<p>I have a TI-84 and it sux. Should I get the TI-89? will that help me do calculus effortlessly?</p>
<p>Is the TI-89 worth it? Is it the Best calculator available?</p>
<p>My TI-89 is absolutely amazing. I can't imagine life without it...</p>
<p>I just got one yesterday. I can feel myself losing the ability to do things in calc. Lol. It is awesome, but you don't want to forget how to do calc the long way, so you have to balance it out and use it only to check answers.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Yes, it is incredible.</p></li>
<li><p>I recommend not buying it if you actually want to learn math.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Believe me-- I've had an 89 for two years. It's great, but it becomes too much of a crutch.</p>
<p>I have had it for about 6 months now, I barely use it ever.</p>
<p>Yes you should get it but don't become TOO dependent on it. It gets pretty sad after awhile</p>
<p>Is it worth throwing out my 84 and getting a 89 because 84 cant do calculus? i hope it'll give me an advantage because my calculus teacher lets us use any calculators on every tests.</p>
<p>84 can't do calc? it can integrate and differentiate numerically. i assume your teacher wants you to show all work...simply knowing the answer through the 89 wont help you if you dont know where it came from...</p>
<p>actually ALL of my calc teacher's test are multiple choice test from the textbook with an average of 10-14 questions. its really easy to do the with my friends TI-89. but TI-84 doesn't help you find limits and diffrentiation effortlessly. i need a calculator where you can do the calculus effortlessly.</p>
<p>well, if you're so set on it...:)</p>
<p>but it cost $150 and i'll have to throw away my TI-84 because the TI-84 will be useless once i get the ti-89.</p>
<p>i could get a PS2 or XBOX with $150. IS IT WORTH IT???</p>
<p>ebay your 84, get something back...</p>
<p>Why don't you just learn calculus. It's not like it's hard.</p>
<p>It's a bad idea to get dependent upon a calculator for calculus. What I recommend is that you buy MATLAB and Maple for your computer and keep your TI-84. They'll last a lot longer through your academic career than will a TI-89, and you'll still have a calculator that you can use on exams and such.</p>
<p>Plus, you can probably get MATLAB and Maple subsidized through your university, and that'd save money so you can buy your PS2. =)</p>
<p>Be careful. It's a dangerous, dangerous thing when an engineer says "I can't imagine life without it" of their calculator... Don't get dependent upon those things. You'll get laughed out of your office someday.</p>
<p>aibarr:</p>
<p>Mathematica > MATLAB</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I use my TI89 every day. I also have Maple and MATLAB (and sadly, more) and rarely use Maple except for nonlinear equation solving and occasional large data set manipulations. I rarely encounter something the TI89 won't do. It's a big plus when you're taking a test that is not so much knowledge-based as time-based. So, if you can do the math quickly you have a serious advantage. There are too many times where being able to solve a set of linear equations with the calc rather than by hand can ensure that A. When your classmates are struggling trying to solve those 6 equations before time is called, you are done.</p>
<p>I didn't get my TI 89 until my last year of undergrad, so I had to learn calculus. I can't imagine an instructer letting you use the calculator on an exam. You would never have to learn anything. Then, when you are doing partial derivatives you won't know what you are doing or what the meaing is behind all those symbols. I think the TI89 is more useful for the units conversion...never have to hunt down a chart, Data editor and algebra than the calculus.</p>
<p>In industry, most companies are using various software such as MATLAB so you're going to have to learn how to do math with a computer one day. The setup in the TI89 is very similar to the way math is done with many diff types of software. So, you'll have a small advantage there.</p>
<p>I never used the TI84. Before you make a decision learn ALL of the features of the 84. The 89 is definitely more user friendly, but if you sit down with the book for your 84 and go through all the functions and really know how to use it you will be better able to decide if the 89 really has that many extra features that you'll use. I occasionally see the 89 on sale for $99. So, maybe you could wait for that?</p>
<p>If you are thinking of getting it for the calculus you will be sorry. You will need to know the material for the classes. Limits are really only encoutered in Calc I, and then only a few times after that and then only as supporting evidence/proofs for the formulas in other disciplines.</p>
<p>Ahhh, sabnetwork... LOL... don't get me started. ;)</p>
<p>Mathematica and Maple are better for calculus-y stuff and calculator-type things, but for engineers, MATLAB skills are essential. User-constructed MATLAB programs use a fairly basic programming language that's used by professors in major academic engineering departments. MATLAB is great for lin alg and structural analysis solvers and demonstrations of the simple finite element method, so if you're planning on being in engineering for a while, you've really got to learn MATLAB. It's more powerful on the programming end of things.</p>
<p>And Hoberto, the TI-84 is capable of lin alg stuff and can solve matrices if you know how to use it. In my tutoring and TA'ing, I've found that the individual calculators are seldom the roadblock, but that people just don't know the full capabilities of their calculators. I really wouldn't shell out additional money for an 89 when you'd be able to use the 84 for tests, get more adept with thinking about the lin alg and seeing easy solutions, and spend the money on something that'll help you in other ways instead.</p>
<p>Maple is by far the dumbest and most annoying program I've ever seen or used. It eats my laptop's memory. It eats its own memory. It's REALLY slow and drags down my laptop along with it to its own really low level. It has REALLY annoyingly stuck up picky code. Our Calculus I and Calculus II classes had maple problem sets and quizzes that I didn't do too well on just because of the program. I seriously think sometimes that doing it out by hand is easier than using Maple.</p>
<p>Shahmuqqadar- it takes a long while to become really adept at it, and maybe there's something funky with your system... Maple runs okay on mine... but it's really amazing at solving really high-level math like differential equations. (Also... don't <em>all</em> programming languages have really annoyingly stuck up picky code? ;) )</p>
<p>All three programs are excellent, but they've all got very different intended purposes, and they all take a lot of practice to use fluently and effectively.</p>
<p>
You've never tried PHP? "3" == 3 == "three"</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Anyways, you're probably right on MATLAB vs. Mathematica; I'm not an engineer yet.</p>