Mar 17
Smart rings may seem like something from an impossible (or at least highly unlikely
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Feb 09
This article was written on August 17, 2011 by CyberNet.
Students these days have a lot of resources available at their disposal thanks to the Internet. In fact there is so much out there that most students will never even use a lot of the tools available, and a good example of that is Microsoft Mathematics. This free app covers everything from basic math to precalculus, and can even provide step-by-step explanations for solving math problems. The screenshot above demonstrates what the problem solver looks like including the explanations that are provided for every step. Pretty amazing.
Here’s a rundown on some of the things Microsoft Mathematics is capable of:
- The step-by-step equation solver
Students can use this to learn how to solve difficult math problems. - Graphing calculator
Its full features and large two-dimensional and enhanced three-dimensional color graphs can better illustrate problems and concepts. - Formulas and equations library
Students will find more than 100 commonly used equations and formulae to help identify and apply equations. - Triangle solver
This graphing tool explains triangles and their parts. - Unit conversion tool
Students can use this handy tool to quickly and easily convert units of measure, including length, area, volume, weight, temperature, pressure, energy, power, velocity, and time.
Neat, huh? Imagine doing your homework with this at your side!
Microsoft Mathematics Homepage (Windows only; Freeware)
Copyright © 2014 CyberNetNews.com
Oct 29
While Apple definitely made it easier to access the calculator in iOS7, you still might find yourself without a way to do math on your smartphone. Maybe the battery ran out, or maybe you’ve found a way to make the Calculator app crash. Either way, you need a “Plan B” for your maths. I present the solution to this challenging equation – the Abacus iPhone case.
This 3D printed case designed by Joaquin Baldwin provides a fully-functional abacus on the back of your iPhone, letting you work math problems without even slightly draining your battery. And as an added bonus, you’ll get tiny Apple logos in place of traditional abacus beads.
The Abacus case is available in iPhone 5/5S and 4/4S variants over on Shapeways for $24(USD). While I’ll have to dust off my abacus-using skills, I guess it beats using Chisanbop.
Oct 05
If you’ve ever been in a grade school science class, you probably know that the electrolytes in potatoes generate a small amount of electricity when connected to zinc and copper electrodes. So is it possible that with enough potatoes wired together, you could provide enough energy to power your entire house?
Well, the guys over at Movoto don’t know the scientific answer, but at least they’ve done the math for us and put together this handy calculator which figures out how many spuds it would take to power your house, based on the average current produced by a single (boiled) potato, the square footage of your home, and how long you’d need the power:
I live in a pretty big house, so I’ll need about 10,000 potatoes, at a cost of over $3000 to power my house for one day. Guess that’s not particularly cost-effective, since my current electric bill works out to be about 5 bucks a day. In fact, powering most homes with potatoes for a year would cost more money than double the value of the home itself.
On the plus side, you’d never run out of mashed potatoes.
[via Movoto]
Jul 18
Boy, I haven’t seen a reel-to-reel tape deck in years. After 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, MiniDiscs and MP3s, we’re at least five generations past the everyday use of these things. And dekstop calculators? I haven’t used one in a very long time either. Between my smartphone and my computer, I’ve had no reason to have one. But that hasn’t stopped somebody from mashing up these two obsolete technologies into one new device.
This retro-style LCD calculator combines these old-school gadgets into one – though it only works as a calculator and won’t play your old spools of magnetic tape, no matter how hard you try. On the plus side, you don’t need to worry about getting your tape tangled up.
If you actually have some use for this thing, it sells for £8.49 (~$13USD) over at I Want One of Those.
[via The Red Ferret]
Jun 19
3D printing continues to become more mainstream, with some printers hitting the market for under $400(USD) now. While the technology is still in its relative infancy, it’s only a matter of time before 3D printing is used to build everything from gadgets to toys to cars and even houses. The technology is still too slow and costly to do the latter, but that didn’t stop one site from figuring out how today’s 3D printing tech could be used to print the bricks for your next home.
The guys at the Movoto blog came up with a calculator which can figure out how much money and time it would take to 3D print a house using today’s technology. If you look at the example above, a 4000 sq. ft., 3 level house would cost nearly $500,000 in plastic 3D printing materials, and take a whopping 322-1/2 years to complete on a single 3D printer. I’m not sure I can wait that long. Oh, and did I mention that’s just for the exterior bricks? You’ll still need to build the interior and roof the old fashioned way.
You can punch in your own home dimensions in the calculator below to see how much time and money it would take to 3D print your house:
By Movoto
On the plus side, 3D printing is getting faster and cheaper with every generation, so I’m sure that you’ll be able to print the components for large structures in much less time at some point during our lifetimes. Though I’m not sure it’ll ever be cheaper or faster than using traditional building materials.
Feb 07
With tablets slowly working their way into the classroom, it wasn’t a huge stretch to realize that Texas Instruments would bring a graphing calculator app to the table, but would you believe its solution is just hours away? The company has revealed TI-Nspire for the iPad, which is currently available within the App Store for those in Australia. Beyond problem solving, the product is said to provide an interactive experience that should be helpful for reinforcing mathematical concepts. Depending on your needs and curriculum, you’ll find numerical and symbolic (CAS) versions of the TI-Nspire app, both of which cost $29.99. Yes, the app’s a bit pricey, but it’s not surprising given the insane profit margins of TI’s graphing calculator biz. Hop the break for a better peek of the app that might just become required within classrooms.
Gallery: TI-Nspire for iPad
Filed under: Software
Via: TI-Planet
Jan 09
Already on Android for the past few months, this conceptually simple calculator app is finally available to iOS users. What may seem basic in theory becomes extraordinary in MyScript’s execution, leaving you with a buttonless calculator you’d never think to want but can’t imagine living without. More »
Dec 05
People have been using scientific calculators as math class distractions for years, from gunning down Nazis in Wolfenstein to hunting demons in Doom. But our jaws dropped in amazement when we discovered that an enterprising fellow that goes by Builderboy from Omnimaga has ported over Portal to the humble number cruncher. Dubbed Portal Prelude, the monochrome game is built only for the TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus series of graphic calculators and was based on the Flash clone of the popular video game due to the two-dimensional nature of the platform. Sure, it’s not as engaging as the genuine article, but seeing as it’s the only portable version of the game we know of, we’ll take it. Indeed, you can go ahead and download it right now if you have a compatible calculator. In the meantime, we’re eagerly waiting to see how this could be rejiggered to take advantage of the color display of the TI-84+. You can take a peek at the demo video of Portal Prelude after the break.
Continue reading Unlike the cake, Portal on a TI calculator is not a lie (video)
Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Alt
Source: Omnimaga
Dec 02
Earlier this year we saw a calculator playing Pokémon via a Game Boy Color emulator. Redditor Builderboy2005 has made something way better (or worse, depending on your expectations). Portal Prelude, a game for Texas Instruments calculators. It’s not the original game, but it does feature its space-warping mechanics.
Like the official Valve games Portal Prelude takes place at Aperture Laboratories, but “long before GLaDOS ever ran the facility.” It comes with 38 testing chambers and even has a level editor. The game is only compatible with Texas Instruments’ Ti-83 and Ti-84 series of calculators. You can watch the video below to see how it plays, but if you intend to play the game don’t watch the video all the way through because it shows how to solve the puzzles.
You can download Portal Prelude for free on Omnimaga. Builderboy and Omnimaga both pointed out that there are calculator emulators for the PC that you might be able to use to run this game, but not only is that method probably illegal, I think it also ruins some of the magic of playing Portal on a freakin’ calculator.
[via Reddit]
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