Omnimaga
Calculator Community => Casio Calculators => Topic started by: [email protected] on October 24, 2012, 10:15:01 pm
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I want a custom calculator that has all the features (including a GPU, ARM7 processor, possibly 3D display (like HTC Evo 3D), WiFi (yes, SATs don't restrict Wifi!), SD card slot, camera, Android or Ubuntu compatible ... maybe OCR problem-solving?) possible except these by default (requirements for SAT, I'm surprised how easy it is to have an acceptable calculator :evillaugh: :thumbsup:):
Calculators with QWERTY (typewriter-like) keypads (just switch the W and the Q to make it a WQERTY keyboard to make it easy to type but allowed at the same time)
Calculators that contain electronic dictionaries (doesn't mean disable potential for dictionary, user's responsibility)
Calculators with paper tape or printers (Allow network printing could work though)
Calculators that "talk" or make noise (headphone jack ok/slot to put internal speaker in)
Calculators that require an electrical outlet (Meaning it needs battery lasting for at least 48 hrs strait with display and simple math, underclock when not using android OS)
Cell phone calculators (as long as it's not a cell phone, it's fine)
Pocket organizers or personal digital assistants (As long as it's labeled as a calculator, it's ok)
Hand-held minicomputers, PowerBooks, or laptop computers (As long as it's labeled as a calculator, it's ok)
Electronic writing pads or pen-input and stylus-driven devices (the Sharp 9600-EL can be used without the stylus) (finger touchscreen is ok)
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There's been attempts at this in the past. UberGraphX (http://ourl.ca/8915) as an example.
However, many fail to see the light of day due to lack of time, loss of interest, or in UberGraphX's case, monetary/marketing issues.
Wishing for an epic calculator is fine, but starting a topic just saying "I want this" is not really going to get anyone devoted to starting a project.
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So how can I encourage such a project, or will I have to build it myself?
It might be fun to create, maybe I'll give it a shot!
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Yeah sadly it seems that those projects are too ambitious for anyone to venture into it long term. hence why they die. Also there are often concerns about competing head on with the monopoly that is TI and getting the calc accepted in schools (Some people tried to promote the PRIZM in their classes in vain).
If you try such project, good luck. It requires good planning and stuff.
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You would have to probably start the project yourself, and make something to show. Perhaps a proof-of-concept of some sorts. Generally if you can convince people that your project isn't going to die or fail, people will become interested and some will help.
But ultimately, you would have to start building it yourself and bring in other people who could help.
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The big problem is how do I get the parts to create such a project (it can't just be a case on top of a cell phone or it'll defeat the purpose, I want a completely DIY calculator)
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Actually it's generally better that the project doesn't get officially announced until it's close to completion or at the very least almost fully functional. Otherwise it creates a lot of false hope and hype if it fails. Asking for advice and help is a good idea, though.
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I am announcing it because I need advice to start this project.
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If you studied in electronics and/or engineering, it will help a lot. You have to decide which parts to get (display, keyboard, peripherals, etc.), of course no QWERTY so it's allowed at the SAT (they will accept it if you're switching 2 letters? You're better ordering them alphabetically to maximise th chances.), then how to assemble them correctly, then how to assemble a lot of them. Good luck :P
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Well, I don't think I'll go into mass production unless there is enough demand that I can't build them all by hand. Unfortunately, my school doesn't offer that so I'll have to do outside research, I think it could work out though.
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If you want a calculator for the SAT you really don't need all of that. The math portion of the test is pretty easy and can be done with a scientific calculator if you wanted. If you want a calculator with a CAS then get the Nspire CX CAS or the TI-89 Titanium. TI dominates the calculator market and it will be hard to get teachers to accept a new calculator since they are so hooked on to their TI-84's.
It would be nice to have something like this but it's hard for old teachers to accept new tech. :-\
There are also other keyboard layouts other than QWERTY that you can use instead of just switching two letters if you want.
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My teachers allow a calc as long as it works on SATs so teachers accepting it won't be much of a problem. Also, I want to play Dead Trigger in my spare time, I'm in 10th grade leaving plenty of time to develop to play during classes. I just need some sort of reference on how to build a custom android device and I can take it from there.
