Omnimaga
Calculator Community => Other Calculators => Topic started by: DJ Omnimaga on June 08, 2010, 05:47:09 pm
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Critor on TI-BANK, who is a teacher, like the site admin, Mic, talks about the decline of 68k calculator in schools:
http://tibank.forumactif.com/actualites-f25/la-ti-nspire-bat-les-ti-68k-t5636.htm#89278
Basically instead of opting for 68K calcs, students now opts for Nspire calcs.
Mic also mentions that the amount of Nspire users on his site has recently exceeded the amount of 68k users.
On ticalc.org there are also fewer and fewer 68K programs being released it seems. I still remember the days where the POTY 68k poll was split in two categories, because there were too many entries. Now there are fewer programs than the z80 category
I wonder if the release of Ndless 2.0 and the marketting of the Nspire Touchpad will eventually phase out 68K calculators?
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That would be too bad. Well, I'm trying to (slowly) learn 68k BASIC so I can actually do stuff with my TI-89, but I can kinda see why they are becoming less popular, especially since the TI-nSpire is even more powerful and has finally been cracked. Still I don't think they'll completely die (TI-81 anyone?) but they probably won't be as popular.
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I hope when Ndless 2.0 comes out that Calc84maniac releases his 89 emu so we can continue using 89 programs or that people can still continue 68K programming. My guess is that people find the Nspire calcs more attracting now and the reason why the 83+ serie is still popular anyway is because the Nspire regular edition has a 84+SE emu built-in and has a lot more programs.
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Also, a lot a people also have TI-83+ or TI-84+ (not the nSpire keyboard). And they are easy to program platforms, hence the massive library of programs for them.
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It's hard to say really, but this seems to be what TI is pushing. In my area, I see TI 89s in stores, but I don't recall if I've ever even see a V200 in a store. Of course, to get similar functionality, to the TI 89/ v200 wouldn't they need the CAS version? From what I've seen, the non CAS model is much more popular right now.
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I don't think the 68k calcs are completly dead. I see TI-89s in many stores where I live, but I have never once seen a TI-Nspire CAS in a store. Also, my school purchased new TI-89s for to be used in precalc and Calculus classes (they used to have 83s). Also, although a TI-89 or TI-83/84 emulator would increase the demand for a Nspire among programmers, I do not think that this would cause a major downfall of the 68k series. At my school, I am the only person who even has an idea on how to program (I amaze people with a qradratic formula program ;D), and I can never see these people figuring out how to send/use an emulator on the Nspire).
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Ti-89's are gone from Walmart here. Still see them at Staples though.
The 89's never were popular with schools. Most of them thought it was too powerful. That and ACT/SAT banning them. College's liked them though, but HP is pretty entrenched there. Teachers want Nspires because there under the impression they can't be programmed, and if the school itself owns them, their pretty much right unless you can sneak one out and put ndless on it.
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I think 68k were more popular in France. If you noticed in your later years in the TI community, a lot of the 68K programmers speak french. It was probably due to the different needs there in school. At one point, about 90% of the french people who owned TI graphing calcs owned a 68k model. Later, more z80 users started arriving, and now the 68k seems slowly being replaced with the Nspire, or at least the people are opting for a Nspire instead of a 68k.
I am not sure about America, though. I just noticed a decline in 68k software releases, even thought the z80 scene seems to be slowly picking up again since the past two years (there are even TI-81 programs getting featured)
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Depends of the countries. But it is pretty sure 68k owners will keep a low number. It will phased out to Nspires in most schools.
calcmaniac84 emulator will keep stuff made for the TI-89 used, which is very positive. Shall he emulate al the 68k calculators eventually?
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Well he certainly could, I wouldn't imagine it would be much of a change from one to another. =)
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It would be nice. Sadly it won't be at 100% original speed, though. On his 89 emu he can't get full speed at all, unlike the GB emulator (you have to remember the 68k calcs ranges between 10 and 15 MHz (or 16?) depending of the model, though.
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It would be nice. Sadly it won't be at 100% original speed, though. On his 89 emu he can't get full speed at all, unlike the GB emulator (you have to remember the 68k calcs ranges between 10 and 15 MHz (or 16?) depending of the model, though.
Couldn't the NSpire's 150mhz easily be used to make the speed the same? :)
I don't think the 68k calcs are completly dead. I see TI-89s in many stores where I live, but I have never once seen a TI-Nspire CAS in a store.
Same here. I guess it's just a location thing. :)
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Emulation is more difficult than you think, especially when it comes to achieving good speed.
Unfortunately, where I live, I cannot find an 89 in stores, seeing mainly Nspires. (and not the ones w/a CAS, either)
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Ztrumpet I think Calc84 emu already runs the Nspire in 150 MHz.
As I said I don't think 68K will die, but I think there will be some years where POTY entries will win by default and the Nspire scene will eventually become more active.
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Ztrumpet I think Calc84 emu already runs the Nspire in 150 MHz.
Oh, ok. Wow, that's pretty wild. I guess it shows how different they are. :)
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My teacher has an 89 with sticky Coke keys, and a friend of mine has an 86. I have never seen an Nspire or V200! The rest of the calcs i've seen are all 83/84.
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I don't know anyone with another 68k calculator... then again, I don't know anyone with an Nspire either- everyone I know has an 83+/84+.
Although, the 68k would seem to have one advantage over the Nspire for programmers- TI isn't actively fighting assembly support for it. I imagine when Ndless ends up supporting Nspire 2.0, TI will release another version with some of the exploits fixed, and so on... whereas, there hasn't been a new 68k OS (or hardware version) for a while now.
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Yeah true, it seems like TI wanted to allow ASM dev on those lower models including the 83+ but for newer ones, changed their mentality :(