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December 09, 2022

Yesterday, I left off talking about the TI-85, the second Texas Instruments graphing calculators.
The 85 had a huge problem, it was designed for college level calculus. It could be used to solve polynomial expressions. This was a problem for highschool algebra classes as well as the SATs. (I can't find any records of when the policy changed, but I know that initially, the TI-85 was banned from use on the SATs for this reason.)

What was TI's response? The TI-82 in 1993, less than a year after the TI-85.
This new calculator had many of the features people loved about the 85, like the ability to use the link cables, and a backup battery, but TI cut the functionality down to something closer to the 81, then cut the memory in order to bring down the price.
This made the TI-82 the most sought after calculator for highschool classrooms. It also makes it probably the most popular of all the models sold in the 90s.

The TI-82 was so successful, that Texas Instruments didn't release any upgrade for 3 years. But there were other models in the mean time.

In 1995, Texas Instfuments released 2 new graphing calculators taking the features of the previous models to the extreme.

The TI-80 was a cut down version of the original 81 but much smaller and capable of running on 2 coin-cell batteries.

The TI-92 was the biggest beast of them all sporting more pixels, more memory, and a full qwerty keyboard. It also used a Motorola 6800 processor at 10hz. So it was basically a Macintosh in your pocket.

While the 80 basically flopped, the 92 did really well despite the fact that it was banned from use on any national exams due to that keyboard. And it remains banned for that reason today. Despite that, college level calculus classes loved it due to its inclusion of CAS (Computer Algebra System, basically it can do everything you learned in Algebra). (I will definitely be talking more about this one over the weekend.)

In 1996, Texas Instruments finally released a successor to the TI-82, the TI-83.
Functionally the only changes were a much better screen (although at the same resolution) and a little more memory for programs (4k to be exact). The change that got most people to switch, was the new design of the case. Like Apple, Texas Instruments decided form was more important to consumers than function. (More on the 83 this week as well. This was my highschool baby.)

1996 also saw a small improvement in the 92 which was really just them fixing bugs in the firmware.

In 1997 a successor to the TI-85 was released. This was mostly the same as the 85, but with the same form factor as the 83 and the newer screen. (BTW, did I ever mention that the 85 had a wider screen?) But the big improvement, the new TI-86 had 128kb of memory while still using a z80 processor. (Yes, at this point in the story, the z80 is nearly 20 years old and still in use.)
The TI-86 was a huge success in colleges, (and it looks like the SAT board got over the whole polynomial equation thing by this point.) However, highschools still avoided it because they felt it allowed Algebra students to cheat on tests. So sales were not as good as TI had hoped.

In 1998 Texas Instruments released the TI-89. This was nearly identical to the 92, but in the same form factor as the 83, and 86. This new model nearly killed the 86. For only $10 more, it had 2x the memory, higher resolution, faster processor, CAS, and it was allowed for use on the SATs. Again, highschools avoided it, but by this point every college student had grown up using graphing calculators and colleges were dependent on them.

Also in 1998, a few revisions were made to the TI-83 and some new cheaper calculators were released. The TI-83 Plus was the last model released in the 90s and ends our history here.

To date, according to Texas Instruments, the TI-84 Plus, released in 2004 and still available today, has been the best selling of any model. But, there is nothing retro about something you can still buy brand new at Walmart.

All of these calculators, except the 83, were purchased from local thrift stores for less than $5 each since Lunduke announced handheld week.

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November 12, 2025
Stack Overflow Co-Founder to DHH: You Should be Afraid of Me

Jeff Atwood (co-founder of Stack Overflow & Discourse), appears to make a public threat against Omarchy & Ruby on Rails founder, DHH. Threats of violence are a pattern among Open Source Leftists.

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

00:16:33
November 12, 2025
Multiple Vulnerabilities Found in Rust Sudo Clone in Ubuntu

Ubuntu is now shipping with Rust based replacements of core utilities (sudo, date, du, etc.). And the steady stream of bugs, missing functionality, and security vulnerabilities continues.

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

00:18:01
November 12, 2025
4chan's Lawyer Talks to Lunduke

Preston Byrne, the attorney representing both 4chan and Kiwi Farms, talks with Lunduke about Ofcom and the United Kingdom's censorship campaign against Americans.

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

00:56:04
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
November 16, 2025

You can’t initialize a 1.44MB floppy disk as a GPT disk because the amount of metadata exceeds the disk.

Fun fact: PowerPC Mac’s and earlier did not use a master boot boot record.

However today’s Apple silicon Macintoshes have the 1983 master boot record pioneered in DOS 2.0 and and IBM PC/XT due to GPT disks having a “protective MBR” in the first 512 bytes.

November 14, 2025

Meanwhile in Pakistan...

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😡 I don't think that I can adequately express how much I hate the Pathological Liars who are part of the WEF Globalist Techo-Feudal "Peasants-Should-Eat-Bugs-and-Live-in-Cubicles" movement.

  • "Overseas" - newspapers run SLOP created by ChatGPT.
  • In the US - CEOs and various "Elites" say 😭 "We Can't Find Americans to Do $120K/year Jobs."
  • Commercial Drivers Licenses are given to Illegal Foreign Immigrants WHO CANNOT READ ENGLISH (and therefore don't know Highway/Traffic Signs).


