never seems to get old.
Erwin Ried:
I use my 50g :) and feel very weird using a non rpn one (have a 48 and 49g+ too, 49g+ of course is broken... due the bad quality of this series)
I really like how the new TI looks (the one with color screen and li-on battery) and almost I buy one, hehe but I will keep my loyalty to hp ..... for now
ftransform:
I could understand the need for tactile feedback when you are crunching numbers doing accounting but running more complicated programs tends to be annoying... especially typing letters.
slateraptor:
--- Quote from: ftransform on April 23, 2012, 09:19:09 am ---I could understand the need for tactile feedback when you are crunching numbers doing accounting but running more complicated programs tends to be annoying... especially typing letters.
--- End quote ---
As previously mentioned, one argument for why querty keypads are not as prevalent in calculators (as opposed to cell phones) is its reclassification from "calculator" to "computer". From a design perspective, firmware and a well thought out overlay would solve the typing letters problem, but the consequential impact on the majority target market (students and what tools are considered acceptable) would be adversely affected thanks to the established rules of play.
You'd have to clarify your definition of "complicated programs"; there's a very large gray area that encompasses what a device can do and what it ought to be used for. It goes without saying that with any design, a balanced compromise must be decided upon, and from a user perspective, I'm of the opinion that tactile feedback holds significantly greater weight than what popular consumer products have demoted it to...no doubt driven by the vogue of marketing forces. After all, a user may have to deal with "complicated programs" every once in a while, but interfacing is an any-time-the-device-is-picked-up affair.
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