SERIOUSLY!?
what if you just reformat the entire damn flash memory!?

That's not possible from within the Nspire OS, unless another exploit is found. That would (presumably) fix it, though.

The "format" option available in the maintenance menu doesn't remove the downgrade-protection installed by the 2.1 OS.

Either it is not a true formatting, either the protection is not in the Flash...

what if you blank out everything including the firmware?

What if you just don't install the OS? :/ That might work.

i dont own a TI N-spire lol...
i just can't quite grasp the concept of how it can't be removed if the change is software based... :\

You know what I want?

I want a new Ti-89 OS. That calc is long due for an update. Recently the 84+ got one, and the nSpire always gets 'em.

Why not upgrade the 89?

Yeah, they only focus on their latest/most popular calculators. So much for their claim of never having to buy a new calculator back when they introduced flash. :-)

I contacted TI about this after the new 84+ OS was released. Their response: We only make OS updates when users ask for new features to be added to the software. I could think of many things that could be added to the OS. Sadly, I think this is their excuse that means "We don't care about 68k calculators anymore. Buy a TI-Nspire CAS."

See, the thing is, I absolutely hate the looks of the Nspires. They look like they were designed for a two-year-old that can do math. I don't want to go to calculus looking like I just got out of a stroller.

Personally, I would have bought an Nspire CAS instead of an 89 if I didn't appreciate the more professional look of the 89.

I think I'm going to send TI an email requesting features. (RPN, anyone?) I'd like some more suggestions, too.

Maybe I should research before I post...

It's the non-CAS Nspire whose looks bug me. Blue? Come on. The grey-black CAS version is better than I thought.
Seriously, though, they're still too bulky looking.

Or the 83+, that hasn't been upgraded for forever...

Yes i do agree, I really liked my 89 titanium! I'm sure TI can improve its official functions.

I wonder if what TI did is legal? Shouldn't we be allowed to do whatever we want with what we paid money for?

Well, surely they have some sort of ToS bundled with the NSpire, or link to such a document on their website, that makes it clear what you can do with your NSpire. You can't just assume that you can do whatever you want with what you paid money for. It's why software is explicitly made free and open. It's why iPhones can be jailbroken.

I don't know of any law in the US that disallows them from blocking downgrades, but if someone found a way to circumvent the anti-downgrade measures and TI tried to fight back like they did with the signing keys, then I figure that they may or may not be in trouble again, depending on the circumstances and the DMCA.

TI CAN'T DO THIS! THIS IS ROBBING US FROM OUR RIGHT OF FREEDOM! I think TI is scared because ndless is doing so well. They just can't have it that we like another OS than theirs.

(Sadly, I upgraded it to 2.1 because it kinda crashet and had to be completely formatted, and I didn't have an older OS.)

Sadly, I think this is legal for TI to do. If you have the clickpad Nspire, you can still downgrade to OS 1.6 or higher. If/When Ndless 2.0 is released, you will at least be able to use it on 1.7 or 2.0. Look around the internet for OS 1.7. It is still on TIs website as of this posting.

Why is TI so against development and innovation on their calculator? Pretty much everyone is going nuts trying to get app stores out, while TI sticks their head in the sand. They're even worse than Apple. At least Apple approves some apps on their products. TI expects you to be happy enough with a closed platform. They even sued when someone tried to open an old calculator that no one uses anymore. If I were another calculator manufacturing company, I would see this as an opportunity to move in and create an open calculator that would dominate over TI's outdated philosophy of locking up their products.

As several people (notably Brandon Wilson) pointed out during the key-signing controversy, TI gets a huge brand recognition bonus from the fact that their calculators are approved for standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, SSAT, and GREs. If they were to be less careful about creating a standardized environment across their calculators, chances are that the ETS would be less interested in approving their calculators, and they'd lose a nice source of practically mandatory revenue.

Since 12 hours ago, you can remove the downgrade protection thanks to the Nleash tool by ExtendeD.
(link above)