Posted on 22 July 1998

The following text was written by Nick Davis:

One thing I've recently come to regard as a hindrance to the proliferation of TI calculator linkage (the ability to transfer files from calc to PC and from PC to calc) is the apparent Windows-centric attitude adopted by many developers, as well as the users themselves. Don't get me wrong, I realize that ~85% of all ticalc.org users run some form of windows, but there are many of us who use Linux as a primary OS. According to the general user survey in the Surveys section, Linux/Unix ranks third among the most widely used OSes. That being said, it is a bit presumptuous to think all TI calc users are of one breed, using the same OS and platform for TI calculator programs, utilities, etc.

I've been a member of the TI calc community for several years now, and an observation I've made is the community (vis-a-vis PC-calc programs) is mostly DOS or Windows oriented. While it was of little concern a few years ago, today that has changed, as more and more people are switching from windows (and other OSes) to Linux (and other free Unix-like OSes). It is not surprising most Windows users don't consider this an issue, for why use another OS when everything runs on windows? Well, there are those of us who've come to realize the importance and validity of an open source OS, as well as the sheer power and flexibility provided by a Unix operating system. Before this article becomes an OS debate, allow me present my primary argument: there should exist Linux ports of the TI-Graph Link software in addition to the win/mac versions from TI. Furthermore, the source can and should be released to foster development and the porting of the linking software to other platforms. I'm sure many of you in the TI calculator community would be interested in porting, or at least providing some assistance, the TI-Graph Link software to an unsupported platform. If the source was released, the software could also be expanded to include support for homemade parallel and serial cables, as well as enhanced with new features (screenshot capturing utility, a real-time calculator display on the PC, and other innovative concepts). I recently emailed TI with this idea. Here is the response (along with my original message):

Subject: Re: TI-Graph Link software
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 10:04:02 -0500
From: cpalomino@ti.com

Nick,

Thank you for your recent email. We appreciate your
support of our products. While we have no announced
plans to support these OS's, I will forward your comments
to our software development team for further review.

I regret to inform you that Texas Instruments does not
release information on the pin-outs, protocols, or API of
its calculator link products. This is proprietary information,
so I will not be able to release it to you.

If you have any further questions or comments please feel
free to contact us at your convenience. Please copy this
message in your response and send directly to ti-cares@ti.com
for faster service on replies.

Kind regards,

Christopher Palomino

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Texas Instruments
PO Box 650311 M/S 3962
Dallas, TX 75265 (972)917-8324 (Technical Help)
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www.ti.com/calc

========================= ORIGINAL MESSAGE ==========================
I have a request regarding the Graph Link
software. Would it be possible for TI to
release the source of the software? This
would be a tremendous benefit to the TI
calculator community, enabling further
platform support for the graph link
software, thus increasing the market for
potential customers. The primary reason I
personally would like to see this is I use
Linux as my primary OS, and as such, a
port of the graph link software doesn't
exist for my OS. If the source were
released, a competent programmer could
relatively easily port the software to
X11/Linux, or any OS, with a bit of
effort. In this manner, TI would not
*officially* support such ported software,
as it isn't an "in house" product or
service, but it would remain a very useful
alternative to those such as myself,
seeking a port of the graph link software
for their particular OS. The only other
solution, should source code release be
undesirable for some reason, is for TI
employed programmers to port the software
to the requested OS themselves. This is a
major undertaking in itself, for there
exist many OS/platform combinations, and
it would be cumbersome to provide support
for the new platforms, in addition to the
existing win/mac offerings. Open source
successes such as Linux, Perl, the Apache
webserver, and most recently Netscape
Communicator, have demonstrated the open
source development model, utilizing
potentially millions of software
developers around the world, is a valid
means of software development, in many
cases superior to proprietary methods.
Thus, I ask that you seriously consider
releasing the source code to the graph
link software, so ports can be made to
other OSes and platforms, for I would
venture to say many TI calculator
customers use an altenative OS. Thank you
for your time and consideration regarding
this matter.

(Sorry for the length of the message, I tried to cut as much as possible.)

Apparently it is the "official policy" of Texas Instruments to contain the source of their products, in this case the TI-Graph Link software. While it appears we've reached a barrier, I believe we can influence this decision, and ultimately revoke it. I propose the maintainers of ticalc.org create a new survey entitled "Should TI release the source of their TI-Graph Link software?" We can prove there is adequate demand (and therefore valid reason) to release the source if many of you vote. C'mon, people...show your support for this significant issue and vote yes. In this manner, everyone would benefit by having more extensive platform support, as well as an improved transfer utility.