Should I install Ndless, or upgrade to 3.2?

[Jennifer Usher]

Hi,

I have a TI Nspire that I bought for college. I have been reading up on various things, and I am wondering...is 3.2 worth forgoing Ndless for, at least until it is updated, or would it be better to stick with 3.1 and wait for a new version of Ndless before upgrading my OS? I like the idea of being able to code in C and assembly, but I don't want to miss out on any major improvements if 3.2 is really great.

Thanks
Jennifer

[Jim Fullerenex]

Bought for college? Then I guess you won't ever need the chem box or conic graphing, or the new CAS command domain()
Anyway, Nspire updates are rarely designed for college studies.

But you might love the 3D parametric graphing.
That really depends on your major.

If you do a lot of on-calc editing, like typing on notes page and program editor, then 3.2 is a nightmare.

Ndless does provide a few conveniences. To retain it or not, that also depends on how you use Ndless. For viewing PDF? Boosting speed? Locking private document? Coding in C/ASM to customize your handheld?

Best,

Jim

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[Jennifer Usher]

[Jim Fullerenex]

I think you've posted twice by accident. I replied in another thread.

Best,

Jim

[Jennifer Usher]

Thanks Jim.

Well, my major is Computer Science. That means math through at least Calculus III, and two semesters of Calculus based Physics. I am taking Intermediate Algebra and Introductory Physics this summer, and will be taking Advanced Algebra in the Fall, along with a course in algorithms and data structures in Java and one in assembly language. I can use my iPhone to view PDFs, as well as my iPad. It is mainly the coding in C/ASM that interests me. I had seen the problems with documents.

Jennifer

On Jun 30, 2012, at 8:39 PM, Jim Fullerenex wrote:

> Bought for college? Then I guess you won't ever need the chem box or conic graphing, or the new CAS command domain()
> Anyway, Nspire updates are rarely designed for college studies.
>
> But you might love the 3D parametric graphing.
> That really depends on your major.
>
> If you do a lot of on-calc editing, like typing on notes page and program editor, then 3.2 is a nightmare.
>
> Ndless does provide a few conveniences. To retain it or not, that also depends on how you use Ndless. For viewing PDF? Boosting speed? Locking private document? Coding in C/ASM to customize your handheld?

> akin

[Jennifer Usher]

Yes, that was my bad. I noticed that a copy of the message was in my Drafts folder, and I assumed it had not been sent, so I hit send. Then I realized it had been sent after all.

Jennifer

[Lionel Debroux]

Hi Jennifer,

> I have a TI Nspire that I bought for college.

Which model ? Clickpad, Touchpad, CX ?

> Well, my major is Computer Science.

Good :)

> That means math through at least Calculus III, and two semesters of
> Calculus based Physics. I am taking Intermediate Algebra and
> Introductory Physics this summer, and will be taking Advanced
> Algebra in the Fall, along with a course in algorithms and data
> structures in Java and one in assembly language.

For the latter course, despite its ARM processor, the Nspire isn't
necessarily the best choice, but it's what you have :)

> I can use my iPhone to view PDFs, as well as my iPad.

Indeed, and besides, smartphones and tablets can handle unmodified PDFs,
while mViewer for Nspire/Ndless needs a conversion to BMP, PNG, etc.
(and while the built-in OS documents require a conversion to a laughably
inefficient proprietary format).

> It is mainly the coding in C/ASM that interests me.

For that purpose, OS 3.2.0.1212/3.2.0.1219 is clearly not an option at
the time of this writing, and chances are that it won't be for months.
Therefore, I'll clearly advise you against using 3.2.0.121x ;)

Especially so if you're using a Clickpad / Touchpad Nspire: the OS is
getting larger and larger, so it leaves less and less RAM free, which,
in turn, reduces the maximum complexity of documents / programs that the
older models can handle. It's likely that TI will soon stop upgrading
the OS for the older models.


As long as users can downgrade to 3.1.0.392, people of the open
development community have little incentive to work full-time on
reverse-engineering the new OS series, instead of going through our
respective existing todo/wish lists:
* USB support for improving (e.g. keyboard for typing) and expanding
(using the Nspire's host capabilities, or exposing it as various devices
to hosts) the use cases of the platform;x
* expanding Lua capabilities through native code;
* etc.

TI will probably raise the anti-downgrade protection limit as soon as
several high-profile bugs / performance regressions have been fixed; but
for now, as far as programming in C/ASM is concerned, 3.1.0.392 is fine.

> I had seen the problems with documents.

Said documents being a prime example of what not to do in computer
science: applying a brain-damaged, very heavyweight document format to
an embedded platform, notwithstanding the pre-existence of more
standard, lighterweight document formats. And it's probably intentional.
But I'll stop here because you seem to have read the earlier threads on
that topic.


Bye,
Lionel.

[Stefano Cappio]

Hi Jim ,
I've been out of studies for many years now I'm finishing my Degree in economics just to explain why some answers may look stupid but is there a way to convert documents from .tns to PDF ; I've got a Ti Nspire CX CAS with os 3.2 and software installed both in mac and Windows
Thanks
Stefano


Sent from my iPhone

[Jim Fullerenex]

Hi Stefano,

No I don't think there's any way to convert directly... But why do you want to do so in the first place? The programs certainly cannot be run on a PDF page.

If you want to view the text on a PDF, just copy and paste to a word.doc, then use some converter software like Adobe Acrobat. For graphs, you can take a screenshot by the Nspire software, then save them as jpg.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Jim

[Tony]

Stefano,

You can print you entire Nspire worksheet through the print option to an Adobe printer driver.


Tony

BTW, I do this for my students on occasion, it really opens their eyes...

[Jim Fullerenex]

Oh yes, thanks for the reminding Tony. I always forget that Adobe virtual printer. ;)

Best,

Jim

On 2012-7-1, at 20:25, Tony <abca...@gmail.com> wrote:

Stefano,

You can print you entire Nspire worksheet through the print option to an Adobe printer driver.

<jacbbhfi.png>

[Luke Setzer]

I just wanted to say that I have used the TI-Nspire computer software in graduate school for numerous engineering and business homework assignments quite successfully.  Honestly, I use the software more than the calculator.  For calculus and physics, I could easily see its usefulness as a homework documenter, especially given the ease of using a free PDF printer like PDF995.  I know too little about programming to comment on the central question.  But as they say, "The right tool for the right job."  Rather than bootleg the wrong tool for the wrong job, I prefer just to use hardware and software as originally intended and let the company perform the free and seamless upgrades.  I still have a Touchpad and have not had a motive to purchase a CX yet.  Although my prior two graduate degrees in industrial engineering and business allowed me to use the graphing calculator for examinations, my current round of classes has forbidden it, further diminishing motivation to upgrade.

[Luke Setzer]

The relatively recent feature that allows inclusion of scanned figures greatly elevates the software's use as a homework documenter, too.

[Stefano Cappio]

Thank you very much Tony for the suggestion 

Stefano

Sent from my iPhone

On 1 juil. 2012, at 15:25, Tony <abca...@gmail.com> wrote:

Stefano,

You can print you entire Nspire worksheet through the print option to an Adobe printer driver.

<jacbbhfi.png>

[Stefano Cappio]

Thanks Jim it will surely help
Best

Stefano

Sent from my iPhone

[Travis Bower]

Luke,

Could you elaborate on 'homework documenter'?  Thanks.

[Jennifer Usher]

Hi Lionel,

Thanks...

I have a CX CAS.

As far as my assembly language class goes, I suspect we will be on x86 under Linux since the teacher who does that class is very big on Linux and hates Microsoft.

Jennifer