Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
1–10 of 71 posts
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#2"It is also permitted for use on the SAT by the College Board starting with the August 2018 administration."
That's ridiculous. Privatized standard testing seems like a bad deal for folks who can't afford these expensive calculators.
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#3"It is also permitted for use on the SAT by the College Board starting with the August 2018 administration." That's ridiculous. Privatized standard testing seems like a bad deal for folks who can't afford these expensive calculators.
I’d hope a calculator is useless for the tests, as they are for most math courses.
I’m sure eBay is riddled with these stupid TI type graphing calculators, so anybody can afford one.
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#4It's not open source; the Hacker News headline is wrong. The Numworks web site does not claim it's open source, by the way -- the problem is only in the headline here. The license is Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA), and the presence of the "NonCommercial" clause makes it unambiguously non-open-source. If that clause were not present, CC-BY-SA would still be an odd license to use for software anyway, but because of the NC clause we never get to that issue.
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#5"It is also permitted for use on the SAT by the College Board starting with the August 2018 administration." That's ridiculous. Privatized standard testing seems like a bad deal for folks who can't afford these expensive calculators.
The point is that schools will only buy bunches of these things for teaching if they’re approved for use on the exams.
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#6It should be pointed out that this is Micropython, not the Python that you are probably used to. Micropython is great stuff, I’m a huge fan, but it is different from CPython in noticeable ways.
They seem to have simply copied a source snapshot over; I’m not sure what that means for incorporating updates and fixes to the Python system. Maybe they needed a fork for some reason. I do wish their documentation gave a little more credit to the Micropython project.
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#7It's not open source; the Hacker News headline is wrong. The Numworks web site does not claim it's open source, by the way -- the problem is only in the headline here. The license is Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA), and the presence of the "NonCommercial" clause makes it unambiguously non-open-source. If that clause were not present, CC-BY-SA would still be an odd license to use fo…
Source appear to be on GitHub. Non commercial is not incompatible with open source. It makes sense to me that to get the investment required to fund this, you’d want sole rights to commercialize. Nothing prevents someone else from building a cheaper DIY version as long as they don’t sell it. For example it could be a local college class exercise to build these from scratch for local high school. That’s not imaginable for the TI calculators (which these seem to aim to replace)
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#8It's not open source; the Hacker News headline is wrong. The Numworks web site does not claim it's open source, by the way -- the problem is only in the headline here. The license is Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA), and the presence of the "NonCommercial" clause makes it unambiguously non-open-source. If that clause were not present, CC-BY-SA would still be an odd license to use fo…
Please explain. NC only prohibits commercial exploitation, correct?
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#9It's always amazed me how, in 2018, TI calculators with software and hardware from 10 years ago still cost $100+ dollars [0] and command a near monopoly in US secondary schools (which, I suppose, is why they still cost that much). For that price you can get a significantly more powerful and functional mobile phone [1] (see 24K of ram vs. 2GB, 96x64 screen vs. 720 x 1280)!
The space needs competition, and I hope Numworks gives TI a run for their money (the calculator is even allowed on the big standard exams), but schools are so standardized on TI calculators (and generally slow-moving) that change will be hard. Casio has also tried to break into this space with significantly cheaper calculators (which are also allowed on standardized exams), but they have failed to gain significant traction so far.
A relevant XKCD (of course): https://xkcd.com/768/
A related piece of journalism: https://wapo.st/1Cl0Vyf
Re: Numworks: open-source, Python-compatible handheld graphing calculator
#10"It is also permitted for use on the SAT by the College Board starting with the August 2018 administration." That's ridiculous. Privatized standard testing seems like a bad deal for folks who can't afford these expensive calculators.
The point is that schools will only buy bunches of these things for teaching if they’re approved for use on the exams.
the same schools that can't afford pencils and paper for the students so teachers have to buy supplies out of their own pockets?