<story><title>Is the era of the $100 graphing calculator coming to an end?</title><url>https://thehustle.co/graphing-calculators-expensive/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>clamprecht</author><text>In prison, only non-programmable calculators were allowed.  A friend somehow had gotten a TI-85 in.  I programmed it to say &amp;quot;NON-PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATOR&amp;quot; as its startup message, so they wouldn&amp;#x27;t take it during a random search.&lt;p&gt;I also wrote a basic stock portfolio manager - this was the only chance I had to program during my 5 years there.</text></item><item><author>jmcphers</author><text>You can easily store notes on a TI calculator. I had a TI-85 in college, and was occasionally guilty of writing TI-BASIC programs to make tests easier (for example, I had one which computed Euler&amp;#x27;s method).</text></item><item><author>jedberg</author><text>This can be summed up pretty easily.  The TI graphing calculator has no internet access and no ability to store notes.  Neither ability can be easily added.&lt;p&gt;As long as that is the case, they will win, because the test companies don&amp;#x27;t want to deal with people having internet access and notes.&lt;p&gt;Now if Apple&amp;#x2F;Android made a simple way for a test proctor to put your phone into a single app only that you couldn&amp;#x27;t easily break out of, maybe things will change.&lt;p&gt;But until then, they&amp;#x27;re going to require devices without internet and note taking.&lt;p&gt;Edit:  Since everyone is replying &amp;quot;you can store notes!&amp;quot;, yes, you can, but most test proctors know about the programs and make you clear your memory before a test.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>lenova</author><text>I fascinated by the hinted-at backstory here. Would you mind sharing how you came to program in prison? Was it before, or during your time that you learned?</text></comment>
<story><title>Is the era of the $100 graphing calculator coming to an end?</title><url>https://thehustle.co/graphing-calculators-expensive/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>clamprecht</author><text>In prison, only non-programmable calculators were allowed.  A friend somehow had gotten a TI-85 in.  I programmed it to say &amp;quot;NON-PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATOR&amp;quot; as its startup message, so they wouldn&amp;#x27;t take it during a random search.&lt;p&gt;I also wrote a basic stock portfolio manager - this was the only chance I had to program during my 5 years there.</text></item><item><author>jmcphers</author><text>You can easily store notes on a TI calculator. I had a TI-85 in college, and was occasionally guilty of writing TI-BASIC programs to make tests easier (for example, I had one which computed Euler&amp;#x27;s method).</text></item><item><author>jedberg</author><text>This can be summed up pretty easily.  The TI graphing calculator has no internet access and no ability to store notes.  Neither ability can be easily added.&lt;p&gt;As long as that is the case, they will win, because the test companies don&amp;#x27;t want to deal with people having internet access and notes.&lt;p&gt;Now if Apple&amp;#x2F;Android made a simple way for a test proctor to put your phone into a single app only that you couldn&amp;#x27;t easily break out of, maybe things will change.&lt;p&gt;But until then, they&amp;#x27;re going to require devices without internet and note taking.&lt;p&gt;Edit:  Since everyone is replying &amp;quot;you can store notes!&amp;quot;, yes, you can, but most test proctors know about the programs and make you clear your memory before a test.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>lancebeet</author><text>This doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to be an entirely American phenomenon. Gottfrid Svartholm, one of the founders of PirateBay, had significant issues getting a graphing calculator for self-study in Swedish prison. Graphing calculators were apparently deemed a security risk.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;file.wikileaks.org&amp;#x2F;file&amp;#x2F;anakata&amp;#x2F;13.1_GSW_09042013_APPEAL_Calculator_ENGLISH.pdf&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;file.wikileaks.org&amp;#x2F;file&amp;#x2F;anakata&amp;#x2F;13.1_GSW_09042013_AP...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>