TI's graphing calculators are commonly used if not required in most high school and college math classes. There are a wide range of models with small feature and price differences.

The entry-level TI-73 is kept simple while still allowing many capabilities of the higher models; it is ideal for middle school and early high school use. The 83+ has the best range of all the models; it is ideal for high school and is very useful through college. The 86, while slightly older, has some advanced capablilites that the 83+ does not, a more avid calculator user may want this model instead. The 89 and 92+ are almost functionally identical; they offer a more graphical interface and are much more advanced, allowing them to be useful well beyond college (in engineering careers), but because of their symbolic solving capabilities, they may not be allowed in many high school and math courses. Other models are still sold but they are older and have less value for their price.

TI's own web site is the best source for getting general information on calculator features. Other calculator fan sites abound the internet as well, and they may also offer views on particular calculators.

One of the greatest features of TI's graphing calculators is their programming abilities. The built in TI-Basic language is both easy to learn and powerful. With the TI-Graph Link, these programs can be transferred between the calculator and a computer. Because of this, a huge interest in programming has grown, and thousands of programs can be easily found on the internet. Below are links to many programming resources.

Assembly programs are much more complex programs that access the calculator's processor directly. Speed is greatly improved and there are virtually no limits to what can be programmed in assembly. You will definately want to try some of the great assembly programs out there for your calculator. You can program your own assembly programs if you dedicate the time it takes to learn and program them.

TI Calculators have a large following of fans on the internet. Below are some common places to find them off the web, in case you want to ask them questions on programming or just create some new friends.

Introduced with the 83+ and 73 is the capability to use assembly-based application programs stored in pages of its flash memory, or flash apps. These allow a whole new dimension to TI calcs. Third parties can program programs that you can (ideally) purchase and load onto your calculator, extending its function in some way. This is similiar to buying programs for your computer and loading them on. Flash app capability is currently limited to the 83+ and the 73; updated versions of the 89 and 92+ will soon support them.

Flash apps have he potential to bring significantly new capabilities to TI calculators and therefore increase the number of people who could find them useful. Examples include sheduling capabilities, a word processor, games, or whatever else the imagination allows. A few are available now, but development is in its early stages. All flash apps can be purchased and downloaded at TI's web site.

What prevents purchasing one copy and putting it on your friends' calculators as well? The apps won't run on them. Each flash app-capable calculator has a built-in ID, which you must provide when buying an app. The app is "signed" and encrypted to only allow it to run on the IDs it was purchased for. It needs a matching ID in order to run. A similiar scheme is used on SGI workstations. Shareware and freeware apps can be signed to run on all calculators. Keep an eye on the available apps, I think you will find many of them worth the price.