graphing
Latest
Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus review
The year was 1999. I was pondering all too carefully what kind of threads I'd be wearing come the new school year. But all I could really think about was exactly how much of my styling budget would be blown on some antediluvian piece of technology that -- in my mind -- was no longer necessary due to the invention of the internet. That hunk was Texas Instruments' TI-83 Plus. So far as I could understand it, the "Plus" meant that it had a few extra megabytes of RAM; why you needed loads of RAM in a graphing calculator, I had no idea. At $119.99, it was the most expensive purchase I made leaving middle school, and now that I've had well over a decade to toy with it, it's about time I sat down and gave it a proper review. Join me after the break, won't you?
App turns Android tabs into math tools for the visually impaired (video)
Two high school students are taking part in a bit of an experiment at Vanderbilt University. The college's Medical and Electromechanical Design Laboratory (MED Lab) is working on an Android app that turns tablets into a teaching aid for the visually impaired. Areas of math that rely heavily on visual elements, such as algebra and calculus, prove problematic for students with poor eyesight. A common solution involves pipe cleaners, a cork board and push pins, to recreate graphs, but the method is quite slow. The MED Lab is looking to haptic feedback as a way to help the visually impaired identify lines, graph points and other data that is normally represented visually. For more details about the project check out the video after the break.
Google brings graphing calculator functionality to search, still can't play 'Snake'
Well, Google's gone an done it, turning the Internet into one giant graphing calculator. The software behemoth has brought graphing capabilities to search, letting users input a mathematical function into the engine -- or multiple functions, separated by commas. And, this being Google, users can explore the graphs more closely by zooming in and out and panning across. According to the company, it "covers an extensive range of single variable functions including trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic and their compositions." If you know what all of that means, we're guessing you're pretty psyched about this news.
Graphing calculator web browser lets you visit your favorite sine wave fan sites (video)
Graphing calculators: essential tools for math education or low-res Game Boys? The debate rages on. Advocates of non-mathematical applications for the devices have scored a major victory with the introduction of Gossamer, a new web browser for various TI graphing calculators, which lets users visit some very basic versions of webpages, using the CALCnet and globalCALCnet protocols. The 1.0 version can request, display, and scroll pages. Logging in will bring you to a portal with links -- the application's developer has promised to add the ability to directly enter URLs in a future version, however. There's a demo video after the break, though you may want to wait until after math class to check it out.
TI-Nspire CX graphing calculator now shipping, color officially 'in'
It may have been hard to believe when it was announced back in February, but you can rest assured that Texas Instruments' new color TI-Nspire CX calculator is indeed real, and shipping right now. Assuming you're ready to make the jump from monochrome, the $165 asking price will buy you a 3.2-inch 320 x 240 display, 100MB of storage, 64MB of memory, and TI's new version 3.0 operating system that comes complete with 3D graphing capabilities. Of course, TI isn't completely breaking new ground here -- Casio's had a graphing calculator with a "high res" color screen since way back in 2010. [Thanks, Michael]
Found Footage: Instaviz, graph sketching app for iPhone
I spend a lot of my time with a dry erase marker and whiteboard sketching diagrams for clients. I draw use case diagrams, flow charts, mind maps, you name it. On my Macs, I use the shape tools in Pages to draw my diagrams, but I often wish for a tool that would let me sketch charts on my iPhone. Instaviz (click opens iTunes), from Pixelglow Software, is exactly what the doctor ordered. You can sketch out a rough shape (circle, rectangle, square, diamond, or triangle) with your finger, and Instaviz "cleans up" your sketch by turning it into a clean, symmetrical shape. Links between shapes are done by just dragging a finger between the shapes, and Instaviz automatically enters a straight or curved line to connect the shapes. You can choose colors for the different shapes and lines through a color picker, zoom in or out using the familiar iPhone two-finger pinch/reverse-pinch gestures, add or edit labels, and scroll around your diagram. To erase objects, you tap on them and then shake the iPhone "Etch-A-Sketch" style. The US$9.99 app can export graphs to a MobileMe iDisk or any WebDAV server in DOT/GV or PDF format. Here's a video showing the app in action:
