David Boozer, the guy who started the TI-85 programming frenzy in 1994 with his paper "Hacking the TI-85" has had his own multitasking OS along with several other goodies for his calculator for years now, and has not released it because other technical documents and people who used the data he discovered disclosed in the paper failed to cite him.

testing posting

I've been hearing alot about putting the Mac OS or a Unix onto a 68k TI calculator. There is a project to get linux ported to 68k processors without a MMU. The link is somewhere on www.linux.org. They have gotten it to boot on a palmpilot with some kind or memory expansion card or something, but I don't belive it's useable.

Well... personally, I think this would be really, really cool due to the "Mt. Everest Factor." BUT: There's a major problem (well, maybe not so major if you know more about hardware than me... I'm a CS guy, that's software ya know) with it: It won't work without the actual Apple ROMs. Most of the important bits of the MacOS are actually stored in ROM, not on disk. Well, not anymore, but that was certainly true of System 1.1, which is probably all you could run on the calc, anyway. What kind of solutions to this problem can anyone come up with?

You are correct, the Mac OS does not function without the ROM Toolbox (or is it Toolkit?). The major cool stuff from the OS is in the ROM's (except in the iMac which stores the "ROM" on the hard disk). The ability to make windows, buttons, and menus requires the ROM sub-routines. The Apple ROM's take up more memory than is available on the TI-89, so without an external storage system the Mac OS couldn't be mimicked. It would be very difficult to write any sort of GUI (in the sense that we think of it in desktop computers' OS's like Windows, or Mac OS). The disk space required for having all those (moveable) objects on a screen is just too much. And then you come to the mouse/trackball/touchpad problem. The directional keypad on the TI calcs are not made in a way that would let them act like a conventional mouse. The directional keypad was designed to make incremental (as opposed to fluid like in mice/trackballs) motion. It would take forever to navigate in a GUI. I am convinced that the GUI is impractical and useless for the TI calcs (unless you make one for show). I'm all for a Micro-Controller Linux-type OS, but networking a TI-calc in a normal manner would be very difficult in a mobile environment. The TI calcs could however be networked by docking with a host computer (like the graphlink). I probably wrote too much, sorry.

The 128k mac had a 64k rom. Not all of this capacity was used. The 68k TIs have graphics routines in rom (not flashrom) so the absence of the toolbox is not even an issue.

I think there would be a major problem with putting dos or linux on the 89: it doesn't have a keyboard. Sure it's got the alpha key, but who do you know that can actually type with any amount of respectable speed on their calculator? It might work on a 92, but even the qwerty kb on that is a little small.

I just bought the ti-keyboard... it cost me $23 on ebay (+$4 for shipping).... ripped off or not I like it... not many ways to use it, but already programing and in-class note-taking is a lot easier.. any OS development should keep this device in mind. I know GUIs suck... but could a mouse be made to work with the 89?... are there any other ports on the 92/voyage 200 that might make expanded memory or other devices easier?

It seems that we have here, on two opposite sides, a proposal for two equally ludicrous OSes. On one hand, you have an incredibly slow, impossible to navigate GUI that is modeled after (Heaven Forbid!) the MacOS, an on the other hand you have the quick, speedy, but incredibly hard to figure out Linux "Box". From my experience with Linux, it is a great operating system (the best, actually), however the amount of typing needed to operate a BASH prompt is almost unthinkable using only the ALPHA key. A new OS should be made to take advantage of the portable, many-keyed, small-storaged device that the 89/92 is. I could see something like OS-85 on steroids.
There's also the issue of buying a $200 calclator with symbolic manipulation only to replace that with a buggy mega-zshell. I would be willing to play with some experimental OSes, but I would see it as more feasable if TI's OS was hacked to death to allow better game support. Which is what this all boils down to: we want our calcs to become more like Game Boys. Which is all fine and dandy if you want to take Mr. TI on a road trip and need something to do (perhaps include zTetris and other favorites IN the OS so it doesn't take user memory?!), but I don't see anyone making something that I would be comfortable using during a math test.

.end

I think that's a very good point. Why re-invent the wheel. TI did a good job on the OS that comes with the 89. What's so great about it (besides symbolic manipulatioin)? It is a healthy mix of the two extremes which have been posted on this message board (GUI vs CMD LINE). Since the 89 doesn't have a mouse, a full-fledged GUI is out of the question -- it would just make the calc harder to navigate, not easier. A command prompt interface is also out of the question for the 89 since the alpha-key style of typing doesn't lend itself to speed. I think that all we need is to develop a high-quality shell. That way, you can add onto the features of the 89 without removing some of the great stuff that came originally with the calc.

w00t!

Using Linux on a TI calc would only be useful on a TI92 because of the fact that the amount of typing involved in using a CLI is unreasonable without a QWERTY keyboard, The only way that one could use a CLI based OS on one of the traditional form calculators would be very much like the "DOS" available for the PalmPilot hand helds, through the usage of an _external_ keyboard (cheap 16" AT keyboards could even be used,) the external keyboard could be attached with little special circutry to the link port and a simple driver written (there are several programs to directly interface with a AT keyboards, some of which can be found at Tomi Endigal's website.) This may seem ludicrus to some, but a CLI would be possible on the traditional form graphing calculators with an external keyboard.


Footnote: there is a Linux port for the 92 in progress, if the guy ever figures out how to use Tiger (the TI92/89 emulator for linux and MacOS) and downloads the M68k w/o MMU project's existing patches to the linux kernel, right now he is just taunting all us calc users with his ideas.

I think that it is high time someone created a TI-89 emulator. Does anyone know of one that exists? Also, if anyone knows of a list of Motorola 68000 opcodes; I would like to know. The opcodes would prove useful in creating an emulator. It is much easier and quicker to write ASM code when it can be tested without sending it to the calc via the Graph Link first.

anyone ever think of making some hardware for the ti's a little motha' board looking thing that can have ports (one connecting to the calc of course) for a keyboard/mouse, speakers, ram extensions or the like... with the extra hardware and software to use it. this would of course be practically useless but hey, if mt. everest is there why not clime it twice?

YES i was very insterested in building a serial interface box. I didn't know if the serial port was fast enough, but i wanted to creat one box unit which would hook up parralel to a keyboard, speakers, infraread, mabey a mouse, and also maby a printer. I think with the proper programing and hardwear THIS COULD BE DONE!
email me if any ones got some ideals@!
erichaskett@hotmail.com

with the current pc 104(lizzy) a small computer with periferals could certanly be hooked up, but i don't know if the netwoking software exists. not to mention the issue of actually connecting it. i think that the flash rom unit would be a better choice for speed and function. the cost may be a drawback as well. Very interesting though.

btw has any one ported linux to the TI89 and or 92? i know that the software exists for macs and amigas but i havent found anything for the ti. if any one has the know-how to do this please reply.

i want a flash rom for the ti89

Where can I find flashable functions for my TI 89 and for my TI 92+ ?

Well, On Ti.com/calc, there the update of the "Advanced Math Software" (1.01 now)... And that's all actually !!
But, You can use Asm progs anyway, even if they aren't in flashRom !