I agree with a lot of people. But it is true that the calculators do need what they have. In fact they could easily put 2 or 4 megs of ram in the calculators with better chips rather than what they currently have. The speed is also necessary. I have a TI-92 and even with what it does have, a simple equation, well maybe not simple, from the book took two and a half minutes just to solve, and about 3 or 4 minutes to graph (in 3d). Ti also does not make their calcs for games, otherwise they would have some type of gameboy sold seperately. Besides, it would take me 5 mins to graph and print a complex deferential equation on my calculator, where as it would probably take me 5 hours to do it with paper and pencil. For a simple sin f(x), it takes at least 5 plots where as it takes 5 seconds on the calc. Which would you rather have, games or not?

"Do you need 98 kilobytes of RAM to solve linear equations? Probably not. Texas Instruments is only aiding the gamer by adding these features."

I like programing my calculator and usually spend more time editing programs than I do running them. I have a TI-83 and a TI-89, and I got the 89 because the 83 didn't have enough memory for me. I do play games on it, because it lets me show off my TI-89 off to other people I know who only have a TI-83, who otherwise wouldn't see that my TI-29 is better. But the ONLY thing that they EVER use their calculator for is games, basic math, and more games. I only sometimes play games on mine, because even though they are neat, it IS just a calculator. If I really want to play a game, I use a computer or a system that was actually meant for it. Texas Instruments is not adding features to promote gaming. They are adding it because they now have the technology to add them, and they aren't the only company that makes calculators, either. They want competitive products, not out date ones, and memory is just a storage space, and the more of it you have, the better. There are a ton of things that having more memory offers that has absolutely NOTHING to do with games. For me, I can keep a second copy of all of my programs in case I mess one up while I'm editing it, which you can't do if you only have enough memory for one copy.

"If games on calculators lose their usability they will die off. There will be no programmers popping up with the aspiration to become great if there is no need for calculator based games."

I only know TI-basic, but I know that even if EVERY teacher wanted to reset my calculator, I would still write programs for it, because it is fun, and I don't think that people would stop making asm programs either. Because of the ability to link and share programs, if every teacher reset every calculater they saw, it still would take only one person that still had a copy of it (or one person with a Graph Link cable) to spread it all around again. The games would never actually "die off". I don't know about how other people feel about this, but I know that just as if someone re-formated my computer's hard drive, I would get VERY mad if anyone EVER reset my calculater. I don't think that it's funny to loose data...

"There are many students who get perfectly decent grades and deserve to goof off in class a little. But there are many students who are struggling and games only serve as an added distraction."

"Students need to realize that there is a time to play and a time not to play."

True, but there are also many people who just don't care, and if it wasn't a game, then it would just be something else. (daydreaming, talking...)

I sometimes do play calculator games, but never in the middle of class. Others do, and I think its almost funny how addicted people can get to some of them. They have had it a whole year and that is the ONLY thing they can use their *calculator* for: games (at my school)

"...and for this reason, many teachers look down upon the Texas Instruments graphing calculators, seeing them as frequent toys and seldom academic tools."

Texas Instruments isn't the only company that makes calculators capable of having games on them.

More teachers are aware of games on calculators, while others will remain ignorant. If you want to pay attention, do it, let someone else play your calculator during the hour. If you are one of those, "I have such a good memory, never need to study, knows how to do the homework, gets good grades people." Then go for playing games on your calculator, if the challenge is not in class, let it be Tetris or Super Mario Brothers. TI I believe is being very careful about not supporting games outright, if they supported it, they would have professional programmers under their wing earing money, although there are so many programmers who earn fame on a game. I think it's important to recognize which teachers are anal about calculator use, and which teachers have no clue, just be more careful and nothing bad will happen, hopefully. Some teachers will learn how to earase, others will not, it really dosen't matter, the schools market of calcs is flooded within a week, I started the wave in my school, with a graph link, the 200 new 83's were not safe from games. I have noticed kids doing worse after having calcs, they can be too distracting if not careful, I should know, my grades slipped when I first got my calc because I played Tetris all day, other people can survive just fine doing that, I had to cut back. This year only a few of my teachers don't know about games on calcs, I guess it's because you look like you are playing Game Boy, not doing math. Oh well, life will go on, people need to realize what they can and can't do for themselves, no one is to blame, teachers, TI, or students, it just happens, just like everything else, calcs will not be banned until it gets much worse. Whew, I'm winded. Never stop making great games, it turns out calcs into afordable Palm Pilots, almost.

