This sounds great!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What really matters is what calc it will be for, and if it requires and software on the calc........

Won't the ti keyboard pose a threat to use of Ti's on college tests?

No, they just won't allow keyboards for the calcs or something. I dunno.

Has anyone thougt about connecting an Ericsson Chatboard to a TI-89 (through some sophisticated homemade device)?
The Chatboard is light-weight and can be bought rather cheap (I bought mine for ~$1.5).

A keyboard that is cool, but how does it fit our calculator. Is it an add-on? Plus how much does it cost.

Duhh!
How could it not be an addon?
It will cost...However much is necisarry!
w00t!

I have a TI-92+, which, of course, has a built in keyboard. To me, portability is not an issue, because I have a backpack (textbooks are WAY bigger than any reasonable calculators). The main problem I've found is that one is not allowed to used qwerty-keyboard calculators in many standardized tests. Having a detachable keyboard would with a TI-89 would really help, and make the TI-89 virtually indistinguishable from the 92+, save resolution.
I think it would be great if TI made calculators with Dvorak or FITALY keyboard layouts (perhaps even built in), but that will probably never happen.

TI's intention never was to make a word processing machine. A keyboard is nice for taking notes, programming, and other stuff. If you want to type dissertations and essays, get a laptop.

From what I know about the 83 line it is impossible to type programs: you must get commands from menus and the calc keeps a tokenized version and a text version for display. Typing of text does not result in a token being added to the tokenized version.

But maybe ti will port the tokenizing code of the 86 into a flash app. So then it would be possible to type basic programs.

I doubt that TI's going to do that. That would take some of the incentive out of buying an 86. A keyboard would still be useful for programs where you displayed a lot of text. I wonder if the 83 Plus drivers for the keyboard will support lowercase. The little add-in that comes with with MirageOS is a PITA to use.

Lowercase isn't an add-on. It's just setting a system flag:

#include "ti83plus.inc"

.db $BB,$6D
set lwrCaseActive,(iy+appLwrCaseFlag)
ret
.end
===============================
To disable it, the code is:

#include "ti83plus.inc"

.db $BB,$6D
res lwrCaseActive,(iy+appLwrCaseFlag)
ret
.end
===============================
Now I wonder. Why didn't TI automatically have lowercase enabled on the 83+?

Maybe because lowercase tokens take up 2 bytes...

Oh, I did not know that. w00t!

Or maybe because TI is lazy?
w00t!

this is the solution, ti is lazy

I'm talking about the setting in MirageOS that says "Enable Lowercase". This integrates the lower and uppercase letters on the alpha button. Press the button once to get uppercase; press again to get lowercase. The only problem is that it never does what I want it to. Maybe that's just me. sp00n!

I know. But it's just a system flag. Not extra Mirage tokens. w00t!

Mmm, pita!!! mmm

Do you know what the first two letters of pita are? That's right, pi! Mmm, pi...

PS. I eat my pi with a sp00n!

Is pi f00d!? I eat f00d! with a f0rk! w00t! b00b!

Where did f0rk! come from? If it was f00rk!, maybe, but f0rk!? That's just wrong.

what the f0rk?!?!

what, you mean that TI actually believes that there is a reason to buy something so inferior and so last decade as a TI-86!!!!!! </TI-directed flame></sarcasm>

good point. I use the QWERTY app for notes, though...on the other hand, that CAN be a PITA. Umm...Why couldn't they have a series of buttons or hotkeys or *something* to allow you to access the programming commands on the keyboard?

or at least something like diamond-down (on the 89/92/92+/Voyage 200) to go the end of a program, rather than scrolling all the way.

Try doing this:

[F5]
EndPrgm
[ENTER]

That should take you to the end of the program.

On the 83+, you can turn on Alpha Lock to scroll faster.

Here's a little undocumented feature:
hit [2nd] and then the left/right arrow key. The cursor will go to the beginning/end of the current line.

You can also hit alpha, then up or down, and go to the top or bottom of the screen.

No alpha on the 92/92+

I know, but one of my programs (School v1.5) is over 10k. It takes forever (even using the alpha thing) to get to the bottom!

I know... But it still is a great frickin game. w00t!

I'd like to have a 92+-like calculator, but with a Dvorak keyboard--most standardized tests only prohibit QWERTY keyboards.

Your average proctor won't know the difference. Besides, it's best not to test the water. The restriction of QWERTY keyboards is to make it harder to share answers via calculator (especially if you have an IR link). Since it's equally easy to type on a Dvorak keyboard, they're probably going to kick you out for having one of those too.