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Author Topic: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?  (Read 140246 times)

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Offline DJ Omnimaga

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84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« on: April 01, 2011, 12:25:46 am »
UPDATE (11:35 PM): HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY EVERYONE!
Yes, this was a joke. Please do not contact TI about this OS. It was a copy of 2.55MP modified by ThePenguin77. TI has never made a 2.71MP OS. Use this patch by ThePenguin77 to modify your OS 2.55MP if you want to see how 2.71MP was.


Earlier this evening, ThePenguin77 went on TI Education website to download a copy of TI-84 Plus OS 2.55MP to test his video player, but he was instead greeted with OS 2.71MP:



Later when he informed some Omnimaga users about it, it was mysteriously gone from TI website and the OS copy available for download was 2.55MP again. SirCmpwn then checked his automatic OS download script folder and he found 6 OS copies that had a different file size, so he figured out after ThePenguin77 post that for about an hour, TI had replaced OS 2.55MP with 2.71MP on their site. After ThePenguin77 returned online, I got a copy and tested it. We preferred to not distribute copies until now so we don't get flooded by requests while we test stuff and I post an announcement.

With this large version number increase and the arrival of the TI-Nspire CX, we initially thought that TI added many new features to bridge the gap between the TI-84 Plus and the TI-Nspire, or fix many bugs, such as ERR:VERSION and BAD ADDRESS, but this was not the case. All that seemed to have changed was the replacement of the keypad shortcut message with a TI-Nspire CX ad:


Afterward, we started to feel there was something suspicious behind this OS after I ran into errors while trying to run one of my hybrid BASIC game and apps. Well... guess what? There is!

First of all, the Asm(), AsmComp() and AsmPrgm commands have all been removed from the CATALOG menu, which means that no more assembly programs can be launched from the home screen! When sending files containing this command to a calculator using OS 2.71MP, these tokens changes to question marks. Say goodbye to Ion, no-stub games and many BASIC games relying on ASM program files.



Also, it seems that they installed some sort of protection against third-party (or unofficial?) applications, as the ones I have tried (such as Doors CS7 or TI-Boy SE) no longer run at all on the calculator. Instead, we got an ERR:INVALID message. I tried a full memory reset and an OS re-install, to no avail. Only the TI apps I had seemed to run anymore.



So it looks like that TI is now trying to lock down the TI-84 Plus too!

Now on the TI-BASIC programming side, they did not remove any command other than the ASM program launching one, but those who thought that MathPrint slowed down Output() and Disp commands have seen nothing: With 2.71MP, they're even slower, even with MathPrint disabled!



To make matter worse, as you can see in the screenshot to the right, it seems that we can no longer use Output() on the 8th character row (like on Casio calculators, which reserved that row for menus)! Here's a comparison of how a BASIC home screen game will run between OS 2.55MP and 2.71MP, both with MathPrint disabled:

 
Basically, almost every game in the Omnimaga archives will not run on OS 2.71MP!

Also ThePenguin77 reported a few crashes while using the OS. This probably means that this OS is not in final stage and that TI released it by mistake earlier. Hopefully the final version won't be as slow and buggy, but the removal of no-stub assembly and what seems to be a protection against third-party Flash APPS were definitively intentionally added, confirming Texas Instruments position regarding hobbyist programmers. It also could be an attempt to make people switch to the TI-Nspire by making the 84+ more limited on purpose, since they mention on their website that the TI-Nspire includes a dedicated programming environment as well as programming libraries for global access to user-defined functions & programs.

There is only one good news about this OS: It doesn't contain any anti-downgrade protection, so you can simply re-install an older OS and your calculator should be fine again. However, we beg that all of you hurry up and download a copy of OS 2.55MP (or 2.43) from TI website as soon as possible for backup purposes, in case when TI releases this OS, they decide to remove all older versions from their server.

Although we normally do not post copyrighted material on our website, we feel that it is in our best interest to warn the TI community about their actions against us, so we decided to put a copy of the OS online for now:

<FILE REMOVED. This was a joke anyway and we don't want copyright issues. :P>

As always, we recommend that you backup your calculator content before trying this new OS!

