Crave

So you're a programmer deciding where to invest your energy. What's a better idea: the latest Apple device, where hot new games can mean big bucks and millions of users, or a calculator introduced 10 years ago?

ticalc.org news editor Michael Vincent

(Credit: Michael Vincent)

Most go for iPhones and iPods. But another community thrives in its own way. These are the folks who spend hours trying to elevate their Texas Instruments calculators to a level far surpassing their modest roots.

Among their achievements: adding new features, creating new operating systems, connecting the calculator to keyboards and other hardware, playing a video excerpt from "The Matrix," and even running Nintendo Game Boy video games. Not bad for calculators such as the $100 TI-83 Plus, introduced in 1999 with a Z80 processor running at 6MHz, 24KB of memory, 160KB of flash memory, and a 96x64 pixel display.

Why all this work for projects that realistically are not going to reshape the future of computing? Much of the motivation parallels mountaineer George Mallory's rationale for climbing Mount Everest: "Because it's there."

TI's graphing calculators are programmable, affordable, and widely used in schools--a lot more approachable than a Himalayan peak. That doesn't mean they're easy. The calculators must be programmed in assembly language--a slightly more human-readable version of the very basic machine code the calculators execute, but hardly something more easily read and debugged such as C or Java.

No kid wants to be the one who blends into a crowd. That's why it's important to start young when setting your children up for a lifetime filled with the nostalgic irony that comes with being tragically hip. Of course, they may not like you when they grow older, but that's fashionable too, right?

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 148

Look at this f**king hipster

This Death Star cookie jar is fully operational

Cassette tape lamps light up your nostalgia

NES Controller Business Card shows you mean real geek business

Casio calculator watch. For realz. (Thanks, Sparkman!)

The iPhone’s best neo-retro game: Space Invaders Infinity Gene

Good Vibrations
The Vibrator Museum

A propos (of) nothing
Japanese auto-fogging glasses prevent eye strain

What the hell?
Microsmores (thanks, Sheala)

Kill Me
Wi-Fi scale notifies the internet of your lapsed diet

HP now sells an HP 12C calculator app for the iPhone.

(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

It looks like a fourth generation of my family is going to be introduced to the ways of reverse Polish notation calculators.

That's because my three-year-old son, an iPhone fan in his own preschool way, is about to be exposed to Hewlett-Packard's new iPhone application that fully emulates the company's 12c financial calculator. The $14.99 application is accompanied by a $29.99 emulator of the 15c scientific calculator, which is better at handling trigonometry and integration than mortgage payments and net present value.

All that's missing is the pocket protector-like iPhone case, my colleague Ina Fried cracked as she mocked my nerdish tendencies.

We fully admit that we are all, at heart, nerds. But this episode is dedicated to that special kind of nerd. The kind that you find yourself turning to your friend to whisper into their ear "OMG nerd alert!"

Episode 123

Nerd pickup lines meme on Twitter

Erykah Badu twitters while giving birth

Star Trek communicator actually communicates via VoIP

Klingon Keyboard: for serious Trekkies only

Ice Invaders

Rubiks reincarnated: Cubed is out, curvaceous is in

For grammar nerds: Scrabble keyboard

College-ruled tea towel

(Credit: Wix Inc)

Count on the Japanese to tote up something like the Consolation Money Calculator. Despite its rather Toy "R" Us design, toy maker Wiz Inc's 2,415 yen ($30) offering has a sinister mode. Besides being a conventional calculator, it also tallies up the net worth, in yen, of any emotional anguish incurred.

Just enter your profile information and choose the relation of the perpetrator of your anguish from a list that includes boss or boyfriend. Fill in a few more details relating to your earlier selections, and hit the "mental damage" button to calculate the end results.

Too bad this won't be admissible in a court of law since the responses are gag-like, with cute images of "beer" or "dinner" displayed on the screen. We'll sum this up as a fun novelty that's good for a few laughs. But if you're looking to kill your antagonist stress, we'd recommend the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan for a blast.

(Source: Crave Asia via Crunch Gear)

(Credit: Mobigrips)

Technology might be the only medium where smaller is always better, but it's starting to get ridiculous. I'm worried that my next cell phone is going to be the size of a sunflower seed. There's got to be a point where we finally decide that things need to start getting bigger, and Mobigrip thinks that now is as good a time as any.

Mobigrips, also known as "device leashes," aren't exactly at the forefront of tech innovation; it's essentially a circular hunk of plastic with adhesive on the back and a lanyard attached to one side. If you tend to drop or lose your tiny devices, the idea is that you can "install" a Mobigrip and physically tether your finger to your mobile phone, MP3 player, remote control, dog, boyfriend, or whatever object you deem utterly forgettable. The Mobigrips exude the same universal appeal as the Hercules Hook or the classic Bedazzler. They're $10 a pop (about $5 too much, in my opinion) and come in a wide assortment of colors; you can even customize them with a personal design or even...a corporate logo! Finally, a give(throw)away to replace the infamous fold-up LCD calculator!

(Credit: Solutions.com)

We really like the idea of eco-friendly water-powered gadgets. Exhibit A: the H20 desk calculator. Add a few drops of tap water to the removable battery and put it back in the product for up to three months of use. When the display begins to fade, just make another trip to the sink.

This isn't the only water- or electrolytic-liquid-powered calculator around, but online seller Solutions notes that the battery in this one can be taken out, stored in a dry state indefinitely, and activated when needed. It can be "re-energized by the addition of water again and again," supposedly lasting a lot longer than alkaline batteries.

The calculator has a standard 12-digit display and takes care of your basic adding machine functions. It sells for $24.95, which seems more than reasonable if promises of an Energizer Bunny-type battery persistence bear out.

Readers, have you used an agua-powered clock, calculator, or other gizmo? If so, how did it work? Are H20-powered cell phones and MP3 players next?

(Via Gadgetastic)

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

In the year 2008, when every computer and most other gadgets have their own calculators, one might wonder why anyone other than the most severe technophobe would want one of these anachronistic devices--much less create one. But if any company is allowed that indulgence it would have to be Hewlett-Packard.

As one of the companies that brought handheld calculators to the masses nearly 40 years ago, the computing pioneer is reaching back into its past once again with the "HP Quick Calc." There's still no urgent reason to get one, other than to make a statement in some retro-fashion type of way: The Quick Calc definitely looks nothing like the old versions we used to carry around in high school, coming in various metallic colors and petite enough to hang on a keychain (PDF).

Perhaps the most useful feature is its magnetic back, which makes it easy to affix to the refrigerator door. That way you can count calories and shame yourself before grabbing the last piece of birthday cake.

(Credit: Design Museum Shop)

Press Windows + R, then type "calc" and enter. That's how you can quickly bring up the calculator application on your Windows computer. This is also the reason many of us do not need a physical calculator around as there's always a PC nearby. But if you are going to have a calculator, here's one worth getting--the 10 Key Calculator created by U.K. designer Sam Hecht, as seen on Boing Boing.

It doesn't really have only 10 keys, but this calculator looks very much like your computer's numeric keypad. You no longer have to bear with the squishy keys on a regular calculator with this. It even has a USB connector so you can use it on a computer screen or, if you'd rather not, you can use the built-in LCD display.

One gripe--the "0" and "+" keys aren't double-sized as they are on a standard keyboard number pad. Also, it's ridiculously expensive at about $88 from Design Museum Shop.

(Source: Crave Asia)