Talk nerdy to me: I need a new calculator, I accidentally the whole thing... Options

[Juggs]

Waaaaaaaaay back in highschool I got a funky Casio calculator. Some would peel the metal cover off removing all the function labels, some would stick porn pics inside the lid, most of us would play "cricket" on it, and very few of us actually did any work with it.

looked kinda like this (if not the exact model)



Its safe to say that nearly 20 years after I received it, I have absolutely no fkn idea where it is.

I've been using Cheeky's while I go about my uni work. Which has been fine, except it was lost in the last move (I was working on the dining room table right up until moving day, and I have nfi where it went or who packed it (we had helpers)).

So I ask for your recommendations. I'm completing a business degree atm, and I know I've got stats just up around the corner as well. I'll need something that wont get me turfed out of exams either.

A couple of suggestions that have already been put to me have been the TI 84+ and the TI 89.

Cheers

J

[aliali]

I'll need something that wont get me turfed out of exams either.

From that I assume certain calculators are banned?
Does the Uni publish a list of acceptable or banned calculators you can use in an exam?

[robzy]

Does the Uni publish a list of acceptable or banned calculators you can use in an exam?

^--

In my entire university career, I only had one subject that allowed me to bring in an TI84+/TI89. All others forbade a graphics calculator, and required a scientific calculator.

If its a scientific calculator, you just go down to office works and pick one that happens to catch your attention. Personally, I'd be picking one that is a bit more expensive than the others, in the hope that its built better and feels nicer to type on.

I've had some where the buttons aren't very "tight" and its difficult to use it confidently and quickly.

Rob.

[Khirareq]

I remember them - My older sister used to have one, but by the time I got to High School, we had the newer ones where the lid was attached to the device (They sucked as the lids were prone to just popping off, and that one you linked was completely protected)

Went looking at Officeworks and seems this is the baseline CASIO now http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/produ...tors/SHFX82AUPL

"Specifically designed for the Australian market and approved by the Board of Studies nationally" - After having a look at the other models with and without this notice, it looks like the issue is having long-term memory storage within the device (So they want it to clear when turned off) - Makes sense, I wasn't allowed to use my calculator in my HSC because I was dumb and painted it (But still blitzed the HSC without it *shrug*)

[Juggs]

Very good point re: checking with the uni. I'll go and do that first, to ensure that I don't drop cash on something I have to leave at the door.

The concern, most definitely, would be that I'd be able to store forumlas and such in the device.


Khir: the one I had in school had the lid connect via the top of the unit, so that it flipped over the back and gave it a slight lean towards you. Cheeky's one has a removable cover that you slide down over the calculator, flip the lid over, and then slide it on over the back of the calculator. Didn't tilt it either.

I'll hit the uni website up and see what they state.

(b) Only silent, non-programmable calculators are permitted. Calculators with
alphabetic keypads, other electronic devices (for example, a mobile phone or a
Blackberry or a PDA) are not permitted in examinations.

I guess that makes that fairly clear.

This post has been edited by Juggs: Apr 1 2012, 11:20 AM

[Charcoal]

I assume your uni has a bookstore on campus, any calculators they have there should be OK to use in exams.

Find out the model from there and go buy it somewhere that has it a bit cheaper.

[TheSingularity]

Very good point re: checking with the uni. I'll go and do that first, to ensure that I don't drop cash on something I have to leave at the door.

The concern, most definitely, would be that I'd be able to store forumlas and such in the device.


Khir: the one I had in school had the lid connect via the top of the unit, so that it flipped over the back and gave it a slight lean towards you. Cheeky's one has a removable cover that you slide down over the calculator, flip the lid over, and then slide it on over the back of the calculator. Didn't tilt it either.

I'll hit the uni website up and see what they state.

(b) Only silent, non-programmable calculators are permitted. Calculators with
alphabetic keypads, other electronic devices (for example, a mobile phone or a
Blackberry or a PDA) are not permitted in examinations.

I guess that makes that fairly clear.

Doubt you would have been allowed to use the one you posted a picture of seeing as it sounds like a graphics calculator.