Hopefully the TI community will remedy to the ASM problem with patches when the final version of 2.71MP comes out, but there still remains the fact that many people will probably end up with 2.71MP pre-installed when buying a new calculator, and that they might take a long while to figure out where to find patches or an older OS. Texas Instruments has definitively reached an all-time low.

UPDATE (9:10 PM): ThePenguin77 has released a patch that gets rid of the many quirks in this OS, in case eventually someone would get forced to upgrade by his teacher, assuming the OS comes out as it is later. Here is the download link.


UPDATE (11:35 PM): HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY EVERYONE!
Yes, this was a joke. Please do not contact TI about this OS. It was a copy of 2.55MP modified by ThePenguin77. TI has never made a 2.71MP OS. Use this patch by ThePenguin77 to modify your OS 2.55MP if you want to see how 2.71MP was.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2011, 11:45:25 pm by DJ_O »
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Offline ralphdspam

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2011, 12:31:14 am »
 :mad: Absolutely terrible! How can they do such a thing?
 :'(

RIP: TI-83 +
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Offline Hot_Dog

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #2 on: April 01, 2011, 12:32:38 am »
Wha...wha...what???

WHHATTT?

They'd better fix this soon!  Otherwise this is the last straw!

Ndless for the Ti-84+, anyone?
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Offline DrDnar

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2011, 12:33:01 am »
If the OS has added no additional features, we don't have to worry. Does your teacher now require you use 2.71 specifically? Take up Critor on his offer to release the so-called version 3.0.
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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2011, 12:33:22 am »
Yep, this is the worst OS I have ever seen. Hope it will be better with the final version. If there is one.
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Offline Darl181

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2011, 12:33:57 am »
I'm trying it in wabbitemu, and the third-party apps work...
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Offline DrDnar

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2011, 12:33:57 am »
There's no need for Ndless. We have the OS signing keys. Furthermore, we can factor any new keys TI decides to use.
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Offline Freyaday

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2011, 12:35:35 am »
I am in shock.
Even worse, this breaks Axe.
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Offline Silver Shadow

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #8 on: April 01, 2011, 12:36:29 am »
Quote from: DrDnar on April 01, 2011, 12:33:57 am
There's no need for Ndless. We have the OS signing keys. Furthermore, we can factor any new keys TI decides to use.
Unless they somehow manage to make it a higher bit security... :S

I HATE YOU TI!!!!!!!
« Last Edit: April 01, 2011, 12:39:01 am by Silver Shadow »
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Offline Hot_Dog

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #9 on: April 01, 2011, 12:37:20 am »
Quote from: Darl181 on April 01, 2011, 12:33:57 am
I'm trying it in wabbitemu, and the third-party apps work...

 Have you tested it on your TI-84+?  Wabbitemu does have errors
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Offline leafy

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #10 on: April 01, 2011, 12:37:36 am »
That output slowdown seems really bad.
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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #11 on: April 01, 2011, 12:39:05 am »
I propose to publish RunOS just to piss them off.
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Offline Darl181

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #12 on: April 01, 2011, 12:39:43 am »
I was able to run Axe to compile, but even after installing CalcUtil it throws an ERR:SYNTAX when I try to run it from the homescreen.

I was able to run it from Mirage tho. (DCS7 threw the invalid error)

Maybe if the apps are above a certain number of pages...?

Quote from: Hot_Dog on April 01, 2011, 12:37:20 am
Quote from: Darl181 on April 01, 2011, 12:33:57 am
I'm trying it in wabbitemu, and the third-party apps work...

 Have you tested it on your TI-84+?  Wabbitemu does have errors
No, 2.55 crashed enough times in the one night I tried using it, and this version seems worse

Solution: Don't upgrade :P
« Last Edit: April 01, 2011, 12:41:35 am by Darl181 »
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Offline c.sprinkle

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #13 on: April 01, 2011, 12:39:52 am »
HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO US?!?!?!?!

Sadly, I had been wondering if they would try this on the 84 series.
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Offline DrDnar

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Re: 84 Plus OS 2.71MP leaked: The beginning of the end of TI-84+ programming?
« Reply #14 on: April 01, 2011, 12:40:48 am »
That won't help. But it might not hurt, either, considering that Brandon got away with Chameleon.
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