I am currently a freshman in high school and I know about alculator games. This is becuase when my brother went to high school he bought a graph-link cable and now that I'm in high school and have my own TI and I'm the only person in class that has a graph-link I provided games to a few people and now every one that has a TI has games on it. I don't generally play games in class because at my school most teachers will take the caculator away on your first offence, but those other people think they can get away with playing games in study hall and such. It's totally noticable that they are playing games because there is nothing on their desk and they are sitting there staring at the TI screen pressing buttons then when they are caught they try to make up some excuse. Even though I provided the games to everyone I still think playing games in class in inappropriate, but if you dont pay attention in class then you'll fail the final and so much for college.

Hmm. Back when I was in high school, only the coolest fucks had zshell (ie, me and my friends). That's because we made a point of giving it out to _no_one_ ... but with good reason: lackeys with zshell would blow it for us once they got caught playing ztetris in class (even back then, 85s were required at this school). Eventually, someone we wouldn't give it to went out and bought a graph link, forcing us to wage an all out war against them. Since I was the only one at school who knew asm (I learned it as soon as I found zshell), I started writing viruses (ok, actually just no-way out progs that disguised themselves as games) that my friends and I distributed at unsuspecting moments. In fact, I even went so far as to edit game source codes so that it would switch to one of these virus progs after the fifth time it was run and bad copies would get infinitely distributed (no offense to the programmers). This was at the end of my senior year though, so by now I'm sure the school has gone to utter hell :-)

Look at page 10 :(

I personally prefer to use the calc for math more than games. I've written 2 Basic games myself, and I play them only when:
a) There's a substitute teacher and nothing to do
b) During my free time

I never play Penguin or Nibbles during class, but I use the math program that I wrote. It's "a" math program, but it has more than 40 math applets to help me in Algebra, Geometry, Trig, Analysis... It has also helped to get 790 in SAT Math2c.

People should have the following concepts about calcs:
1) TI Calcs are there to help your math. Use it more on math than games.
2) TI-Basic is easy to learn and write, and could be very powerful with good algorithms. Don't jump to ASM when unnecessary.
3) If you really want portable gaming, get a GB.

You should release your program on ticalc.org, because someone needs to make a program for use specifically during the SATs.

I am a 2nd year college student, and when I was in school I was into assembly alot, but during my first year here at good ol RPI I put the calculator away to concentrate on classes, did it help, no, I still suck at Calculus (only cause they don't allow calcs), and chemistry.
Now in my second year I use my calc all the time, and use my Expandef SF in class, and screw the professor. They don't care anyway.
I was in an exam the other day, and EVERYONE had a calculator, TI or HP. The thing is, no one cares about how much you know about assembly, or hardware when you go on to higher education, because eryone has already seen it! They are all the pioneers, grouped together! WHat fun is that?
-Patrick

I Believe That The Teachers Are Right! I Have A TI-86, The Only One In School. And I Have A Graph-Link, The Only One In School. I Am The Only One With Games In My School. I Refuse To Give Them To AnyOne Else! I Don't Think That Your Petty, Human Minds Are Capable Of Making decisions That A Class Is Boring, Or That You Just Want To Play Games. I Say The Teachers Take The Calculators Away To Be Given Back ONLY At The End Of The Year. No Warnings, No Bull ----. Just GONE! You People Disapoint Me, Teacher To Blame?? NO WAY! It's All The Students. It's Their Choice, And Something They're too Young To Make... I Don't Give Out Games To Protect These Freaks From Themselves. I Also Say That If A Calculator Is Seen Not In A Math Class, It Should Be Taken Away. So Screw You All!! You Need To Act On Logic, If You're Going To Play Games At School And not Pay Attention To The Teacher, Then Why Go To School?? Don't Waste The Government's Money!! And If You HAVE To Go To School, Then HAH! You're Screwed! It Doesn't Bother Me That All Of You Game-Playing Freaks Will Be Working Under My Authority Some Day. Either That Or You'll Have A Job With Your Name On Your Shirt. For All Of You That Want To Counter Me: "I May Have Many Faults, But Being Wrong Ain't One Of Them" -Jimmy Hoffa

damn...that Capitalizing Every Single Damn Word is hella annoying.