I was going to point to a graphics calculator till you mentioned this:

"(b) Only silent, non-programmable calculators are permitted. Calculators with
alphabetic keypads, other electronic devices (for example, a mobile phone or a
Blackberry or a PDA) are not permitted in examinations. "

So no graphics calculators then. Scientific calculators it is!

Robzy linked to this http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/produ...tors/SHFX82AUPL which is a basic scientific calculator model, perfect for what you want it for.

Still check with the Uni just for the sake of it. Unless you find out you actually need a graphics calculator well...Then post so and I know of a good model that I'm currently using.

[robzy]

...

Doubt you would have been allowed to use the one you posted a picture of seeing as it sounds like a graphics calculator.

Er. No it doesn't. None of the calculators linked/pictured in this thread have been graphics calculators. (Juggs has only mentioned two graphics models). If Juggs wanted to use an fx-100c, then he could.

Robzy linked to this http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/produ...tors/SHFX82AUPL which is a basic scientific calculator model, perfect for what you want it for.

No he didn't, Khir did.

My calculator of choice is Sharp EL-531W, simply because that's what I had in high school. They no longer make them any more, but because I like it, if I needed to I'd probably buy today's equivalent, the Sharp EL531XHBWH. (There's also the fact that my professional exams specifically list 6 models of calculators that I can use, no more and no less).

A few months back I was studying at work, but left my calculator at home, so I popped out and bought the Hewlett Packard HP10s. This calculator was the source of my "Personally, I'd be picking one that is a bit more expensive than the others, in the hope that its built better and feels nicer to type on" comment. It was simply unpleasant to use, primarily because of the buttons. (It didn't help that the buttons were in a different place than my Sharp).

The four-lined calculator linked by Khir looks good, but I'm basing that only on the fact that it seems to have four lines. Four is surely better than two. I'd just be confirming that its cool for uni use.

Rob.

This post has been edited by robzy: Apr 1 2012, 02:50 PM

[.:Cyb3rGlitch:.]

I use a Casio fx-82AU PLUS. I'm sure there's better options, but it does everything I need. I've used it for vector calculus, complex analysis, linear algebra, statistics and calculus courses at uni.

This post has been edited by .:Cyb3rGlitch:.: Apr 1 2012, 02:57 PM

[robzy]

I use a Casio fx-82AU PLUS. I'm sure there's better options, but it does everything I need. I've used it for vector calculus, complex analysis, linear algebra, statistics and calculus courses at uni.

Oh. I do like the fact that it displays fractions "properly."

Rob.

[Juggs]

Gah, and I was just walking by a DSE not more than half an hour ago.

[TheSingularity]

...

Doubt you would have been allowed to use the one you posted a picture of seeing as it sounds like a graphics calculator.

Er. No it doesn't. None of the calculators linked/pictured in this thread have been graphics calculators. (Juggs has only mentioned two graphics models). If Juggs wanted to use an fx-100c, then he could.

Robzy linked to this http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/produ...tors/SHFX82AUPL which is a basic scientific calculator model, perfect for what you want it for.

No he didn't, Khir did.

My calculator of choice is Sharp EL-531W, simply because that's what I had in high school. They no longer make them any more, but because I like it, if I needed to I'd probably buy today's equivalent, the Sharp EL531XHBWH. (There's also the fact that my professional exams specifically list 6 models of calculators that I can use, no more and no less).

A few months back I was studying at work, but left my calculator at home, so I popped out and bought the Hewlett Packard HP10s. This calculator was the source of my "Personally, I'd be picking one that is a bit more expensive than the others, in the hope that its built better and feels nicer to type on" comment. It was simply unpleasant to use, primarily because of the buttons. (It didn't help that the buttons were in a different place than my Sharp).

The four-lined calculator linked by Khir looks good, but I'm basing that only on the fact that it seems to have four lines. Four is surely better than two. I'd just be confirming that its cool for uni use.

Rob.

My bad, I think when I was typing up the post I looked down to see who posted that and read it incorrectly for some reason read the line underneath was the commenter ...

I've seen those Sharp calculators everywhere, got one myself, know multiple people at school who have one too...So not sure what you mean by they don't make it any more unless the one I have is a different model but it has the exact same design. Or I got it when they were still being produced.

