Gentoo on everything.

madmango · Guru Joined: 15 Jul 2003 Posts: 507 Location: PA, USA

I own a TI-89 calculator, quite simply Texas Instruments most advanced calculator in the smallest package (The TI-92+ and the Voyage 2000 are essentially the same calc with a built in keyboard). It would be great to see a micro version of linux ported to this calc; I often use the calc more than my computer.

Specs:

10 Mhz Motorola 68k processor http://ti89.acz.org/general.htm
188K User available RAM (not sure of the amount the OS takes up)
702k Flash ROM
160x100 pixel screen

True, this is a nearly microscopic amount of RAM, but one could figure out how to make a hardware expander to increase that. The kernel would be really small. It would be cool to have TCP/IP support; having my calc hook to the internet would be soo cool. TI includes network support with their latest update, 2.09.

gcc does have a port to the TI calc, www.tigcc.org i think. Obviously this stuff would have to be compiled on a computer.
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word.

sputnik1969 · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2003 4:51 pm Post subject:

I don't know if the amount of memory is enough, but have a look at http://www.uclinux.org/, it's a Linux for CPU's without MemoryManagementUnit (like MC68k)
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'Cynic' is a word invented by optimists to criticize realists. - Nigel. In the ocean of Night by Gregory Benford
"Zyniker" ist ein Wort das Optimisten erfunden haben um Realisten zu kritisieren. - Nigel. Im Meer der Nacht von Gregory Benford

NicolBolas · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2003 4:47 pm Post subject:

Well 2 version of the ti-89 has been released.
HW1 had a 10MHz µC based on the MC68000
HW2 has a 12MHz µP wich is a real MC68000. The most important difference is that HW1 has only 20 adress lines (24 on the real 68k).
Anyway 768kb of ram and 2 or 4mb of flash memory is enough to boot a kernel but no apps would run at decent speed. And you'd have to develop a driver for the com port.

Maybe you could OC an HW2 like mine (22MHz) wich is almost acceptable to run emacs :wink:

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as-33 · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 9:59 am Post subject:

188k RAM? Pas de chance.

kalisphoenix · Apprentice Joined: 28 Sep 2003 Posts: 211 Location: Ohio

....

I got a nice wristwatch, too. Perhaps we could program the hands of the watch to move to different positions based on what information is being relayed around... if we made it ternary, we'd have a whole trit of information. Almost enough to tell whether it's 12:00 or not.

;-)

I don't mean to be an ass, heh. Just something about the idea of putting Linux on a calculator makes me giggle wildly.

MacMasta · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:36 am Post subject:

It *has* been put on a wristwatch.

And that's not nearly enough (in the calculator) for linux...besides, then it stops being a calculator, and starts being a useless electronic lump.

~Mac~

kalisphoenix · Apprentice Joined: 28 Sep 2003 Posts: 211 Location: Ohio

An analog wristwatch?

MacMasta · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 8:36 am Post subject:

No, not so much.

I once heard somebody say "A toilet is a stateful device, and can therefore run NetBSD", though.

I have the feeling little love was lost between this person and BSD, somehow...but I thought it was funny nonetheless.

~Mac~

kalisphoenix · Apprentice Joined: 28 Sep 2003 Posts: 211 Location: Ohio

It is amusing, and sometimes it seems like the only thing NetBSD hasn't been ported to...

Besides my digital camera. Cost me $550... wonder if there's flashable ROM on it ;-)

It *does* have a USB port, floppy drive, video out & LCD, memory stick... hmm. Perhaps next time I get a digital camera, I'll work on making a bootable memory stick or something ;-)

The really disturbing thing is that I'm a bit serious. I need to stop watching the Sci Fi channel, apparently.

j11888 · n00b Joined: 16 Dec 2003 Posts: 5

the real power behind the ti calcs (esecally the ti-89 rather then ti-92+) is that these things look like calcs, act like calcs, till u got kirby in greyscale w/ more ebooks then most comps. my ti-89 probly can beat a game boy pocket in just about anything, and ssh-ing to my comp at home from my calc while im bored in english class just seems..............so logical

BTW: the HW patchs dont work that good, esecally for the newer AMS (2.09) and a unix-like OS has been released: http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/319/31951.html

plus its GPL-ed!!

Redeeman · l33t Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 958 Location: Portugal

i have a voyage 200, with 2.8mb flash ram. and some more stuff, its 13mhz, 68k motorola cpu, maybe that has more possibilities to get linux?

kalisphoenix · Apprentice Joined: 28 Sep 2003 Posts: 211 Location: Ohio

So far as I know, everything with a 68K processor will work so long as there's an FPU (correct? Or is it another one of those little CPU bits?).

I know M68LC0X0 won't work because they lack the important part. MMU! That's what I was thinking of, not the FPU. Dur. 2.8MB... wouldn't be able to do much with that, but it would be cute.

I'm disappointed with the state of Palm Linux. I wish there were a flash-rom upgrade, because I have a Palm IIIc that works and a Palm IIIc that has a cracked screen. The one with a cracked screen would be great for Linux, because I could still hook it up to the folding keyboard and do stuff on it...

They'd be great for headless machines... like having a pocket terminal that you could just plug in and use to monitor the machine. No real need for other software, just some basic shell commands.

wjholden · l33t Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 826 Location: Augusta, GA

Does anyone know if there's a hack for the ti-89 or 83 that lets you use the Ti's OS on a PC? This is pretty much backward from what you guys were talking about, but I just need a yes or a no.
My thinking is pretty much that Ti's run so well in themselves with such weak hardware that if you emulated their software onto a powerful computer you could do lots of great math. Plus, programming is never easier to learn than on these calculators simplified version of Basic, so I figure it oculd be used in education.
And tell me if such an emulator could be illegal...

kalisphoenix · Apprentice Joined: 28 Sep 2003 Posts: 211 Location: Ohio

There's a graphing program that comes standard with MacOS that does everything the TI will do

I'm not sure why you'd want to emulate the calculator when any normal computer will blow it out of the water. There are great math programs for all operating systems, so far as I know...

GNUtoo · Veteran Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 1919

that is a problem
by the way there are several people or program that claim that they have linux running on this device...
but my opinion is that most of theses people have unix running on theses devices
mabe smaller unixes such as minix???

and 2.4 kernel is smaller than the 2.6(but this statement was made for an 50MB distrib:damn smal linux (dsl))

but running an unix os is good for programation languages support
for example you can make scripts or c programs (mabe there will be size problems with c libs and all this stuff) or python...that would be great and so can make this thing as a great tool for studies

GNUtoo · Veteran Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 1919

an example of fake project(i've nnot examined the code neither the files so it's only a suposition)
http://www.tigen.org/pws/index.php?mod=archives&ac=voir&id=91
but there are some names that are used illegaly(this is not fair use...)

valid one:
http://tigcc.ticalc.org/linux/
emerge tigcc