Survey posted 2003-04-06 23:50 by Henrik.

Contribute ideas to surveys by sending a mail to survey@ticalc.org.

I think they should come up with a new name for these "things" other than calculators. Like PDMA (Personal Digital Mathematical Assistant).

But then Palm Pilots would take over the calculators. We should use their ideas without them taking over (hehe).

Ya know what we really need?

A GBA cartridge slot that can hide inside the calc to block from the teacher's view so we can play color games that run at the same speed in class!!

freaky...playing MarioKart or Golden Sun at school without your teacher realizing that you have a GBA...now that's insane!

I voted for SD/CF slot. Several reasons:

* If you have a color screen, you would need more memory (at least a bit, let's not argue about that here too).
* Built-in memory is OK, but if it wears out (FLASH), then the calc is a paperweight. Also, with SD/CF, you can change what you have in the calc by swapping cards.
* Digital Camera: You would *definately* need more memory for this...
* DSP & Sound: Again, more memory, and that is what Game Boys / MP3 Players are made for.
* Mobile Phone: This would need sound output, and can you imagine holding a calc next to your head like that?
* Touch Screen: This would have to be my #2 choice... It would KICK ASS!

Also, if it had CF, you could put a HUGE IBM Microdrive in it... Can you say a few GIGABYTES of storage? (Of course, you could have bought a computer for the amount you spent on the Microdrive :p ). And there are other accessories for CF.

340MB microdrive.. $100 online. About the same as an 85 or 86.. I don't know how much for the 1 gig.

But even a cheap 16MB card would be huge for a calc.

120 GB 5400 RPM IDE hard drive: $122 online, no shipping necessary.

Yeah, I would really like to see a TI powering a hard drive that's about as big as the calc itself. Still that drives the point home: it is possible to get too carried away with capacity.

The sarcasm seems to have lost itself in print..

The power comes over separate lines (not the data lines) and besides, the use 12V (the calc only uses 6V)... So you *could* hook it up to, say, the power connecter in a computer or external batteries, but... A calc couldn't drive the harddrive... Too complex...

And read my post below.

But IDE doesn't work for CF... It's the 40-pin connector in computers..........

CompactFlash uses the same IDE interface as computers...just a different form factor.

Really?

What??? I was only talking about a deal I saw. Totally unrelated to the whole connecting-to-calculator topic.

Thats about the typical price for HDDs, between 1 and 1.25 dollars per GB.

At Office Max in my town, a 120 GB drive is $189.99 + tax.

rip off. Don't buy stuff from consummer based companies. Just go to a store that is for comps, like a wholesaler or what ever. Try Outpost.com, its like Radio Shack but Much bigger (stores are the size of club marts) and is a nerds or techies candy shop.

Oh.

1 GB USB drive, 1 inch long, millimeters wide and thick, that would be good for the calc. ($899 USD)

I've seen them for less than half that price.

I love reading old articles. A 1GB USB drive is about $100 in 2005 (maybe less).

My memory is fine but I would kill for a colour screen. I need it for what I do. If I had colour capabilities, I could further understand what i have here http:// www24.brinkster.com/ onemoreloser/ poly (remove the spaces) or at the above link. It would give me an idea of how the values change over distance, and the significance of the random swirls. Pics soon from the 92+.