As you can see from the picture, it appears to be an add-on that slots into the USB port, and possible the I/O port as well.

Floppus: Then I think it is more than reasonable to think that this device uses that command together with the screenshot command for the majority of its interfacing. Why modify the OS when you don't have to?

[Image removed by request of Orbit Research.]

Apparently, it does need a specific OS, 2.55/ORh:


Sources:
http://tiplanet.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=11384
http://tiplanet.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=11360

HEY! The piggyback interface was MY idea! I knew they would steal it

The USB is probably for power only. They are using the I/O port to communicate with the device. This also was my idea!

Edit: http://ourl.ca/12935/241996

I'd like to have a copy of the Orbit Research request, which ended in my post being edited and my image removed.

There was not any request by them, but apparently they asked me/us not to post a photo of the module separated from the calc, which I didn't hear. KermM/MerthSoft heard that, so : can any of you two say if they really didn't want the image to be shared, or if it was something else, if I misunderstood ?

I'm just refering to my own post:


That's what I'm reading.


Then, if there was no such request, can it be put back please?

I was the one talking to the Orbit Research gentlemen, and I was the one who took many of those photos. They asked that when I posted these photos on Cemetech, we only show the device as a whole, as it's not meant to be taken apart. We at Cemetech are very invested on maintaining good relations with TI and its affiliates, especially considering their openness and generosity this weekend.

The request was in person when we were talking to the guys while playing with the device. They asked that we not share pictures of it apart; it will be sold as a single unit, not as an addon.

But the photo wasn't about it beeing sold separately.
It was about how it was connected to the TI-84 Plus, and how it did communicate with it.

I think it's interesting for all your membors and visitors, as many of them asked 'how'.
That's why I took the time to share the photo here.

We were all wondering which port it was using, and if it was taking simple screenshots and using OCR or not.

Yes, but they didn't want people to think of it as two separate pieces, because it's not. It's an entire thing: the Orion TI-84 Plus, a graphing calculator for vision-impaired individuals. It's not a TI-84 Plus with an Orion module stuck on top, as far as consumers are concerned. I am disappointed that obeying their wishes comes across as censorship.

Edit: To be fair, Adriweb shouldn't have uploaded it in the first place, and he apparently didn't hear the Orion gentleman ask us not to share it, he said, so I suppose the burden lay on me to delete the photo from Adrien's camera or to remember to repeat to him to remove that image from the set of photos he uploaded.

It certainly is of interest, there's no doubt about that. And I don't fully understand why they didn't want that posted, since it's really not that complicated of a design (and no doubt a full dissection will be done once the product is released), but this isn't really about the why. They were gracious enough to let us play with it and experiment, to let us take the photos, and to let us talk with them about the product. so I feel it's appropriate for us to honor their wish.

Are you certain that it communicates only through the serial port? The think might hook into both ports so that one of the ports can still be used for regular linking. I was joking when I said it would communicate through the serial port. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if TI withheld engineering information or provided misleading information, for example claiming that the calculator couldn't continue normal operating while a USB transfer was in progress. I also wouldn't be surprised if they used the serial port because they determined that using the USB port require refactoring too much of the OS USB code. I also wouldn't be surprised if the device does communicate through the USB port, because TI might well have extended lots of hospitality to Orion's engineers. We'll probably never know. All these over-broad NDAs keep people in the dark for no good reason. They're like the DMCA anti-circumvention clause: they ban every legitimate activity, too.