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yeah but creating such a calc just so you can have some advantage on SAT? SAT maths are easier than pre-calc final exam. The idea might be great, but I think the motive is wrong.
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It could also help with that pre-calc exam you're talking about to get an advantage on that as well.
It would also work well on researching stuff on the internet in classes I'm not allowed to use a phone in, it could even help in World Geo, or use a full Office Suite in English, or do physics simulations in Bio, run special calculators for Math like web slope and y int calcs.
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Tests really aren't about getting an advantage, they're more for showing what you know and can produce on your own. Actually, one could argue that if you possess the knowhow to create such a calculator, you really wouldn't need it for those tests.
(Also, the tests are easy) :P
You know, I never took my SAT's :'(
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Tests really aren't about getting an advantage, they're more for showing what you know and can produce on your own. Actually, one could argue that if you possess the knowhow to create such a calculator, you really wouldn't need it for those tests.
(Also, the tests are easy) :P
You know, I never took my SAT's :'(
Why not, and why is it so sad?
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I just need some sort of reference on how to build a custom android device and I can take it from there.
Not trying to discourage you but it isn't as easy as you think. If you want android check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/ (http://forum.xda-developers.com/). You can read those forums and you might learn a bit about the software side of android. They don't seem to like noobs very much though. Try soft modding roms for a phone or something. I'm also pretty sure that there is an android project for the Raspberry Pi. You can learn a lot from actually starting a project and finishing it.
Tests really aren't about getting an advantage, they're more for showing what you know and can produce on your own. Actually, one could argue that if you possess the knowhow to create such a calculator, you really wouldn't need it for those tests.
(Also, the tests are easy) :P
You know, I never took my SAT's :'(
Did you just take the ACT instead?
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Oh yeah! I just remembered about Raspberry Pi. Maybe I can put that in a calc case and make the keyboard work, connect it to LCD, and I get it working!
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Good luck. :)
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I kept forgetting to sign up. I did very well on my PSAT's and I always wanted to know how well I would do on the SAT itself :P
At any rate, the SAT's are something that's best done without trying to cheat. It's much better in the end, when you show you can produce valid results without assistance. :P (Also, higher level math courses will kick your ass if you don't know the content) >.<
Did you just take the ACT instead?
Nope, I have some slight memory issues and I could never remember to sign up for either. Instead I'm going to community college and the grades I make here will, in essence, overwrite everything I did in High School from an Academic standpoint. It's a good thing because I'm doing very well in college, yet got horrible grades in high school :P
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It's not cheating if you follow the rules, and the rules are very easy for math section.
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I won't start an argument on this. Though if people see the main motivation for a project is to cheat then many will not be inclined to assist or support the project.
At the very least if you are serious about this and you manage to see the project through there will need to be a PTT mode or something of the like. A calc with wifi, for example, can be viewed as a communication device, like a smartphone and thus be unallowed.
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First, I believe that the rules for the calculators are more of guidelines of what a logical person looking for a calculator should bring. I do not this that it is meant to find loopholes.
What I imagine, would happen is that you would go to the SAT, they would see your strange looking calculator, and they would either take it up, or more likely they would take a picture of your calculator, send it to a higher up administrator (and the people in the room would hate you for delaying the test) , and the higher up administrator would likely say that it was illegal. (That’s what happened when someone wore a t shirt with a periodic table to the AP Chemistry test)
Also, the SAT doesn’t need that good of a calculator. Also, if you make a new calculator, you would have to program all of the software.
Also, it is already very easy to cheat with a calculator, at least with my TI 83 and Ti Nspire, but I despise even the smallest cheating, so I deleted my Periodic Table before taking the chemistry test. (What I think would be nice would be if Omnimaga, and maybe TI Planet too, made it a rule to never, if any one finds ways, never post directions or files to cheat or disable Press to Test mode)
But, on the note of new calculators and ideas, I think an accelerometer, camera, and side buttons (like the iphone) would be awesome on a calculator
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(What I think would be nice would be if Omnimaga, and maybe TI Planet too, made it a rule to never, if any one finds ways, never post directions or files to cheat or disable Press to Test mode)
I think Omnimaga did something like that with PTT-killer.
