A92: TIOS: Can't live with it. Can't live without it?
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A92: TIOS: Can't live with it. Can't live without it?
To all TI-92 users:
>From what I've seen on this list, we have all wished at some time that we
could get rid of the TIOS. With a full 128K of workable memory, we could
make very high-quality games. (Oh, come on! You know what you really do
with your calculator! :) However, the TIOS "system" takes almost half of
the available memory. We tolerate this bulky system since it does all of
the mathematical/calculator things already.
Could we live without the TIOS? Perhaps.
Removing the TIOS would mean removing all mathematical support. However,
new support could be written. Only we could choose exactly what programs
we want. The geometry program, while functional, runs too slowly for one
to find it useful. Consider the memory saved when no one really wants it
on their calculator. So the question really becomes, "Are we better than
TI?" Or better yet, "Can we make a better TIOS?"
Can we? Probably not.
I have seen some very amazing programs written for the TI92. Considering
the tight resources, fast-action games are still possible. If teamed up,
I'm sure we could design a much better operating system. However, TI has
spent a lot of time perfecting the "mathematical" OS. We may scoff at TI
as the programs are not efficient, but they are accurate. And if I'm not
mistaken, the geometry program was written by a different company. So it
becomes a very difficult task to rebuild all that TI has already put into
the ROM.
So can we REALLY live without the TIOS?
I leave this question for you to answer. A new operating system would be
helpful for designing better programs/games. However it would definitely
hurt the calculator's user if they really depend on the built-in support.
Before we take this too far, let us take a survey. If enough people feel
they do not need the TIOS, perhaps we should consider starting a group to
develop a new system. Make sure you know that existing features could be
rewritten for the new OS, but they may not be as good as the original.
Please send me (not the list) a reply to this survey. At the end of this
week, I will post the results to the list. If you have comments/ideas on
this, only post on the list if you feel EVERYONE needs to hear them.
====
Aaron Hill (Redmond, Wash.)
Electronic Mail: serac@lightmail.com
IRC Nickname: serac (on EF-Net)
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