What's Out There for Handheld Math? 92
PowerVegetable asks: "What's the story with handheld computation? Not address books and schedule reminders; I'm talking about the type of stuff computers were invented for. Anyone who's used Mathematica or Maple knows what desktop computers are capable of these days math-wise, but handheld computation seems to have fallen behind on the innovation front. Cell phones and handheld game systems have certainly enjoyed rapid advancement, so where are the handheld mathematical portable oracles? What's available that doesn't have obscure menu systems, bad displays, underpowered processors and unwieldy programming languages? Pickings are slim in the hard-coded calculator industry, but what about Pocket PC's or other programmable portables? Is there any portable solution out there that's more capable than my old HP49g?"
Ummm.... (Score:5, Informative)
Unless I missed something skimming the post, seems like a good solution...
Re:Ummm.... (Score:2)
The 3d graphing is also terribly slow.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:2)
I swear, nerds are going to be overclocking their vacuum cleaners one day...
Re:Ummm.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Calculators are all very well, but I want something that can do symbolic manipulation, stats, graphing, data logging & manipulation (ie {(x1,y1)...(xn,yn) -> (a1,b1)...(am,bm)}, where n=/=m. See, I can't even write something that simple properly). I want my input device to be a pen, not a billion buttons whose functions I cannot decode without a manual four times the size of the device itself.
It doesn't need to be super-fancy. B&W is fine, but some graphics would be nice.
At the moment,
Re:Ummm.... (Score:3, Insightful)
(Not a troll - the Tablet PC was designed for people like you)
Re:Ummm.... (Score:4, Informative)
Since its got a keyboard, you won't have to look up many key functions, unless you have a hard time with the alphabet.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Ummm.... (Score:1)
Re:Ummm.... (Score:1)
But as somebody mentioned other compilers are available.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:2)
To each his own though- I know a ton of people who love the way paper feels above all else. And that's fine, but not for me. You can't grep a dead tree.
Joy, envy, demanding details (Score:2)
Re:Joy, envy, demanding details (Score:2)
1st Gen:
The first iteration of my paper-less setup was a Newton MP2100, keyboard, 8 MB flash card, and 3com ethernet card. I owned 3 other PDAs before this (Newton OMP, MP120/OS 1.3, and a VTech Helio running Linux), though none of them were this good. In most ways, this Newton was still the best PDA I've ever had. It was by far the best PDA I ha
Re:Joy, envy, demanding details (Score:2)
I've noticed that doing sketches on PDAs always looks like a 6-year old's drawings. I wonder if it's because the drawing surface of the PDA doesn't have any friction like a piece of paper would. Even attempting to draw with a mouse in a paint application tends to yield the same results.
One thing I did notice that helps is if you draw while in magnification mode, and then draw everything large, it doesn't look quite so kindergardenish when it's scaled back
Random responses (Score:2)
Gah. The MP2100 came out after I gave up on the Newton platform. If it had come out sooner, I'd probably be one of those people who won't accept that the Newton will never come back. Then again, if the MP2100 had come out sooner, the Newton might not have gone away.
Double Gah. I'm constantl
Mathematica and Zaurus (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Mathematica and Zaurus (Score:2)
Re:Mathematica and Zaurus (Score:2)
Re:Mathematica and Zaurus (Score:3, Informative)
I came pretty close to buying F1, but never did. It looks nice, but doesn't have all of the features that Maxima or Octave have, both or one of which you can get easily and free for Windows CE/PocketPC or Zaurus handhelds. It sure as hell is far away from being Mathematica...
Re:Mathematica and Zaurus (Score:2)
Easycalc for Palm Pilots (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Easycalc for Palm Pilots (Score:1)
Re:Easycalc for Palm Pilots (Score:2)
Well, there's also LyME [calerga.com], and Mathpad [palmblvd.com]. Not exactly Mathematica or Matlab or Maple, but if you really need that kind of power you should carry a laptop with you...
LyME - Matlab for Palm (Score:2)
but without scripts and a mathematics keypad, it is nothing compared to my 83+, let alone my 89.
Another reply to your post mentioned it; I'll add my two cents: I run LyME [calerga.com] on my Palm IIIxe.
