Zero Calculators is back - Could they beat TI?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- A little while ago, I made some videos covering the soon to be released Zero Calculator. After an abrupt disappearance, the company has made a return!
Useful links:
tiplanet.org/f...
www.cemetech.n...
• Why did TI try to Stop...
tiplanet.org/f...
tiplanet.org/f...
I just received a prototype ZGC3 a few days ago! I've made a video with my first impressions and a teardown of the device here: th-cam.com/video/irvhRGfIJvE/w-d-xo.html
I don't think I'll need another physical calculator anymore, but, if I do, I'll definitely look for the Zero calculator. It seems like a way better version of the 84
I can't speak for certain since I haven't tried one out yet but it definitely appears to perform better!
hi fur
I’d recommend a TI-89 titanium to be honest (or a 92, it’s a TI-89 with a keyboard which makes inputting functions way easier). It has CAS and calculus functions.
You might need one. A tool that specializes in something is often better than one that has it as a feature.
As a fan of early HP calculators, the idea of second key functions printed on the front face of a keycap is such a logical use of space.
Rival machines resort to using the faceplate, which becomes cluttered.
Circular, dome shaped keys? I'm shaking my head in disbelief.
Cool video! I got permission to show all 3 prototypes at OpenSauce this year so if anyone wants to see them then that's your best chance!
I love the TI monopoly character at 0:18.
Wish I could go!
they achieved that with free courses for teachers from the very start. And sold the exact same tech for over 35 years for $100+. I'm a little bitter to "love the monopoly".
@@squirlmysorry I worded that terribly. I meant the monopoly man character around 0:18. I hate monopolies as much as the next guy
I thought there were four, unless the ZGC4 hasn't arrived yet.
@@samconnelly7630 correct, the ZGC4 is in development but not yet ready.
I really just want a competitor to the old hp engineering calculators. One where there’s no limitations for testing. Maybe one where there’s an option to turn off testing features, but I don’t need those, I just want a completely OP engineering calculator. The prime nearly got there, but it still is cut short. I want to be able to put in equations, strange constants, and to have some stored constants, etc. I also want an app for the pc and phone that does the same. Why oh why did they kill the hp calculator team?
Corporate murder? Wow that’s harsh just because it’s a been a while since they made a decent RPN calculator.
Phone app is your best bet, I think, maybe total emulation.
@urglegurgle5807 , they closed the hp calculator division to my understanding, now there is only one person maintaining it to my knowledge
@urglegurgle5807 I stand corrected, I don't know how I feel about it, but I guess its better than nobody working on it, hp calculators now seems to be licensed by Moravia Consulting, who at least might do something with it.
Always such a pleasure to see another video in my feed!
Thanks!
I’m glad that Zero’s linking software is optional since I use Linux, which TI connect doesn’t work on, but it would be really cool if Zero were to build their linking software for Linux as well. On the TI-Linux connectivity side, the only option is TILP, which is super out of date, using a bunch of deprecated packages. (Libglade, python 2.7)
Hey Tiny! Good to see you again!
Good to see you too!
He’s BACK!!!!!!!
Indeed!
So they’ve back tracked on the TI aesthetic, and going for round buttons like the latest Casio calculators.
They only had to backtrack the TI aesthetic because TI sent them a letter when the ZGC2 prototype got sent to a few people, causing a radical shift shown in the ZGC3. One time, I asked the CEO for a prototype of the Zero Calculator, but he said no.
Exciting fun. Nice to see this project moving forward - thank you for the video very much!!!!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it :) I'm excited to see the project moving forward as well!
The issue I see about scientific/graphing calculators nowadays is that it's so tied to the education market and offers almost no benefit to actual work comparing to alternatives.
I think the world really need something that makes dealing with numbers easier rather than some generic pico computer that runs stripped down version of powerful math software on PC that are just as unintuitive to use. And we got boot time on calculators now, woo!
Don't even think I own a physical calculator (the scientific one i accidentally threw in the washing machine doesn't count 😭 ) but I've been binging your content and have found it really interesting! Keep it up :)
Thanks! RIP to your scientific calculator 😢
Well, for calculators, I prefer the nSpire CX over the 84, but with curriculum being as it is, we'll have to use a castrated CAS in the future, and that will most likely be GeoGebra with a selectable features test mode.
With that in mind, I wonder why graphing calculators are still being developed with everyone having tablets and smartphones with way better screens and way more oomph.
