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December 08, 2022

#PDAweek
TI - Graphing Calculators

If you went to school in the US during the 1990s, and in to the early 2000s, you probably owned, or at least used, a Texas Instruments 80s Series calculator.

The TI-81 was released in 1990 and immediately gained ground in schools across America. This z80 based hand-held computer was able to do anything a scientific calculator could do. It even included TI Basic, a Basic language which allowed users to write in programs to solve very complex problems. None of this was really new. Programmable calculators had been out for years. But the new trick up this calculator's sleeve, was the ability to draw graphics; specifically graphs.
This was obviously something that was typically reserved for more capable computers at the time.
For less than $150, you could own a hand held computer.
School districts across the country began purchasing class sets. TI made it easy by bundling sets with a teacher's edition of the calculator. The teacher's edition was specially modified so it could connect to an external lcd screen and be projected on the wall. (More on those another day.)

But the TI-81 had one fatal flaw. Something that really kept it from becoming the defacto standard.
Every single person had to manually enter in thier own programs. This meant that if you came up with something amazing, you couldn't share it. Worse, changing the batteries wiped the full memory.

This limitation didn't last long as Texas Imstruments released the TI-85 in 1992.
This new model used the same z80 processor, bit was somehow now many times faster.
This new calculator corrected many issues with the TI-81 including adding a backup/coin-cell battery (they added this to the TI-81 around the same time. But it wasn't there originally.) And the greatest improvement of all...
TI-Link
This new, little cable, meant that programs could be shared between students and teachers. The cable, which was simply a 3-wire cord with a 2.5mm jack on each end, changed the world for students.
Very soon after the release of the calculator, Texas Instruments released the TI-Graph Link cable, a serial cable allowing users to connect the TI-85 to a windows 3.11 or Mac OS computer, copy files and even write programs on the computer.

This new calculator came at a much higher price, preventing it from gaining mass adoption.

To be continued....

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Lunduke Computer Operating System (LCOS) 1.0 Released!

ID Verification & data collection. Forced online accounts. Bloated, slow software. AI features shoehorned everywhere. And weird, Woke politics. LCOS has none of that nonsense.

The LCOS 1.0 Press Release:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/press-release-lunduke-computer-operating

The LCOS Website:
https://lunduke.com/lcos.html

00:27:21
October 29, 2026
LCOS 1.0 is Locked, Loaded, & Ready for Release Nov 1st

The Lunduke Computer Operating System has: No Age or ID Verification. No Online Accounts. No Built-in AI Features. No Weird Politics.

Get your name in the LCOS About Window:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/8288705/3-days-left-to-get-your-name-into-lcos-1-0-s-about-window

The Lunduke Computer Operating System:
https://lunduke.com/lcos.html

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:16:30
October 27, 2026
"Fk Open Source" Says Leaders of GNOME, Elementary, Others

"What we need is free software … which [is] anti-fascist, feminist, anti-racist, Igbtq+ inclusive, anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-genai, etc."

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

Lifetime Sub Sale, Plus Your Name on the LCOS About Window:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/lifetime-sub-sale-plus-your-name

00:16:43
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044
October 28, 2026
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3 Days Left to get your name into LCOS 1.0’s About Window!

Holy imminent operating system release, Batman!

Three things worth knowing:

  1. Saturday, October 31st is the last day to get your name into the LCOS About Window by picking up a Lifetime Lunduke Journal Subscription.

  2. Saturday, October 31st is also the last day when Lifetime Subscriptions are massively discounted. (Crazy, how those two dates line up! What a coincidence!)

  3. Sunday, November 1st is the official release date for LCOS 1.0!

Want your name in the About window for the Lunduke Computer Operating System 1.0? You’ve got about 3 days left to make it happen!

Here’s what to do:

  1. Go to this page and pick up a Lifetime Subscription (aka “One Time Contribution with Lots of Perks”).

  2. Within a few hours, you’ll receive a confirmation email from yours truly with all the details.

  3. Reply to that email with how you want your name displayed in the LCOS 1.0 About Window (nick name, first name, or full name are all aok).

Just be sure complete step 3 before midnight (Central Time) on Saturday, October 31st so it definitely makes it onto the final LCOS 1.0 build! My advice? Do this by Friday, October 30th so there’s no chance you miss it!

Huge thank you to everyone who has been supporting The Lunduke Journal and LCOS! You make all of this possible!

-Lunduke

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October 17, 2026
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LCOS 1.0 Ships on November 1st!

A release date has officially been selected!

The Lunduke Computer Operating System (LCOS) 1.0 will ship on November 1st… just two weeks from now!

A few quick tidbits worth mentioning:

Worth repeating: If you want your name in the LCOS About Window (see the screenshot below), you only have through October 31st to grab a Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal and make that happen.

Huge thank you to everyone who has contributed with both hardware testing and financial support. We’ve had absolutely tremendous momentum over the last few months, and that wouldn’t have been possible without all of you.

-Lunduke

 
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October 13, 2026
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LCOS 0.9.3 has Landed! Plus: How to Help.

The Lunduke Computer Operating System (LCOS) is flying towards the official, 1.0 release — with version 0.9.3 now available for testing!

Between now and 1.0, LCOS is laser focused on a) fixing bugs and b) making sure it runs (and runs well) on as much hardware as possible.

Right now, LCOS needs your help. Here’s how:

  1. Test the latest LCOS release on your hardware. Hit any snags? Report them on GitHub, the Lunduke Forum, or via DM on X.

  2. Donate to LCOS (and The Lunduke Journal), so that we can expand our hardware testing lab (among other expenses).

If you haven’t already, watch the LCOS Roadmap video, to get an idea for where we’re heading (in 1.0 and beyond).

Then check out this page, for details on how to support LCOS & The Lunduke Journal (and get your name on the LCOS 1.0 About window in the process).

A huge thank you to everyone who has already contributed (in both ways)! With your help, we are making LCOS into the best gosh darned system in all the land.

-Lunduke

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