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NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

numworks.com

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Re: NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

#31

Post by jononor »

eternityforest wrote: post #27
satiric wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My point is that ultimately it was more important for them to make a calculator that students could actually use - which is a perfectly reasonable goal. And it's a shame that that's fundamentally incompatible with FOSS.

Seems highly insane that students have to buy a calculator, that can basically never be used outside of school for many people because it's so limited.... Why can't the school just have a pile of them? Then they can be totally FOSS. The teacher hands you one, they know the FW is good, you give it back, and if you want to practice at home, you can buy yourself the unlocked version which would be fully open and have mo…

In Norway now a days, exams will provide an approved calculator for the student to use. This both reduces cheating, and let's the student buy any type of calculator they want for studying.

Re: NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

#32

Post by j-james »

solarized wrote: post #22

Beautiful design. but, another devices in my bag? no thank you. my phones already solve almost anything.

Well, you might be interested to know that they provide an emulator of their calculator for free on mobile (and through the browser).

https://www.numworks.com/simulator

Re: NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

#33

Post by wscott »

This thing looks a whole lot like the HP Prime[0] calculator. From the icons to select the "applications" (aka modes) and the pop up menus. That said the HP has a color screen and from the looks of it better buttons.

Too bad HP didn't care enough about calculators to make the prime live up to its potential.

[0]: https://hpcalcs.com/product/hp-prime-graphing-calculator/

Re: NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

#34

Post by nrjames »

eternityforest wrote: post #27
satiric wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My point is that ultimately it was more important for them to make a calculator that students could actually use - which is a perfectly reasonable goal. And it's a shame that that's fundamentally incompatible with FOSS.

Seems highly insane that students have to buy a calculator, that can basically never be used outside of school for many people because it's so limited.... Why can't the school just have a pile of them? Then they can be totally FOSS. The teacher hands you one, they know the FW is good, you give it back, and if you want to practice at home, you can buy yourself the unlocked version which would be fully open and have mo…

At public schools in the US, teachers have strong incentives to have their students perform well, as schools are graded on overall student performance, impacting awards, etc. Exam proctors would have to be independent from the school system if they were responsible for handing out calculators.

Re: NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

#36

Post by rpdillon »

gpm wrote: post #24
rpdillon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've engaged in debates on HN about the definition of "open source" in the past, so there might be some disagreement about the meaning of the title. I've settled on using "OSI open source" to avoid this, since those discussions are uniformly tiring and unproductive. That said, I agree with parent: the repo specifically has a section regarding copyright and it simply says that all rights are reserved[0]. This is propr…

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and you should not rely on this as legal advice. Even if I'm right, it would be a stupid and expensive lawsuit. I think that under US law you can legally clone it from github [1] and build/run it [2] without a license. [1] GitHub has a valid license to create copies by virtue of their TOS. You aren't creating a copy, github is, and they are then lawfully transferring it to you. [2] This i…

This is a fantastic insight, thank you! I was unaware of this particular limitation on exclusive rights. I'm not a lawyer either, but I agree with your reading: cloning the repo purely to support the build process seems like it's allowed. TIL!

Re: NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

#37

Post by anigbrowl »

nsajko wrote: post #13
satiric wrote: post #12

I think the creators do legitimately want to build a truly open source calculator. The problem is getting the calculator registered for exams - the examiners naturally want to make sure that the calculator isn't being used for cheating. And any method to replace the firmware, add custom applications, etc. can and should be viewed as a way to cheat on exams. Personally, I'm hopefully never going to take another standa…

> I think the creators do legitimately want to build a truly open source calculator. Somewhat like Google legitimately wants to "do no evil"? Sometimes it is said that deeds, not words is what matters. But in this case even the words are missing, so I don't really get what you're trying to say.

The problem is getting the calculator registered for exams

This is a viable issue that forces a choice on the manufacturers, which you aren't addressing. Of course it would be ideal if they had a second version (perhaps in a different color) that was fully hackable, and had some hardware difference, but that would be costly for them and hard to police.

Cheating is sadly a massive problem. I was shocked to learn from friends who did architecture in college that smart students would hide their final project models (physical models of buildings) inside ceilings and the like in the days leading up to presentations and judging, to prevent rivals from smashing them.

Re: NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

#39

Post by gbraad »

CrazedGeek wrote: post #9

There’s a forked version of the OS called Omega that’s really nice: https://github.com/Omega-Numworks/Omega And apparently a jailbreak for Epsilon 16+: https://phi.getomega.dev/

upsilon is were the development continued

Re: NumWorks: An open-source graphing calculator (with Python and Rust support)

#40

Post by josephcsible »

gbraad wrote: post #38

The NumWorks is now a fauxpensource device. They changed their license months ago after a debacle with their exam mode. Delta/Upsilon firmware are based on the pre-license change firmware. Where does the statement around rust support come from?

That's all true, but there's one more key point that makes it even worse than that: the hardware is tivoized.
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