Omnimaga
Calculator Community => OTcalc => Discontinued => Major Community Projects => [OTcalc] Z80-Hardware => Topic started by: alberthrocks on August 19, 2010, 01:28:40 am
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As the title says: Do you want an ABCDE keyboard on the calc (somewhere, likely bottom), or just a regular Alpha lock?
Consider how your daily usage may be affected, selling point, familiarity, and rules and regulations for tests.
Happy voting! :)
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I chose Alpha-Lock, because ABCDE means too many keys, and possibly smaller keys.
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/\dittoes
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Agreed. Fewer keys is better. On the other hand, we should consider how we'll type letters. We can either have it like TI (numbers by default, press and release a key to set alpha mode), have it switched so it's letters by default, we can have it so it's more like shift and caps lock than just a one-key caps lock. (Hold the alpha button and press a key rather than press and release the alpha button then press a key)
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I think that calcdude's idea is great. Then, the calculator needs to recognize two keypresses (not much of a problem).
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I prefer Alpha lock based on what program1 said above. Fewer keys mean less intimidation for mainstream students who don't use their calcs as much. :P
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hmm...what about 3 modes? ALPHA alpha Math, and just have a slider switch. That way, no one style is default. If the programming is non-tokenized, there will be very little need for anything but text and numbers, with the occasional switch to the math pad for an advanced function.
Something like this, I'm thinking
|A|B|C|D|E|
|F|G|H|I|J|
|K|1|2|3|L|
|M|4|5|6|N|
|O|7|8|9|P|
|Q|R|0|S|T|
|U|V|W|X|Y|
|Z|_|"|Etc. for however many keys
Probably not that layout exactly, but you get the idea. Then, the math set has all the stuff like Sin( Cos( Tan( Log( and maybe some variables. We should probably also have one row of keys along the top, bottom or side for graphing, Tables, Notes, that kind of thing.
It might also be a good idea to have a toggle between with a button, so you can easily type variables.
Grr, 7*5 is one off :P
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I chose Alpha-Lock, because ABCDE means too many keys, and possibly smaller keys.
Agreed. That's what I didn't like about the Nspire (besides all the messy start-ups, locked-down features, lack of commands, wasted graphics, lockable OSes, etc.).
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Alpha Lock. Means less keys.
But maybe instead of 2nd Alpha for A-Lock, just hit the Alpha key twice.
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I'd rather just keep it in ALPHA lock after pressing Alpha once. It'd be easier to work with except with mixed variable names, but then we could just keep away from mixing letters and numbers. We wouldn't need a password of any kind, would we?
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But then typing one letter would involve three key presses as opposed to just two.
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What MRide said. Something like TI or Casio seems like a better idea to me. It takes a bit to get used to at first since on the computer you're used to an actual letter keyboard but once you did you're usually set. Another idea could be holding down ALPHA to type letters, but I think this may become annoying if you want to type with both hands like I do when holding my calc.
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Maybe an Alpha Lock to a qwerty keyboard?
What's the orientation of the calc going to be, like the TI calcs, or like a wide screen on top and a keyboard on bottom?
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Maybe an Alpha Lock to a qwerty keyboard?
What's the orientation of the calc going to be, like the TI calcs, or like a wide screen on top and a keyboard on bottom?
Yeah, but testers don't like QWERTY, remember.
Having it vertical like TI would probably be a good idea, since we'd be able to reach all the keys easier.
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Oh yea, that retarded no-qwerty thing...
We just need to have a private hack to enable qwerty. `-`
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We could always use azerty or dvorak ;)
I remember hearing about a keyboard where the keys were all small led screens, so you can have any layout you'd want.
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Multiple keyboards would probably be a bad idea on a calculator :D
Alpha-locked ABCDE should be fine. Isn't it what the 89(T) uses?
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No Qwerty/Azerty. I doN't want the calc to be banned. Is Dvorak banned too? It could be an option if it isn't, but maybe they'll eventually ban it too. Also, people would need to learn one more keyboard layout besides their computer and calculator. :/
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Have we decided on how many keys in a row yet? If not, five seems fine, or six if we have to. More and it'll be hard to type fast :P
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5 or 6 seems fine for me
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Agreed. The calcs we have now are already bulky at five keys across. more would make it difficult to carry around.
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Agreed at 5 or 6. 6 isn't bad, and more make it too wide, and less than 5 too tall x.x
For those who care, HP's line of calcs have 6 keys across, and they aren't too bulky.
Just my opinion :)