Super Smash Bros. Open for TI-83/84 Calculators: Thuper Math Broth

Posted on 16/11/2014 by Lambert Varias

We’ve seen Pokémon ported to a calculator and a Portal spinoff for monochrome TI-83 series calculators. Now there’s a Smash Bros. for calculators. Made by Omnimaga member Hayleia, Super Smash Bros. Open is a work in progress spinoff of Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Like the Portal spinoff, Hayleia made Super Smash Open for monochrome TI-83 series calculators. Right now the game is in its very early stages, though there’s already a two-player option, several stages and moving platforms. Hayleia probably won’t add any more characters besides Fox and Falco, preferring to have other fill out the roster or even make new ones. Hayleia also left the code unoptimized to allow other enthusiasts to tweak it.

Ready? Go! You can download Super Smash Bros. Open from TI-Planet, but I highly recommend reading Hayleia’s post on Omnimaga to find out more about the game.

[via Tiny Cartridge]

PhotoMath App Solves Math Equations at a Glance: Tutor or Cheater?

Posted on 22/10/2014 by Lambert Varias

Most mobile devices already have a built-in calculator, and you can also get advanced calculator apps. But microBLINK’s PhotoMath app uses optical image recognition on printed equations, so that you can get the solution without even having to input a number. Math teachers beware.

$photomath math calculator app by microblink 620x413$

PhotoMath can solve simple arithmetic and algebra equations, including fractions, nth roots, exponentiation and linear equations. The app can also show you the step-by-step solution for the equation that it just solved, so at least it has some educational merit.

Here’s microBLINK’s launch of the app on TechCrunch Disrupt:

So how can teachers outsmart the app? Write their homework by hand – the app currently has difficulty processing handwriting. Then again, kids could just type the problem and then use the app. PhotoMath is available for free on iOS and Windows Phone; the Android version will be released in 2015.

[via TechCrunch]

A Smart Watch…REALLY?!

Posted on 06/01/2014 by forbes

Most of you have, by now, unpacked your Xmas gifts. Many of you are probably wondering if there are some you should return. Should you hang on to the items that seem cool at Christmas but that,...

Abacus iPhone Case: For When the Calculator App Crashes

Posted on 29/10/2013 by Paul Strauss

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.

Power Your Entire House with Potatoes!

Posted on 05/10/2013 by Paul Strauss

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]

Reel-to-Reel Tape Deck Calculator Does Not Compute

Posted on 18/07/2013 by Paul Strauss

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.

retro tape deck calculator

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]

How Long Would It Take to 3D Print Your Dream House?

Posted on 21/06/2013 by Hazel Chua

3D Print Your House

3D printing is all the rage these days. The technology has been used to print a wide range of objects, from shoes and handguns to custom splints for medical applications. What they haven’t managed to 3D print yet are houses. Don’t expect that to happen anytime soon, though, because it’ll probably take a whole new kind of plastic to actually print a house that’ll last. Aside from the material, it’s also going to take an infinitesimally long amount of time given the size and capacities of current 3D printers.

If you’re curious, real estate blog Movoto has come up with a calculator that’ll let you compute how long it’ll take to 3D print the house of your dreams. It will also provide you with a rough estimate of the cost of your 3D-printed home, along with the number of bricks your house will need. You can check out the 3D Print your House calculator online.

VIA [ C|NET ]

How Much Would it Cost to 3D Print Your House?

Posted on 19/06/2013 by Paul Strauss

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.

3d printed house

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.

Tetris Your House: How Many Tetris Blocks Will It Take to Fill Up Your Home?

Posted on 22/03/2013 by Hazel Chua

Tetris House

They sure don’t make video games like they used to. There are only a few games nowadays that can truly make you use your old noggin. Remember Tetris? I remember spending many summer afternoons arranging Tetris blocks all over the screen with the game booted up on our old Family Computer.

You can still play the game provided you have the right emulator. On a related note, taking the classic game’s concept of building blocks is this neat little web app by Movoto that was designed by Megan Radich. If you’ve ever wondered how many Tetris blocks it would take to cover or build your entire house, then wonder no more…

By Movoto

…because Movoto’s handy calculator will tell you.

VIA [ Laughing Squid ]

TI-Nspire rethinks the graphing calculator for the iPad (video)

Posted on 07/02/2013 by Zachary Lutz

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