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Also, if you make a new calculator, you would have to program all of the software.
That would be one of your biggest problems when making the calculator, it would take very much work to make it as good as a normal Casio or TI.
And yeah, Omnimaga deleted two programs to disable PTT and maybe also the posts saying how it worked.
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I think Omnimaga did something like that with PTT-killer.
Oh, that’s good.
That would be one of your biggest problems when making the calculator, it would take very much work to make it as good as a normal Casio or TI.
Also, if you did program a new calculator, and there are things I would like to change if I could, I don’t think you could program anything much more than BASIC can do.
And C can a lot too
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Adding to that, SAT math really doesn't need a calculator. Calculator is only OPTIONAL in SAT math. Heck, I didn't even see the distance formula questions in there.
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maybe a ipad + one app like this: ?
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(What I think would be nice would be if Omnimaga, and maybe TI Planet too, made it a rule to never, if any one finds ways, never post directions or files to cheat or disable Press to Test mode)
That's what has been done on Omni for over a year already. I don't know for TI-Planet.
But yeah a new calc should not be made so that we can cheat on tests easily and it should have anti-cheating protections that can't be bypassed easily. Otherwise there's no chance it will be allowed in tests. Even some TI calcs are banned from certain tests
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I agree with many of the people who said that if the primary purpose of the calculator is to gain an advantage on tests then I would not support it. I believe a open, powerful, reasonably priced calculator could go very well and I would gladly write software to help it out. I believe that if you can not do the math from an average high school course(BC calculus and less) then you are not going to do well in any higher math.
I love some of your ideas for the calculator but dislike your reasoning. Get some designs/prototypes and people may be willing to help.
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Alright, I want to start on the project, but I need to get a kick-start fund NOT FROM DONATIONS. My reason for this is because someone could scam others using this scheme, so I'm using the leaf-blower to earn some cash to do this.
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http://www.kickstarter.com/
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http://www.kickstarter.com/
If you can create a good pitch and decent reward tiers, kickstarter is an excellent site to raise funds.
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Hey, I think this would be the coolest calculator
Have a camera, apps, better BASIC programming, and touchscreen, as well as a stylus support. Touchscreen would have some other commands, like swiping goes to the next page, two or more fingers going to the middle is the same as control up to go to page sorter.
You can take a picture of a parabola, then find a graph that fits it best, or take data with the vernier software, then use the stylus and a ruler to plot the best fit line.
I think that would be awesome, but of course I don’t know how to do any of that.
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Wouldn't that be called a smartphone with a math engine ? :D
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Wouldn't that be called a smartphone with a math engine ? :D
Nope. A smartcalc :P
You can take a picture of a parabola, then find a graph that fits it best.
Now I imagine the question at the exam: "find the equation of this parabola" :P
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http://www.kickstarter.com/
KickStarter is generally for 70%+ projects. In fact, rules forbid you from posting a project that is not "solid" yet - only pictures of prototypes are allowed, not mockups or renderings. You will not get a single supporter until you have a working product that just needs polishing. If you really need money, I suggest Indiegogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/) for raising money.
A few comments about this project:
1) Cheating
I'm not going to try to be nice here - cheating on the SAT (or attempting to) is stupid. Really, really, stupid. You're gaining an unfair advantage against me and others who have taken the SAT fairly. If you got a higher score than me from cheating, I or some other person might not get into my/his/her favorite college. Furthermore, cheating makes no sense. If you don't know it, you don't know it. Once you get into college, if you've cheated, you will almost immediately fail high level classes.
As for making a calculator, do you really think CollegeBoard/ACT is stupid? They manually approve calculators each year, and I don't think they will smile when they see that you've tried to sneak in a QWERTY keyboard. Or any of your "clever" ideas to work around their regulations.
Trust me, cheating is NOT worth it. If your only goal is to make a calculator to cheat with, I don't even want to see you in the SAT testing site. Colleges have ZERO tolerance for cheating in any way, shape, or form. If you cheat, and you're lucky, you can get a hand slap. Most of the time, it results in expulsion.
