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Comment by pdpi | Hacker News Reader

Graphing calculators for school use infuriate me.

For the price of a calculator[0] you can instead buy an entry-level Chromebook[1]. You would get a general purpose-ish computer instead of a highly specialised, highly limited, woefully underpowered device. It feels like a weird case of regulatory capture.

    0. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Texas-Instruments-84PLCE-TBL-2E5/dp/B01086MEM2/
    1. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Chromebook-3120-3120-7898-Resolution/dp/B016DP0XUW/

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People in the UK are forced to buy these calculators also? Thought it was an exclusively US racket. Another hit to american exceptionalism.

With the rise of smartphones, I figured I was part of the last generation forced to buy these overpriced TI calculators. It's so sad to see this racket going strong today.

You spend $100 ( a lot of money to most people ) on a useless device that you don't ever use again. Never once in college or thereafter have I used my TI calculator.

Calculators are still distraction-free. They're a purpose-build device.

Our exams in engineering school took into account we could solve 5 equations/unknowns problems with our TI-92 Plus (at the time).

Can't imagine students with Chromebooks during exams (edit: or maybe I'm just from a different time)

There's good reasons to having a dedicated, more limited device.

What bothers me is that the device is a hard requirement for students, which means TI and Casio get to charge unreasonable amounts of money for these calculators that are not reflective of what they'd otherwise be worth. I brought up the Chromebook not so much as a suggested alternative, but as a benchmark for what sort of hardware you can get for the same money when your market isn't completely tied to your product.

But maybe someone has a contract with some schools so it's good money.

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