Hi, What do you think about free in the calculator world ? It is possible ? It is useless ? The open source concept actual is sufficient or not enough ?
I've my opinion about this subject, but i want to fight - understand - and just know what you think about this.

saludo
dafp.

What do you mean by free? Free as in beer or as in freedom? Free calculator software or free calculator hardware?

Free as in freedom - free calculator and/or hardware.

I'm thinking some form of smarter bot? None of these sentences are making much sense..

TIFreak8x, I think it's a legitimate user; the issue of free/FOSS hardware and software is an important one these days. dafp: So can I assume you're talking about the feasibility of open-source hardware as applied to calculators? I think that with the complexity of System on a Chip (SoC) solutions these days, it hardly makes sense to keep hardware entirely closed. Depending on the profit model and goals of the company creating a particular calculator, I could see very little deterrent to open-sourcing the hardware of a device. From the software side, a GNU OS makes the most sense for many sorts of gadgets, including advanced calculators. in my opinion.

Of course, there is one glaring downside to open hardware and software, assuming I (or you) made a popular calculator based on an open hardware design and FOSS software: knock-offs. If some manufacturing house decided they wanted to rip off your design, open hardware and software would make it easy and even legal (depending on your license) for them to do so, cutting into your profits. It boils down to whether the people making such a calculator would be interested in profit or not, I think.

No i'm a bot - with a poor english.

So, I'm really talking about free calculator like free software. Free and not open source. Because after free have open, but before open have free and only free. I'm not a open source's partisant. For me the open source model business use the same scruple as private model -> market is the market. The open source roadmap is often checked and controled by a company.
I'm not interested by that.

For me, we have all to make a real new community: free and only free.
I think, we can make like gnu community, but not make free software for computers but share a free calculator (with gnu programs).
On my opinion, calculators can make a good tool to learn to students the real spirit of sharing. Most of tools on education is moving to private-tools.
All of us can understand the importance of liberty but most of us swap for more performance.

The market make us like idiots who buy different calculators just to have more memory, or a special add-in, etc ...
More memory ? 1.5 MO Yeah...
Add-in ? The same add-in can run only on one calculator model.
etc ...

Lot of people say what free is useless today, open source is the business model of now and the futur. I agree of that, but we are on a world calculator with a mini model of open source, and nothing else. if we want create, share and make what we want on a calculator, we have to work on a free calculator.
New programs, for a new kernel, with new OS, and later with free hardware to make a free calculator.
All we have on a GNU OS (not all ) can be on a futur free calculator. How ? We have to begun on new base.

Saludos, dafp.

I hope you don't mean free hardware as in not costing a single penny for the user to acquire the calculator, because I don't think anybody would be willing to spend thousands of dollars to produce calculators that they would give away for free afterward.

At the very best, such calculator would have to be sold for only the amount of money required to produce the calc, to at least break even.

That's unless, of course, somebody owns another profitable, unrelated company or is rich enough to afford to pour this much money into creating calculators that they give away for free.

Just so everyone knows, dafp is a real person, i have seen him in several topics at CP.

Also, I think that software and hardware should be open-source, but I do not think it is feasable to have a totally free calculator.

How are you going to pay for the manufacturing costs?

To make a sort of "build-your-own calculator thing would be cool though. Like RepRap except a calc, and not a 3D printer.

Free!=no $. I know very well.
But a free half calculator (free software) can be easily.
I can't say, tomorrow I will produce and sell a free calculator -> I can't financily and this is a business wish. I want to can be possible but I'm not a business man.

Free Hardware Calculator after Free software calculator. Without a free operating system, the free hardware calculator will be a loss of time.

Then, for you a free calculator can't become a open calculator with a new futur market ? I don't want to make business but to give more free.
Or a calculator kit can be fun.

I think that can be a good subject for studies and give for all students, more sense of community and learn a lot of things.
Why ? A calculator is a mathematician tool, but a lot of people like to hack on his calculator. France (and lot of countries) students learn younger algorithm and informatics manipulation. I want to believe on a free education/study system who a lot of university or college can easily learn new mathematics, informatics, and electronic with a free calculator, and make new contribution on the world.

The calculator should be free and open for all. Sciences for all.

saludos, dafp.

I think i understand what you mean. I really think the best way to do it would be to tell the end user how to make the calc himself, rather than you trying to produce it for him... like reprap.

I think is the best way to keep the calculator free.

I hope that we understand me with my *** english - sorry.

Yes, because that makes the cost totally dependent on what the user can afford, what he can find, and what he is able to innovate. For example, your calculator may not have a case, have a screen from an old electronic device you found, and have a store bought board which would be cheaper than my all store-bought parts one. the nice thing is that they would both run the same OS, have the same performance specs and be able to run the same programs.

It also gets rid of labor costs.

In other words, the calculator can be as expensive as the user makes it.

And the most important, learn to each other, how to have the same great calculator which we make.
But we can propose some standard components for beginner users.
And sell his free personalize calculator to each other with a free OS if we want.

We can make the free calculator becomes a system who each can make his calculator and becomes a real free system to study on school (or not).
A great free system for learning and sharing knowledge.

Exactly what i am thinking. Only problem i can think of is standardized tests.