ticalc.org Announces Web 2.0 Revolution for the Handheld Calculator
Posted by Jason Malinowski on 1 April 2009, 23:50 GMT

PRESS RELEASE: ticalc.org, the world's leading community site for Texas Instruments Graphing Calculators, announced today that it has revolutionized the graphing calculator world by bringing the latest Web 2.0 technologies right to student's calculators.

"No more should students be bored out of their minds in a math class," CEO Magnus Hagander declared in a press conference. "Now, they can network with their friends right from the comfort of their desk."

At the center of these innovations is a brand new JavaScript engine, called "V80", designed to run on a graphing calculator. Using the latest in dynamic optimization and metaprogramming techniques, the engine can intelligently convert JavaScript directly to Z80 assembly code better than any human being could. "We're proud of this new engine," Magnus said. "With it we can run JavaScript hundreds of times faster than any other browser on any computing platform." These patented technologies have already been licensed to Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter for inclusion into their servers for even faster browsing. ticalc.org is also working with Texas Instruments to port their existing operating systems to this new framework. "We expect that the calculators should run three million times than the older TI operating systems."

Leveraging this technology, ticalc.org opened the ticalc.org App Store which lets users download programs to their calculators for just 99 cents. The new social networking application, currently in beta, lets users share their latest TI-BASIC programs and favorite math equations with just a few button presses. Other calculator users in the same room can then comment on the programs, and further share them with their friends. An interesting, but controversial feature is the Exams section of the application, which let people post answers to the exam while they are taking it. "Teachers may not like it at first," explained Michael Vincent, Vice President of Teacher Relations at ticalc.org. "But once they realize that they can comment on people's shared answers, and also share videos and pictures explaining where their solutions went wrong, teachers will love the new technology as it lets them interact more directly with students while they are taking tests. By leveraging the synergy of students sharing ideas and involving teachers in the test-taking process, everyone comes out ahead."

But not all of the new technologies are fun and games. ticalc.org also released C3, which is the code-name for Calculator Compute Cloud. Students who now need to perform large computations in class no longer need to find a computer. Now, they can simply write TI-BASIC code, which will be distributed to thousands of calculators across the globe. "With C3, students and teachers can get work done faster than before," explained Joey Gannon, the designer of the new system. "This is proving especially popular among universities, who have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into old and outdated computing clusters. Now with C3, they just have to buy a few calculators and watch their computations fly." With C3, researchers have already found intelligent life through the SETI program, found a solution to world hunger, and computed the last digit of pi. "It's humbling to know your technology has had such a positive impact on the world," Joey said, wiping a tear from his eye.

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