new model of handheld calculators from TI

Dear colleagues,

Texas Instruments has launched a new model of handheld  calculators  – TI-Nspire CAS. This new instrument has the functionality of the graphing calculator TI-Nspire with a Computer Algebra System (CAS) built in. Here is the picture of this new calculator:

Price: $150.00 approximately

This new product is much more powerful  than very well known TI-89.  If you would like to know more, please go to the web page:  http://www.ti-nspire.com/tools/nspire/features/nspire_cas.html.

The TI-Nspire line of handhelds has greatly improved hardware compared to older TI graphing calculators. The new LCD screen has a higher resolution (320x240 pixels) and is capable of displaying sixteen shades of gray.

The TI-Nspire line features the ability to display dynamically linked variables from application to application. For example, a calculator application with an equation stored in the variable x might be displayed alongside a graphing application which would graph the shared variable. Changes made to variables made in one application will affect the others in real time.

In order to deal with this split-screen interface, the Nspire has the larger screen and a cursor-like control. By using the cursor many things can be adjusted fluently. Application window sizes can be adjusted. Equations can be dragged and manipulated while the coefficients of the equations change accordingly in real time. The graphing window scale and center can also be controlled using the cursor

The TI-Nspire CAS calculator stores and displays values symbolically instead of as floating-point numbers, and includes algebraic functions like deSolve(...) and eigVc(...) as well as calculus based functions, including limits, derivatives, and integrals. For this reason, the TI-Nspire CAS is more comparable to the TI-89 Titanium and Voyage 200.

No doubts, this new instrument can be used with a great success in our classrooms at UPR-RUM to teach Pre-calculus, Calculus, Differential Equations, Numerical Analysis, Statistics, Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Geometry,  Physics, and other disciplines.

Please consider this tool as a great help in teaching mathematics. The application of this new technology in our classrooms can bring a lot of valuable benefits. First of all, our students will get a powerful impulse to be motivated in mastering mathematical disciplines.  

Here are some useful web links related to TI-Nspire Technology:   

· TI-Nspire CAS Home Page:

http://www.ti-nspire.com/tools/nspire/features/nspire_cas.html

· TI-Nspire Home Page: http://www.ti-nspire.com/tools/nspire/index.html

· TI-Nspire™ CAS Handheld: http://www.calculatorsinc.com/TI-Nspire-CAS.aspx

· TI-Nspire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-Nspire

Best wishes,

                       Alexander Urintsev, Associate Professor of Math Dept

E-mail: alexu@math.uprm.edu

Tel: (787) 832-4040, x3181

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HP new Mini-Note laptop for ~$500

Tue, Apr 08, 2008
HP unveils small laptops for students (http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2008/mobility/ds_HP2133Mini-NotePC.pdf)
New line of scaled-down, low-cost laptops the latest in a growing trend
From eSchool News staff and wire service reports

Primary Topic Channel:  Computers

HP's new laptop highlights the popularity of low-cost computing.

One more of the world's largest technology companies is about to enter the growing market for pint-sized computers targeted mainly for pint-sized customers.

Hewlett-Packard Co., the No. 1 seller of personal computers worldwide, on April 8 said it's throwing its weight behind a new class of miniaturized laptops targeted primarily to students, a fledgling market already populated with products from Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor company, and Asustek Computers Inc., the world's largest maker of computer motherboards.

The machines are so new that the industry hasn't settled on a name for low-cost and scaled-down laptops, used primarily for surfing the internet and performing other basic functions such as word processing.

Intel has labeled them "netbooks," and it expects more than 50 million netbooks to be in circulation by 2011.

HP executives say their new machines, which go on sale later this month, are an important piece of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's effort to build market share in schools, where machines have to be smaller and cheaper without losing too many functions.

The companies also expect adults to gravitate to the idea of buying two laptops--a lightweight one just for web browsing on the go, and a full-power machine for the home or office. But industry executives acknowledge that the market is untested and that no one knows what the demand will be once the machines are deployed widely.

HP's foray comes in the form of a new computer called a "Mini-Note" that weighs less than 3 pounds, with a screen that measures 8.9 inches diagonally. The machines start at less than $500 for a Linux-based model. Prices go up for Windows Vista models with faster processors.

The processors HP is using are made by Via Technologies Inc., the distant third-ranked player in the microprocessor space, and come in clock speeds up to 1.6 gigahertz. The inclusion is a big win for Via, which trails Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. by a wide margin in the microprocessor market.

HP executives say the only major feature its Mini-Note lacks is an optical drive for using DVDs and CD-ROMs, which can be bought separately. But they say many schools request that the drives be left out to prevent students from playing unauthorized games.

HP also says it plans to provide free, online professional development courses designed to help teachers engage students' interest and improve their achievement through the use of technology.

The Mini-Note will compete primarily with Intel's Classmate PCs, which are designed by Intel and feature Intel chips but are built and branded by other companies, and Asustek's Eee PC. Intel last week announced new Classmate PC models with larger screens and more memory (http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53401).

To a lesser extent, they also will go up against the XO laptop from the Cambridge, Mass., nonprofit One Laptop per Child, which is intended primarily for school children in developing countries--though Birmingham, Ala., soon will be the first U.S. city to deploy XO laptops to its students (http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53412).

Intel says it has sold "tens of thousands" of Classmate PCs since they went on sale last year. And OLPC says it has sold hundreds of thousands of XO laptops. Figures were not immediately available for sales of the Eee.

Links:

HP

Intel Classmate PC

One Laptop Per Child

Asustek Computers Inc.