I love it. For most stuff, it's perfectly adequate, and it's really great having much of Matlab in your back pocket with everything else that a well-used PDA carries.
I use my little old Palm for everything. Replying to e-mail (Eudora for Palm) on the PDA during downtime somewhere requires a keyboard. As such, I have it
Symbolic Calculator (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Symbolic Calculator (Score:1)
I know that some people at least tried to use it on a Zaurus, but I don't know whether they succeeded; you might want to post to the gap-forum mailing list to see whether anyone out there has succeeded with this already.
Looks like somebody else (Score:2)
http://www.mathmlconference.org/2002/presentation
gee. (Score:2)
Re:gee. (Score:4, Informative)
He said 49G, no +. The 49G+ is pretty good though. 75-MHz 32-bit ARM9 CPU, 2.5-MB of RAM, and an SD card port, which can hold more than 512-MB. Anything handheld with more power would be called a PDA. And, after you get it, download my library [earthlink.net] of 116 additional functions for it.
Re:gee. (Score:2)
Derive on HP 200LX (Score:1)
Derive for DOS is old and the interface is a bit clunky (compared to Maple or Mathematica), but it beat the tar out of a HP48. Heck, on a 200LX, it's probably still the best and most usable symbolic math package in something approaching the size of a scientific calculator. (Though that may be changing wit
Re:Derive on HP 200LX (Score:2)
The CAS used on the TI-89, TI-92, etc., is Derive.
Re:Derive on HP 200LX (Score:2, Interesting)
Interesting, I didn't know that. I always wondered why TI bought out those guys.
Still, I believe that the HP 200LX+Derive combo is superior to the 68k based TIs because of greater RAM and a better display, not to mention the integrated PIM software (which was very good for its time) and DOS compatibility of the 200LX.
It's a pity Derive never came out for Palm or WinCE.
Re:Derive on HP 200LX (Score:2)
See Palmtop.net [palmtop.net] for more info. I still use mine after 5 years....
Whatever happened to the 80186? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Whatever happened to the 80186? (Score:2)
but it's true. very popular for embedded apps.
Re:Whatever happened to the 80186? (Score:2)
ti-89? (Score:3, Informative)
Having said that, there's a nice open source clone of matlab out there called octave. You might be able to run it on a zaurus running linux or something.
TI-89 Reprazent (Score:2)
Re:TI-89 Reprazent (Score:1)
Re:ti-89? (Score:2)
You do realize that the 49G can operate in algebraic mode, don't you?
In fact, the documentation is written entirely assuming algebraic mode, enraging engineers and other professionals who had used HP calculators for years...
As far as the state of 'handheld math' goes, (Score:5, Funny)
Big deal. I can count higher. (Score:2)
Re:As far as the state of 'handheld math' goes, (Score:5, Funny)
Re:As far as the state of 'handheld math' goes, (Score:1)
Linux + Handheld (Score:1)
Re:Linux + Handheld (Score:2)
No wonder... it's this kind of attitude that seems to convince people that recompiling is taking a port far enough- no wonder there are more good Unix adaptations for WinCE than there are for the Zaurus.
I know of three for the Zaurus.... (Score:3, Informative)
Formulae 1 [handango.com] (for writing formulae and recording 'em; I don't think it does a whole lot of calculations, but I could be wrong. Note that it requires Java)
Finally, there's QPlot, which is essentially a frontend to bc.
Re:I know of three for the Zaurus.... (Score:2)
GAP is a free system for computational discrete algebra. [gap-system.org]
Good question (Score:2)
handwriting recognition. Something which could
interpret definite integrals, norms of matrices,
and ideally more sophisticated things like
group-theoretical and topological notations.
Re:Good question (Score:1)
Handheld Math Device of Choice (Score:3, Funny)
Why, yes. As a matter of fact, I am an old fart. Why do you ask?
Re:Handheld Math Device of Choice (Score:2)
Re:Handheld Math Device of Choice (Score:2)
either my Pickett Microline 120 or my TI SR-40.
Ah, the murderer and its victim, reunited in your desk drawer.
I do my handheld crunching with an assortment:
Re:Handheld Math Device of Choice (Score:1)
"either my Pickett Microline 120 or my TI SR-40.
