NumWorks – An open source Graphing Calculator
numworks.com
numworks.com
It’s a nice little device but it falls a bit short in one key area: it lacks a CAS (Computer Algebra System) for symbolic calculations.
That functionality was available in an earlier release of the software (Epsilon) but it was at best rather rudimentary.
I’ve flashed Omega (a fork of Epsilon that preserves the rudimentary symbolic capabilities of earlier Epsilon) which also allows running third-party apps (including Xcas). You can check it out here: https://getomega.dev
I’m a strong believer in calculators and I understand the restriction on CAS systems in order to facilitate assessment in exam environments, but almost all calculators (including NumWorks) have Exam Mode settings anyway so… I don’t really see why not. It’s a critically important tool.
CAS is the cherry on the cake, which you can enable by flashing another version of the OS. And as you probably know, it's not harder than upgrading the OS, so I'd say it's a pretty decent compromise.
But realistically, adult human beings who still want a graphing calculator want either a CAS and/or RPN.
It's ridiculous that buying a vintage HP-48GX is still the best way to get solid RPN on a calculator. The software environment was incredible.
You can accept the worse keyboard of the HP-50G for the increased speed and memory, sure, but there was a product category, it was almost perfect, and Carly Fiorina killed it. We have chips with 100,000 times the capabilities and yet we can't get a calculator with solid software and decent keyswitches at any price.
It is a good calculator, but the Python part (that was supposed to be a strong asset) is not that well managed. I just tried a few things on my son's calculator but gave up. i was expecting some kind of live interface between the REPL or an editor and the calculator but it really looks like an Arduino that you have to update with code all the time.
The NonCommercial part makes it incompatible with the Open Source Definition:
> 6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
> The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
Ditto the Debian Free Software Guidelines:
https://people.debian.org/~bap/dfsg-faq.html
> Q: Can I say "You must not charge [much] money for distributing the program"?
> A: This is non-free. We want Debian to be distributed by for-profit CD vendors and improved by corporate resellers. We can only include programs whose authors allow this.
> For many users buying Debian on disks is more convenient (and cheaper) than downloading. For-profit distribution is the most reliable and convenient way to ensure that Debian disks are easily available everywhere where there is a demand. Because everyone can download the CD images and start producing their own disks, competition ensures that nobody will make an undeserved fortune distributing Debian.
> Q: Can I say "You must not use the program for commercial purposes"?
> A: This is non-free. We want businesses to be able to use Debian for their computing needs. A business should be able to use any program in Debian without checking its license.
It also goes against the Creative Commons people's guidance on the matter:
https://creativecommons.org/faq/#can-i-apply-a-creative-comm...
> Can I apply a Creative Commons license to software?
> We recommend against using Creative Commons licenses for software. Instead, we strongly encourage you to use one of the very good software licenses which are already available. We recommend considering licenses listed as free by the Free Software Foundation and listed as “open source” by the Open Source Initiative.
Personally I am happy that a company that cares about source accessibility is making decent calculators, and slightly amused that Debian and the OSI seem to find that worse than copyleft.
The primary point is that this is neither Open Source nor Free Software, by OSI and FSF definitions of these terms, which are the generally accepted ones.
When a claim of "open source" is wrongly made in the interest of marketing, the expectation should be for this misrepresentation to be called for.
They really aren’t. These are colloquial terms, not trademarks.
> When a claim of "open source" is wrongly made in the interest of marketing, the expectation should be for this misrepresentation to be called for.
It’s not a misrepresentation. “Open source” is a generic term. Pretending it has a legal meaning is just not a reflection of reality.
They are terms with strong definitions that are well accepted in the community, including the industry.
>It’s not a misrepresentation. “Open source” is a generic term.
It isn't. See above.
>Pretending it has a legal meaning is just not a reflection of reality.
Nobody said a thing (yet) about legal meaning.
However, there are licenses (legal territory) which are Open Source, and there are licenses (such as the ones used by NumWorks) which are not. And, to top it off, they are not Open Hardware either.
And I'd suggest great care on avoiding the misuse of "Open Source", as the OSI might invoke their right to protect their trademarks[0].
On the other hand, nobody has a monopoly on the “open source” concept, or even on putting the “open” qualifier in front of things. Broadly speaking, source code ranges from completely closed to completely open, and it is difficult to argue that code under a CC licence is not more open than, say, Windows’. Or indeed the usual calculator operating systems.
It is like the free software flame wars all over again, this time with the OSI in place of the FSF.
> Epsilon is a high-performance graphing calculator operating system.
> It includes eight apps that cover the high school mathematics curriculum.
https://www.numworks.com/resources/engineering/software/
https://github.com/numworks/epsilon
Looks like this single codebase is used to build for the calculator device, and all targets for the simulator: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and the web.
