Re:TI-84 Plus CE Python Graphing Calculator
by don-code on Monday May 10, 2021 @07:58PM
(#27112490)
I don't see the TI-series graphing calculators as a general purpose computing device. If I need more horsepower than an old Z80 for some specific use case, TI actually has me covered, in the 68k-powered TI-89 and the ARM-powered TI nSpire.
What _is_ inexcusable to me is that the calculator still costs as much as it does. I'd bet the bill of materials for a TI-84 is cheaper than that of a Raspberry Pi at this point. A few years ago I had to take apart my -83 and discovered from references online that there were revisions A through at least K of the hardware, with many cost cutting measures made along the way. And while there's something to be said for the supply chain for a 20+ year old device probably having dried up several times over, none of those cost savings seem to have been passed onto the consumer.
What _is_ inexcusable to me is that the calculator still costs as much as it does. I'd bet the bill of materials for a TI-84 is cheaper than that of a Raspberry Pi at this point. A few years ago I had to take apart my -83 and discovered from references online that there were revisions A through at least K of the hardware, with many cost cutting measures made along the way. And while there's something to be said for the supply chain for a 20+ year old device probably having dried up several times over, none of those cost savings seem to have been passed onto the consumer.