Omnimaga
Omnimaga => News => Topic started by: critor on January 08, 2012, 09:24:30 am
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Who would have believed that the TI-Nspire ViewScreen panel was so interesting...
In a previous news (http://ourl.ca/13000/243117), I was telling you that like the TI-Nspire LabStation Cradle, the TI-Nspire ViewScreen panel was a real TI-Nspire calculator.
When powered on, it was showing an Nspire starting screen, and by pressing one of both keys while booting we could trigger the Boot2 or Diags flashing screens:
(http://tiplanet.org/forum/gallery/image.php?mode=medium&album_id=45&image_id=363)
Today, I've opened the ViewScreen and it doesn't contain an Nspire board... but an Nspire CAS+ board!!!
Yes, TI-Nspire ViewScreen panels are finally modified TI-Nspire CAS+ calculators.
There is no dock connector, but I managed to find the right contacts for RS232:
(http://tiplanet.org/forum/gallery/image.php?mode=medium&album_id=45&image_id=369)
The bootlog mentions a 1.0.439 Boot1:
Boot Loader Stage 1 (1.0.439)
Build: 2006/6/30, 5:44:11
Copyright (c) 2006 Texas Instruments Incorporated
Last boot progress: 34812
ViewScreen Adapter
System clock: 78 MHZ
SDRAM memory test: Pass
Clearing SDRAM...Done.
Clearing SDRAM...Done.
Clearing SDRAM...Done.
Checking for NAND: NAND Flash ID: ST Micro NAND256W3A
Loading DIAGS software...
Error reading/validating DIAGS image
Loading BOOT2 software...
100%
BOOT1: loading complete (328 ticks), launching image.
So in every TI-Nspire ViewScreen panel, you have an allmost unused 32MB Flash ROM. It's so unfair! We need Ndless for the TI-Nspire CAS+!
Want more details about my experience? more photos? bigger photos?
Everything is available from the TI-Planet news:
http://tiplanet.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8650
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wow
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Nice.
I assume this mean it was developed before they switched to an ASIC core, and they never changed it.
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Pretty Cool. And It's a CAS+! :o
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:D
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Why is it a full nspire instead of a dumb lcd like other viewscreens?
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yeah, that's what i ask myself too.. why can't they just make an interface with usb, and just display that data on it, so you only need a dataconverter, and not a whole calc .. ???
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They somehow have to make it expensive.
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does the simular panels for other calculators also contian a calculator witouth keyboard?
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does the simular panels for other calculators also contian a calculator witouth keyboard?
No.
It's only Nspire devices which have to be Nspire calculators :P
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Nice! Another great find critor! :)
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Though it makes some sense when it comes to development speed and ease of testing. When the hardware and software were simpler there was less to debug and fewer things to go wrong, here with much more complex display hardware and wanting to support more complex configurations using tested hardware that already has all the requirements for their needs most likely saved development costs and time. They already had hardware that worked and could power that display and by using simpler links they don't need the hackish things they did so that you could connect any NSpire up to the display where with previous calcs you had to connect the teacher viewscreen models up or use the crazy hack of a device that was the USB Viewscreen adapter.
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Wow INSANE find! Though I must say it seems much harder to use than a normal CAS+... Not enough keys XD!
But who would've known to check a Viewscreen Panel?
TI...you sneeky cheeks