> NumWorks Epsilon is released under a CC BY-NC-SA License.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode
BTW, I have an N0100 too. I completely agree there's something pleasing about the immediacy of a calculator.
https://www.numworks.com/calculator/exams/
> Can I use the NumWorks calculator on my test?
> We've got you covered! The NumWorks graphing calculator is approved for use on most exams.
It includes SAT, ACT, and AP exams, which pretty well hits the high points for college-bound teenagers in the USA.
My wife is still using my old TI-89 about 20 years later, but if that ever dies I will probably pick up something like this for general use. I would also much rather my 6-year-old learn python instead of spending her time making goofy games in TI-BASIC like I did.
There is something about programming in very restrictive environments though (granted it's for fun). Trying to see what you can make a small device do if you're creative enough can be a lot of fun.
Btw, the newest TI-84s and Nspires also have Python.
My HS classes let you use a scientific calculator but I think honestly that's a bit too much too for most purposes. In university we were almost never allowed a calculator for the exam on tests and questions were just designed to be doable without one which is a much better test of how well you know concepts than how well you know your TI.
I can no longer do calculus because I got a TI-89. Granted I don't have to do much calculus day to day, but if someone walked up to me and demanded I tell them the derivative of 2xe^2x I would have no idea what to do.
To anyone reading, I'd suggest a used TI-89 or Voyage 200 instead, 68000-based TI calcs.
They cost next to nothing used these days, and there's to my knowledge no better calculators out there.
It is old, but that means it is proven and well-understood.
2. This can evaluate this correctly on the (slightly later) HP-49G+
So given this new information, will you change your mind or try to find some other silly example?
"arithmetic also includes more advanced operations, such as [...] exponentiation, logarithmic functions, and even trigonometric functions, in the same vein as logarithms (prosthaphaeresis)."
When using hp50g, I find its input<>reaction latency makes me want to throw it at a wall. I used to tolerate it and rely on the input buffer, but that simply isn't good UX. I'm glad I grabbed a used TI-89 at some point.
Still keeping the hp50g for nostalgia reasons. Is what I used back at university; We went a long way together.
Why? I'd prefer those.
How are these obvious red flags? I have a TI-Nspire that has both and I love that thing.
Lithium battery has a life cycle of around 1000-2000 charges, and may deteriorate even faster when exposed to high temperatures. Depending on the capacity though, you can expect a cycle to last more for a calculator compared to, for example, a smartphone, so it might not be that much of a problem (but then again you have the backlight, a major drain). When the battery dies, you can't simply go to a nearby store to get a replacement. You usually have to send the device back to the manufacturer to get it replaced.
That said, you can debate rechargeable batteries vs AAAs (both have pros and cons), but a backlit screen is a really good thing.
Documents (or being able to have/save separate "calculation sheets") are actually progress vs not having them.
The problem with the Nspire is that it just isn't slick like the m68k calcs were. Neither the documents implementation, nor anything else.
The impression I get from newer calculators is that some corporate decision maker decided that "cellphones are popular and we must copy them".
HP calculators also peaked on hp50g and went downhill after that.
>but a backlit screen is a really good thing.
If you need to use the calculator in a dark room, there's worse problems with your setup than lack of backlight in the calculator.
Yes, documents are good. But the Nspire architecture that wants you to create a document before choosing what to do in it and the weird tab idea is not great. As you say, a TI-89 is quick and efficient in comparison, which is why I still use it despite having got a Nspire. If I need to mess around before I can get something useful, I might as well start Mathematica.
> The impression I get from newer calculators is that some corporate decision maker decided that "cellphones are popular and we must copy them".
That is definitely a problem. They are not getting any more ergonomic.
> If you need to use the calculator in a dark room, there's worse problems with your setup than lack of backlight in the calculator.
My eyesight is not perfect and anything that helps readability is an improvement. Sometimes I have to work in the evenings as well.
And I would very much recommend doing that, over an unproven new device that claims to be Open Source while actually using license that is not.
[1] https://www.numworks.com/blog/interview-kevin-from-virginia/
They should fix this immediately and keep their employees under check. It is a PR disaster.
There are organizations and corporations that focus on such terms during on-boarding either because that's their development model or they are aware that using such a term while not adhering to it could draw valid criticism.
This demand for ideological purity is why open source is a complete failure and the market is dominated by closed systems.
Frankly the argument that Linux powers servers is a red herring.
Look around at the devices people use.
Yes, some hackers like us use Linux boxes. Yes, there are some possibilities opening with things like the raspberry pi.
No, open systems are not succeeding in displacing closed ones.
Recommending people buy a closed system instead of one which is open source to punish the company for not complying with an ideology does not help the growth of open source.
It is NOT OPEN SOURCE, for the nth time.
Complaining is one of the ways we do show this.
Or said otherwise, it's a calculator for cool people (well, as cool you can be wielding a calculator).
Refer to the OSHWA's Open Hardware definition.