It's a common sentiment, obviously phones are far more powerful. However, physical calculators will always remain in business as long as teachers need a device which is easy to manage, and almost all tests and exams do not allow phones as they are far more difficult to monitor / manage and can connect to the internet, etc.
@@TInyHackerCalcs well, since I'm the inofficial calculator technician at my school, I've been in contact with most of that. curriculums here basically change on a 3-5 year basis (from non-graphing to graphing calculator and now back, then to a "modular math system" in 3 years where The students either need to buy new calculators (nSpire no longer complies with the rules then) or use something where, for tests, we can define what is available and what isn't - geogebra and its test mode is looking promising in that regard. At University level, most programmable tools are not allowed in most cases since they can't check them and they basically have to get an fx-85 or similar. It's a pain in the butt.
(I wonder why graphing calculators are still being developed)
It's the keyboard. When I was an engineer at uni. I put so many miles on my ti 81. My phone keyboard layout for the calculator app would never suffice. And even if it were an EXACT match. The tactile muscle memory is still gone. I want my calculator (stand alone).
3:39 unless I missed a version release, Numworks doesn't have USB-C.
Yeah, the N0120EX and N0115 models now have USB-C. The older models use the micro B which is probably what you're thinking of.
@@TInyHackerCalcs That's probably what I have then.
your voice has changed a lot throughout the years
Indeed 😂
the drag and drop software feature is honestly epic. i hate ti connect.
Drag and drop is super nice! I believe there's also a program which lets you do this on the TI-84 Plus CE: github.com/jacobly0/transfer
didnt know id be interested in calculator after this but well
Great video Tiny!
Thanks!
In australia we either use Casio CP-400 or TI nspire. I used the casio and the touchscreen was very useful. How is america still on calculators without touchscreens?
My situation in Germany seems dictated by school restrictions. Some features are not allowed in schools. And the engineers are not enough to buy certain models, they go to less restrictive ones or even pc apps. In America there also are restrictions. So schools concentrate on certain models, and the manufacturers can get away with old technology, since curricula only change over decades.
@@hermask815 In America, years ago TI put out a massive campaign to give teachers training for free, that's how they got a monopoly, killed the "free market" in US higher education. It's very irritating. Hopefully smartphone apps will end this manipulation of market economics.
> How is ... without touchscreens
For the same reason that the nSpire has an 'ABC' rather than 'QWERTY' keyboard: vexatious testing restrictions.
Great video overall.
I wish desmos would somehow come out with a tablet calculator
If Zero wants to compete with the TI-84 Plus CE, especially the -T variant in Europe, they'll need something similar to TI's "Press-to-test" feature.
It's likely that they would, since without it I don't believe the calculator could be allowed on tests in Europe.
They should put the dpad on the left and make it a cross style, like the game consoles. I don't see why they need to remains and separate physical buttons.
I would like to see Lua programing and a pezio speaker.
Would be amazing. The nspire supports a cut down python which is super nice, but the keyboard makes programming on it painful.
I thought there was newer news for a second. I don’t see Zero making a dent. They aren’t taking a big enough swing at Ti. It looks maybe 10% better here and there. Thats not going to cut it.
I also doubt them making a big dent, mostly because TI is such a well known name (especially in the US market). However from what I can tell there is a significant improvement in the power of the device, though the software is also less polished in some areas. More likely I could see it being used by a minority of students, but easier to adopt if the layout (especially in the OS) is similar enough to TI for teachers to still be able to help.
It’s hard to see how a small start up could compete in the Education market which is pretty much sewn up by either TI or Casio depending on country. Sharp/ HP have only made a relatively small dent with much greater backing in the past.
I like your videos man. Idk why im so interested in graphing calculators
Hey I can't judge 😆
I hope they did send you a prototype but its just delayed 😭😭
They haven't sent me a prototype but they're still planning to send me the completed version to review when it's done :) I also will be getting a prototype from TI-Planet at some point so that will be interesting to look at!
BORDERLANDS
Hey do you think you could do a video about all of your favorite fun ti 84 plus ce programs?
This is a good idea! I have a few videos lined up, but I'll keep it in mind :)
I want open source files for the whole thing. (down to the shell and pcb)
Calculators only exist nowadays because teachers are too lazy to rewrite the corriculum for some website on the internet or some app that is free.
