Nspire Utility Mania!
Posted by Ryan on 29 November 2013, 19:44 GMT

We're really getting down to the wire here, with only a couple of days left in Nomination November. As such, we here at ticalc.org have much work to do and wholly inadequate time in which to complete it. With special thanks to Xavier "critor" Andreani and Lionel Debroux for spreading the word about Nomination November, and to all of you for your torrent of e-mails and feature suggestions, we have had an unbelievable influx of breath-taking programs hit our archives over the past few days. The main problem that we're having now is trying to keep up with all of the amazing uploads, but we're trying our best!

With that said, I would like to be up-front about what the next couple of days might look like, and this news post is a prime example of this. There simply isn't enough time and space to give each and every program the due credit that it deserves. If I had my druthers (that's right, I said "druthers"), each of the following programs would be getting its own well-deserved feature. For the sake of ensuring that programs make the 2013 POTY contest deadline, there will likely be a handful of lumped-together features such as this one. Each of the following programs demonstrates both highly skilled coding and a strong understanding of the TI-Nspire as a platform. Please join me in congratulating each of the authors for their unbelievably enterprising programs for the TI-Nspire.

• nLaunchy 2.3 - This is a major team effort on the part of many authors working together to keep the TI-Nspire as open and accessible to users as is possible. This is a cluster of programs and carefully constructed OS updates for the platform that allows users to install/launch arbitrary OS updates. In order to use nLaunchy, you really should make sure that you know what you're doing beforehand, as the procedures involved require some planning and knowledge of your calc.


• nRemote - A great program by authors Adrien "Adriweb" Bertrand and Levak, nRemote allows the user to control connected TI-Nspires remotely when connected to a computer. That is quite nice in and of itself, but it gets better. nRemote also allows for the recording and execution of macros, allowing for automated procedures to be executed on the calc. The authors suggest such applications as synchronizing calc states and predefining a demonstration routine, which both could have huge potential in education settings. Wonderful!

Pretty great stuff for the Nspire, right? Well, critor has been working like crazy to create some high-calibre tools to bolster the functionality and customizability of the platform. Let's have a look, shall we?

• Nover 3 - Want to underclock or overclock your Nspire? critor has you covered. As you should be aware, the cautions associated with these procedures should be carefully considered beforehand, as major consequences may results. If still decide to carry on at your own risk, I think that you're going to be rather impressed. Nover 3 allows for some frequency tweaking, but really shines in its automatic overclocking functionality. As mentioned before, pay close attention to the procedures and dangers associated with playing with the hardware's functioning.


• nsNandMgr and mySpire - These programs allow you to reflash/customize things in NAND and customize your TI-Nspire CX/CM boot graphics, respectively. These are solid tools for the hacker inside of all of us, especially those who are keen on tinkering with and customizing their calcs. You may grow tired of hearing the warnings, but make sure that you know what you're doing before using these tools.


• mViewer 4.1 - A polished image reader for .bmp, .png, and .jpg formats, this is a must-have for anyone who wants to have useful and useable pictures on their calcs. mViewer is quite feature-rich, including scrolling and zooming, and can even be run from any Nspire document. The potential for its use is quite great, and I look forward to seeing how people will choose to implement it for various purposes in the future.


• Finally, critor brings us SD2. We all know that our calcs can do some outstanding... well, calculations. However, there are some functions that, given certain contexts, that could use a boost or expansion in order to meet the user's need. SD2 is a fantastic piece of software for working on derivatives on your calc. This program is undoubtedly a "must have" for working in this area, providing step-by-step procedures and making itself comfortably at home right on your Nspire.

Well, there you have it! After writing this post, this news editor is going to try to sneak in a micronap before Nikky and Travis get back from the "motivational electronics" store!

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