Ah, the murderer and its victim, reunited in your desk drawer."
Well, desktop, actually. As for murderer, the culprit would be the HP-35, not my T.I. SR-40. T.I. wishes they were the first.
I need to get a battery and chager for my 35 one of these days.
I also do need to get a better slide rule. The Pickett is just fine, but after all, it IS just a Microline.
Thanks for the tip about LyME! That's a new one to me.
Re:Handheld Math Device of Choice (Score:2)
Well, desktop, actually. As for murderer, the culprit would be the HP-35, not my T.I. SR-40. T.I. wishes they were the first.
I know, I know. I wasn't being brand-specific. Pickett was still in business until at least 2000 (selling drafting rulers, etc.). And it wasn't the TI which killed the sliderule, just the scientific calculator in general.
I need to get a battery and chager for my 35 one of these days.
Good luck. I've never had an HP-35; if the battery is pretty easy (in shape and voltage), then you
Meditor for Java, Midp and Palm (Score:1)
http://www.sf.net/projects/jscl-meditor
Description from the sf project:
java symbolic computing library and mathematical editor, with : polynomial system solving, vectors & matrices, factorization, derivatives, integrals (rational functions), boolean algebra, simplification, MathML output, java code generation
kanenas
Discrete Maths and more - Pari/GP (Score:4, Informative)
It's a bit like Mathematica, but faster, GPL'ed and amazingly well supported (i.e. bugs get fixed within days of reporting).
YAW.
Re:Discrete Maths and more - Pari/GP (Score:2)
Not just for handhelds (Score:2)
Re:Discrete Maths and more - Pari/GP (Score:3, Insightful)
From my understanding, Pari/GP's concentration is number theory where Mathematica's is symbolic computation.
I have used Matlab/Octave, Mathematica, and Maxima but never Pari/GP and I'm curious what Pari/GP can do. I've the most experience with Matlab/Octave, a
Re:Discrete Maths and more - Pari/GP (Score:1)
I appreciate that I probably never even looked at 90% of mathematica (although when bored I would sometimes just browse the manuals and run the examples).
Pari/GP is certainly more number-theoretic based. Pari/GP will do sym
Re:Discrete Maths and more - Pari/GP (Score:1)
And I freaking previewed. D'oh!
YAW
note to self (Score:1)
I like the Ti30, simple scientific calc, single line display though, and with anything higher than algebra 1 type stuff you REALLY need more firepower (I should have gotten one three years ago, I see they haven't dropped in price at all).
I'm all for the TI's.
PalmOS - LyME (Score:3, Informative)
Pocket PC based calc (Score:2)
http://ravend.com/ [ravend.com]
Maxima and GNUplot on WinCE (Score:2)
two different great ones: (Score:2, Informative)
Finance, Scientific, Graphing flavors.
Infinity Softworks [infinitysw.com]
Alot like the HP, TI power scientific calcs. Has Pocket PC & Palm versions
CmplxCalcPro:
Has a powerful programming capability, but the UI is a bit rough. Only Palm, I think.
ADACS [adacs.com]
lispme? (Score:2)
It's pretty much roll-your-own, but lispme [lispme.de] provides access to a reasonable set of mathematical functions, and lisp in general is well-suited to functional programming (that is, building your own calculations).
Power48 (Score:2, Informative)
Power48 runs on palms and palm compatibles and it emulates a HP48 at the hardware level.
It is, however, slow and locks up by sony SJ-33 rather often.
It's not as good as a real HP48 because there is no keyboard so it is very hard to tap and click as fast as you can type on a real HP48
HP 49G on your PDA (Score:2)
Re:HP 49G on your PDA (Score:2)
I'd definitely be willing to pay to have a 48/49 emu for that thing - it's really the one killer app I feel like I'm missing. Yea, I know there's rdcalc and whatnot, but if it's not RPN, it's not a real calculator.
Lyme - Matlab clone (Score:2)
You can try LyME [calerga.com] from Calerga. It's a lightweight Matlab clone that runs on the Palm OS.
And the best part: it's free! (as in beer)
How about a pencil? (Score:1)
Real Calculator (Score:2)
Derg