Oh this was the graphics calculator I would have suggested though http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/produ...lators/CAFX9860 I've got this graphics calculator that's why I'm suggesting it, if you need a graphics calculator that is. Occasionally Officeworks has it on sale for $189 every so often.

So that one he linked wasn't a graphics calculator, I can see why but I read programmable and assumed otherwise...Just looks like an old school scientific calculator.

This post has been edited by TheSingularity: Apr 1 2012, 04:26 PM

[.:Cyb3rGlitch:.]

Pssh, graphing calculators... on the rare case that you'd need one, just use http://www.wolframalpha.com/

I also use HandyCalc on Android for times when I need a calculator in non-exam conditions.

This post has been edited by .:Cyb3rGlitch:.: Apr 1 2012, 05:02 PM

[elvenwhore]

Shit dude, I found my 3 calculators from high school just the other day - if you wanted to rock the vintage look, you could have the suckers :-p I have the one you linked in the OP, I have one of those cool flip-cover ones and some other random slide-out one.

Because what else am I going to do with 3 scientific calculators from high school? Only so many times I can spell 'boobless' before I lose interest :-p :-)

[fredzfrog]

Shit dude, I found my 3 calculators from high school just the other day - if you wanted to rock the vintage look, you could have the suckers :-p I have the one you linked in the OP, I have one of those cool flip-cover ones and some other random slide-out one.

Because what else am I going to do with 3 scientific calculators from high school? Only so many times I can spell 'boobless' before I lose interest :-p :-)

Try OIL BOOBS lol

[TinBane]

1. Get one of those free promotional calculators from your supplier of choice. Attending one trade fair in any field from IT to book keeping should do it. Because let's face it, when you work in IT what you constantly need is a calculator that can't convert between different bases.
2. Learn to use calculator. I suggest you have a competition with some of your co-students, where by you compete in a round-robin time-trial test. Create a points based ladder, where by the score difference varies based on how long the operation takes to complete, but you score 0 if you think you've completed a question but you got the answer wrong.
3. There are lots of articles online about using basic calculators to work out some pretty funky stuff that you might not know how to do. For instance you can eventually work out thousands of figures of pi with a basic calculator and a little patience (and a lot of paper). Memorise how to calculate pi figures, and if a question is hard, put the first 1000 digits of pi on the bottom in the hope of getting partial marks.
4. Sit the exam, confident in your mastery of the non-graphing calculator, and happy at the cash saved in not paying for one. Now you find out that your freeby calculator is well and truly dead, and that you can't bring a soldering iron into an exam.


The moral of the story? Make sure you have backup batteries, a friend of mine had his die half-way through an exam once.

[Juggs]

Love it, caress its buttons...


:P


Elven: What would I need to do to talk one of those out of your hands :) The idea of rocking it oldschool does give me funny tingles.

I could kick Gharphield twice if you'd like :)

[elvenwhore]

hmmm, whilst the idea of a little mann gegen mann is appealing :-p really nothing more than PMing an address to post to would be necessary :-)
I have laid my hand to my Casio fx-100d Super-FX scientific calc and my Casio fx-82TL scientific calc - if either or both of those sound useful, you are more than welcome to them. They both need new batteries, though - they're sleeping very soundly at the moment :-(

[Antraman]

One of my prized gadgets from my high school days is this calculator, Casio fx-3600Pv, had it for more than 30 years after buying it off a classmate for around $20. It still works and hasn't missed a beat in all this time. I love technology that just works and continues to work...wouldn't sell this for anything now...

Programmable calcs weren't allowed in exams when I went through the system. I went to the trouble of blacking out the RUN button then using liquid paper, wrote some other mathematical symbol on it so it wouldn't be seen as a programmable calc. The exam scrutineers checked, but didn't know what they were looking at, and passed over it without the blink of an eye. Of all the features it has, I thought the K-in and K-out 1-9 memory storage was the greatest thing ever, allowed for so much convenience when just doing basic math all the way up to whole formulas.

EDIT: And the fact that it is solar powered. Fucking SOLAR POWERED!! Its got a solar panel on the front!!

You can pick them up on ebay still cheap as chips.



This post has been edited by Antraman: Apr 3 2012, 12:37 AM