If you're building a calculator for FOSS(+HW) reasons, I'm very happy to support this project. With enough time and inspiration, you can probably build a better calc than I (OTCalc) or any others have tried. But DON'T build it for cheating. Not worth it.
2) Android
You're just begging for the SAT guys to ban your calculator, eh? :P Android is a smartphone OS - it does not belong inside a calculator. It needs a touchscreen for it to be really useful, and touchscreens are almost certainly banned by testing organizations. Furthermore, Android isn't exactly a platform for that kind of development. You shouldn't be sending email, be on Facebook, etc. using your calculator (or at least, not in such an obvious way).
My suggestion: go with just simple ol' Linux. The Angstrom Distro (http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/) is a very nice platform to start with. If you want fancy animated effects, SDL (or Clutter) can be installed and used. GUI? Qt or GTK. CAS engine? Too many to count. You have an infinite range of options, but definitely start with something simple.
3) Feasibility
What are you prototyping on? What's your target hardware? (CPU? RAM?) What's your target price? Who's your target audience? Those are very big questions that I haven't heard you answer yet. Hardware always comes before software. If you don't develop the hardware, the only places the software will run on are your computer, or your development board.
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Insert Quote
Wouldn't that be called a smartphone with a math engine ?
I would be very willing to by a smartphone or moreover a tablet if it was completely math oriented.
If there was a tablet that opened up with these apps, and had quite a few other things, then I would love it. But currently, the math apps that I have seen (for the ipod touch at least) aren’t very good, cost, and you have to exit out of the app one just to find the app with the other part of the question.
Also, sometimes buttons are pretty nice, as aposed to entirely touch screen.
Cheating
I googled, and apparently cheating on an SAT doesn’t do much more than cancel your scores, but if you cheat in school, you will get a zero on the test and disciplinary punishment. If you cheat in college, you get expelled, and probably won’t be able to get into much more than a community college, and the fact that you cheated might show up on your resume forever.
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If you're building a calculator for FOSS(+HW) reasons, I'm very happy to support this project. With enough time and inspiration, you can probably build a better calc than I (OTCalc) or any others have tried. But DON'T build it for cheating. Not worth it.
What happened to OTCalc?
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Cheating
I googled, and apparently cheating on an SAT doesn’t do much more than cancel your scores, but if you cheat in school, you will get a zero on the test and disciplinary punishment. If you cheat in college, you get expelled, and probably won’t be able to get into much more than a community college, and the fact that you cheated might show up on your resume forever.
It's very likely that colleges will see that cheating and reject you, so it's still pretty bad.
If you're building a calculator for FOSS(+HW) reasons, I'm very happy to support this project. With enough time and inspiration, you can probably build a better calc than I (OTCalc) or any others have tried. But DON'T build it for cheating. Not worth it.
What happened to OTCalc?
Lack of time and skills led me to finally close development of OTCalc. It was great while it lasted, though. Right now, I'm taking an electronics course so that if I ever conjure up motivation for OTCalc, I'd have the skills to make it. :)
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I'm sooo sorry I haven't gotten a prototype yet, I'm just not making enough money. I really want to start working on this. Unfortunately indiegogo requires a minimum goal of $500 and I only need about $100 to get the project started and I don't think $500 will be reached and also, I don't want to rip anyone off. If you think that the $500 goal is fine, I'll consider it.
PS. About kickstarter, it requires a minimum age of 18 and I'm still 15 so I'm immediately disqualified from that one. Luckily, indiegogo has no minimum age.
Reply to Rhombicuboctahedron: Sorry, but stylus is not allowed on SATs. I'll probably include a touchscreen, but if you want a pen, you'll need to get it separately (Touchscreens are allowed, styluses are not)
PSS: Do you know where I can find a calculator keyboard that connects to raspberry pi? I'm also thinking of locking down the OS due to popular demand. You will still be able to bypass it by finding the Easter-egg (or flashing a new ROM of course) but at stock, it'll contain plenty of math apps, and will be able to install apks through file explorer (because all current calcs can install apps so there's no bad in having this feature) , but I will lock wifi and hide it somewhere to prevent the use of facebook and stuff. (There very likely will be root as well)