Ford CEO Jim Farley Laments He Can’t Fill 5,000 Mechanic Jobs Paying $120K per Year: ‘We Are in Trouble in Our Country’
https://nypost.com/2025/11/14/business/ford-ceo-jim-farley-says-he-cant-fill-5000-mechanic-jobs-paying-120k-per-year-we-are-in-trouble-in-our-country/

"We don't hate these people enough."
Note: We've known about Citizen "IT Professionals" being unable to find jobs in their career fields, but this seems to show that EVERY FIELD OF EMPLOYMENT is being "sabotaged" in ...

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Interviews! YouTube Silver Award Thingy! 50% Off Subs!

This was yet another fantastic week at The Lunduke Journal!

Two great interviews — one with Ruby on Rails & Omarchy Linux creator (DHH), and another with the lawyer for 4chan & Kiwi Farms (Preston Byrne) — and now The Lunduke Journal’s YouTube channel has hit 100k subscribers.

Which mean I’m supposed to get one of those “I survived YouTube’s attempts to destroy my channel so now I get this silver plaque” awards. Which I may or may not have plans for.

How does The Lunduke Journal celebrate such a glorious week?

Why, by offering a super-mega-huge discount on subscriptions! Naturally!

50% off. Monthly, Yearly, or Lifetime. Through this next Wednesday (November 19th).

Every Subscription come with all of the perks:

Scroll down. Pick the subscription type that looks the best to you — starting at $2.25 per month (not too shabby) to full Lifetime subscriptions.

Every subscription helps The Lunduke Journal continue to do this reporting. This is only possible thanks to all of you.

50% Off Yearly or Monthly Subscriptions:

Available via both Locals and Substack. (This includes full access the community Forum, and all other perks.)

That means $3 / Month. Or $27 / Year (which works out to $2.25 / Month).

Via Lunduke.Locals.com:

Via Lunduke.Substack.com:

Note: You can also grab a Monthly subscription via X, YouTube, or Patreon — and get all of the same perks. There’s no way to offer a discount on those platforms, but those are still good options!

The Famous Lifetime Subscription:

The “World Famous Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription” is exactly what it sounds like. Pay once and get full access to The Lunduke Journal. For life.

Now, through Wednesday, November 19th, you can snag one at a crazy discount. Normally these are $300… but you can grab one for $150. (You can also pay more if you’d like to donate a little extra.)

The Lifetime Subscription can be obtained via Locals, Substack, or using Bitcoin. All three options work great and are super easy (& all three include access to all of the perks). Scroll down and choose your option.

Note: The Lifetime Subscription only applies to Substack and Locals. Other platforms (such as X, Patreon, & YouTube) do not provide the functionality necessary to create Lifetime Subscriptions.

How to get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select “Give Once“.

  3. Enter “150“ (or more) into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

How to get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).

  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

How to get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

You can also obtain a Lifetime Subscription via Bitcoin.

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  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com (or both).

No matter which type of subscription you choose, thank you for your support! Every subscription goes directly towards keeping The Lunduke Journal running well into the future.

-Lunduke

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November 12, 2025
Lunduke Journal Update: Nov 12, 2025

Just a few quick Lunduke Journal-y tidbits on this fine Wednesday afternoon!

  1. Two fascinating interviews this week: DHH and Preston Byrne (the attorney for 4chan). Both are worth catching if you haven’t already.

  2. The 50% off Subscriptions deal has been extended through this Friday (Nov 14th). So many of you kept picking up new subscriptions… I figured… what the heck! Why not keep the party going? So Monthly, Yearly, and Lifetime subs are all half off at least through Friday!

  3. The “Lifetime Subscriber Wall” isn’t part of today’s (November 12th) shows. There have been so many requests to be added to the wall this week that I need to update the design a bit to fit everybody. The Lifetime Wall will re-appear at the end of new shows tomorrow or Friday.

Once again, thank you for your support! None of this would be possible without you!

-Lunduke

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November 11, 2025
Lunduke taking Veteran's Day off

Today, we honor our veterans and their service to our nation.

Great men, like my grandfather who, during World War II, joined the Navy at 14 years old. He was a big, older-looking teenager… so, as was not unheard of, he lied about his age on the paperwork in order to go fight the Axis.

And his father, who joined in the year leading up to the start of World War I.

I am taking this Veteran’s Day off. In part to spend time helping my children learn about their family’s US military history (which goes back, on multiple lines, to the very beginning of our nation). And in part… to watch one of the greatest movies ever made, The Great Escape. Because, hey, Steve McQueen and James Garner! Pretty sure my Grandpa would approve.

Lunduke Journal shows will resume tomorrow (and I’ve got an awesome one lined up).

In the meantime, if you haven’t watched yesterday’s DHH interview yet, highly recommended. Watch (or listen) to it anywhere you like.

And, in the grand tradition of “Veterans Day Sales”, I’ve extended the 50% off all Lunduke Journal subscriptions discount through this coming Friday. Because I can. Pretty sure my Grandpa would approve of that too.

-Lunduke

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