I totaly agree with you. Where do you learn to type like that?

A calculator is not the only way for a "bored" student to entertain themselves. It is just more fun for some people than the other alternatives. I see plenty of people who are pretending to take notes in math class who instead draw pictures or write notes or even write out programs (I've done that myself several times). Some people read books in class. I've seen people actually bring Game Boys (which are similiar to TI calcs in many aspects) and hide them behind their backpacks. And you will always have the people who sleep, though sleeping isn't usually as discrete as playing a game of Sqrxz.

A teacher cannot hold every students attention, no matter how good they are or what the subject is. Every student is different. Some people are smarter than others. Some people like science, some like math, some like English, some like history. A few are super smart, taking calculus as a freshman, while others are struggling with pre-algebra their senior year. Some are lazy and won't pay attention no matter what. Others are hard working and will pay attention even if they are completely bored. There is no possible way for a teacher to deal with such a wide range of students.

In some classes, a student can afford to play games. In other classes, they cannot. For example, I am taking Accounting I my senior year. While some students, of which some are sophomores, struggle to add a few columns of numbers, I can play a game of Galaxian and still keep a high grade. In Physics II AP, I never play games. If I don't pay attention, I will flunk the tests. But the guy who sits next to me plays Phoenix all hour and scores higher than me on every test. I don't play games. He does. He scores better than me. Does this mean that I _should_ play games? Of course not. Everyone is different. If I was stupid enough to play games in Physics II AP and flunked, then it would be my own fault. Not TI's, not the teacher's (IMHO, my physics teacher is the best teacher at my school, and even he _seems_ boring sometimes), not the programmer's.

I can also see this from the programmers point of view. I bought my first calculator, an 82, a week before my sophomore year started. By the time school had started, I had already written a large game in basic. What does this mean? It means I spent part of summer vacation home programming on my calculator. People program because they like it.

I learned assembly last year because I wanted to. I write games and programs for fun. I enjoy programming. Sure, there is a little motivation to look "cool" because you wrote a neat game (several of my games from 2 years ago are still floating around my school on 82's and 83's...even I don't have copies of them). But if I didn't enjoy programming in asm, I wouldn't spend several hours each night doing it. I bought an 86 with the main goal of learning assembly for it. I see know how much better it is than an 82, but if it wasn't for assembly (that I could program, _not_ play games on) support, I probably wouldn't have bought it.

Programming in assembly is hard. You must know alot about how the calculator works, along with knowing many other programming concepts. It takes many months of experience to even begin to get good enough to write a good game (for most people...Andrea Ess, you don't count!).

People will still write games, even if no one is allowed to play them. I program for me, not for others. There's a huge feeling of accomplishment whenever you see your game running on a little graphing calculator. Programming on the PC just can't top that feeling (at least for me). It's a fun hobby, and other people benefit (depends on what side you're on) from it.

Well, this topic is already beat to death, but here goes some more. I'm one of those who got A's in math and science without even trying. I started writing games for myself in basic before I even got internet access. Then I got a graph Link and found ticalc.org, and now ZTetris gets a lot of play on my calc.
Here's a sampling of things that have happened:
In high school physics, I was lab partner with a total dumb @$$ and we sat next to each other in lecture. I played games on my 85, and he played games on my 85. So really, it is both the smart kids and the dumb kids who play games. The only reason nobody else had good games was they had 82s instead of 85s so I couldn't give them ZShell.
In college physics, the professor doesn't care, I sit in the front row and play Tetris. He teases me for it, but he doesn't stop me.
In my experience, calculators are cleared so you can't smuggle cheat sheets into a test on them, not because they have games on them.
My high school French teacher wouldn't even let calculators in his sight. Think about it though, the best place to play games is in math and science classes where you would have your calculator anyway. If you have your calc out in English, what else would you be doing other than playing games? Also, be subtle about it and sit in the back row if you are playing games in case the teacher cares.

