I don't know.. I don't see the point in installing all this other OS's or calculator apps within the calculator.

Mirage, DoorsCS, etc etc


I know I'm missing something.. so.. can anyone enlighten me?

I would only use the calculator for solving problems, and programing, no documents or games.

Well, for starters, the ones you listed are not OSes. They are shells, that add functionability to your calculator in terms of extra commands, math, or libraries for other programs to use so they can just use code available without having to write up their own to enhance their programs.

I think that different people like to use their calculators in different ways.

For some its about education and learning. For others gaming can be a good distraction from class. Then there are the few who take great pleasure away from writing software and programming their calculators!

The shells that you have listed provide a common platform for other prospective programmers as well as provide added functionality and support. They make it easier to pick up and achieve results while still learning about the intricacies of low level hardware and data structures etc.

I encourage you to have a look over the slew of programs available for the z80 line of calculators. Especially here and at ticalc.org.

I use a shell because it makes my calculator look nicer when running programs, and I use DCS7 because I program in Basic (I am one of the few who just like to program my calc), and DCS7 offers good TI-Basic libraries for enhanced abilities.

An example of useful features provided by shells (not all of them) is that you can launch a program, in Basic or not, archived or not, like you would launch an unarchived Basic program (using the PRGM menu). Useful when you don't like to waste time archiving/unarchiving and seeking for the Asm( token in the Catalog (for programs who can run with this token).

And this is only one small example.

Most importantly, without the hacking spirit and self improvement, we would not have luminaries such as Kerm, Brandon & others who make it cool to do this stuff