That's why I don't think this calculator will take off, being that ti84 calculators have had the most support and teachers don't like change. (but maybe it's close enough that the old manuals will still work and my concerns are irrelevent)
Part of the reason that calculators are used still is because they're much easier to manage for tests and exams. However, I think you've hit the nail on the head as to why TI remains so popular in schools, and I think Zero hopes that maybe some students will purchase the calculator and find the system is similar enough to the TI for it to be somewhat successful.
My piping hot take is that the CE is pointless and the worst target to pick to replace. The TI-84 and nspire CX II are both better for different reasons. Zero would be far better of remaking the CX II and slightly better off remaking the 84. Picked the most useless middle child of the series that people buy because the screen is "better" but everything else about it is inferior.
The biggest reason they're remaking the CE is because that is by far the most popular graphing calculator in high schools in the US, which is their target audience. The CX II is twice as expensive and rarely used, so teachers and students have less experience and the interface is a lot different. What do you find about the monochrome TI-84 Plus that is better than the CE? For most uses the CE is both faster and more suited towards modern classrooms, especially with a colored screen, though obviously there have been some recent developments with blocking of assembly that are annoying.
i feel like there should be a second calculator with minimum specs at this: Intel Core i9-10980XE Desktop Processor 18 Cores 36 thread up to 4.8GHz Unlocked LGA2066 X299 Series 165W GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 4090 Xtreme WATERFORCE 24G Graphics Card, WATERFORCE All-in-one Cooling System, 24GB 384-bit GDDR6X, GV-N4090AORUSX W-24GD Video Card OWC 64TB Accelsior 8M2 PCIe 4.0 Storage Card i'd say that's the minimum for most calculators that want to beat TI cause they shouldn't cut corners on calculations
no but competition is good
Pretty much my thoughts as well, hopefully some competition might encourage innovation but we'll see
Does it support RPN or is it useless?
I would buy it 🤷🏻♂️
If it isn't FOSS (or better yet, OSHW) I don't think I'm interested tbh
Wouldn't it be better to just make an app for smartphones? The round button design is definitely a no for me.
The main reason that graphing calculators are still in the business with more than capable apps is because smartphones are not allowed on most tests and exams. Otherwise I doubt there would be much demand anymore 😅
@@TInyHackerCalcs That makes logical sense then, I have a nSpire CX II but hardly use it as it's mostly for engineers/students but it's nice to have. 🙂 If only I could add sound to it. XD
They can maintain their rounded keyboard. Except, they gotta change which way the "round" goes. Make those keys have little "pips" in them, like dominoes. I could go for a convex keyboard (or maybe that is called concave, i dunno I mean like a golf ball is). As so, my finger or pencil would stay on the key I am going for.
@@vangildermichael1767 Exactly, I don't think round buttons is the issue (I've seen them on a lot of other calculators and had no problem). It's more the dome shape of the top of the keys that I think people had an issue with.
Should of went with the Allwinner F1C200S....
suggestions I think would absolutely land a sale over the ti.
A back lit screen. And, a separate battery circuit for said "backlighting". Cuz, if there is something important, a dead calculator can be a suicide mission. When I was at uni in engineering. Oh, the times I wish I could "see" that screen better. Now I got a calculator on my phone, which solves that problem. But I got so used to my ti-81 keyboard layout. My phones keyboard layout is bad. I still want a stand alone calculator with a backlit screen.
Also wouldn’t be hard for it to just happen automatically below a certain battery percentage. The problem is that non backlit screens have a mirror behind them in order to reflect light more and idk if you can make an optionally backlit display.
The Zero Calculator and TI-84 Plus CE both have a backlit screen, in fact many recent calculators like the NumWorks, HP Prime, and Casio Prizm line also do!
Yet another fine addition to my collection 😊
What is a caljulato
Sorry I'm a TI-89 Titanium supremacist
Sorry, I have a Voyage 200.
Unnecessary background music reduces watch retention. !! What's the point anyway
Maybe for you but in my experience it's actually improved it across my channel 🤷♂️
cheese
🧀
just wish there was another calculator that can do symbolic CAS as well as the Ti Nspire CX 2 CAS, heck even a desktop application at this point. kinda crazy i can't just download an app and get a CAS system with the same kind of formatted display. MATLAB/Octave syms/symbolic package is great, but the Nspire wins with the formatted/tex-like input. IDK if Zero is targeting this market, but would be really cool.
I haven't used the Nspire's CAS that much (mostly because I find the Nspire a little clunky to get around but that's probably just lack of experience) so I'm not the best judge, but I've found my NumWorks N0110 with the Upsilon firmware to actually do a pretty good job, at least for what I've needed