I am in 7th grade and I know a kid who could be getting an A or B in Math, but he plays on his calculator so much that he can't even add without a calculator. He constantly gets spoken to about the problem but he doesn't listen and so he gets a D in math.

There seems to be a miscommunication here. When I said that a good teacher captivates his or her audience, I didn't mean that he or she entertains that audience. To captivate, a teacher must share with the students the love of learning. Only when students understand and feel such a passion for the mind will they be drawn into study.

Parties, movies, and such, are not effective ways of carrying out this task. A wise, patient, and caring teacher needs no such help in reaching out to the students and holding their attention. Only bad teachers rely on these diversions to boost their approval ratings.

Teachers are entrusted with the greatest natural resource humanity has to provide: the fresh, intelligent, creative, enthusiastic, and potent brains of our young. Ought we leave these vital responsibilities in the hands of the incompetent? If a teacher cannot give his or her students a reason to learn and also contributes to the students' bitterness about education, that teacher should be severely reprimanded.

A teacher can have an incredible influence on a child's life. One never forgets a good teacher. Unfortunately, none forget their worst teachers, either.

I disagree with you totaly!!! People at my school do not play games. I introduced assembly to the school last year and a few people put it on there calculators. I have never seen anyone playing them in school other than in study hall and during free times.

well, here's my 2 cents:
i think my school is completely backwards
all they have is 82s and stuff, and now
that we're in 10th grade, it's 83s. i think
they expect us to buy a new calculator every year.
i have an 86, so i dont have to worry :)
well, anyway...
almost none of the teachers in my school give a
shit. i play a lot on my calc in Math class
but since my Chem class is really hard, i rarely
play it but i use the sci programs during labs,
lectures, AND tests (my teacher doesn't care about
the periodic table and such). i sit in the
front row in both english and history...
and in both, i usually just come to class, sit
down, take out my TI86, and start playing
tetris, vertigo, or orzunoid. if my teachers
see or care, i dont give a damn, since I take
10 minutes of every lecture to answer every question my teacher asks. that gives me the class participation points. And as long as i do well on tests and homework, i get an A. none of my teachers have ever reset my calc, or even inquired as to what i'm using it for (except my cool latin teacher, she doesn't like us playing games :)

It's me again. Go to the appology page to read my other comment (I was kidding about the burning thing -- It's a quote from Simpsons; never ming)

The person that wrote that article is a moron and REALLY NEEDS TO GET A LIFE!!!!!

To the author: I think you're a dooty head.
(hehehe -- I said "dooty")

I know this is off topic but I don't know where else to put this. Is there a program for the TI-86 that can factor like the TI-89 or TI-92? Onw of my friends has a TI-92 and al he has to do is put in the factor program and then type x2-7x+28 and it'll give him the answer in this form: (x- )(x- ). He can type anything he wants and it'll give him the answer. If anyone has a program like this please e-mail me. Thanks

In my classes, I do not see the need for a graphing calculator at all. In fact, when it comes to actual calculations, I much prefer my sharp scientific calculator. If it weren't for the fact that the ti calcs have asm programming and games, I may not have been so enthusiastic to get one. A casio for half the price probably would have been sufficient.
I think the person that wrote this article is wrong about the calculators. I do spend time in many classes playing my calculator, but I have never had a prob with it. If a student is too stupid to know when to put up the calculator and listen to the teacher, that is their problem, not ti's, and not the writer of the article's. I have some teachers who wipe mem if they find students playing with calcs in class. Again, this is the student's fault, not ti's or the programmer.
Therefore, I believe that games on calculators are fine,and just like anything else, as long as they are not abused there is nothing wrong with them.
I don't know about you, but I wouldn't spend $100 for the calculator that all it did was graph.