I've been a user of the ti-83 and have an hw2 Ti-89, then one day I see that Ti releases the Nspire series, later to have the Nspire CX(with color) series.  I liked the community of the old school ti8x series and how it could load apps... however, I hear that you can't do this with the nspire series?

Any how, I'm looking for a new calculator, I'm the type of geek/tinkerer who likes to get my hands on gadgets.  I want CAS functionality, but since I hear you can load CAS on a non-CAS nspire(for the non-cx version at least), is there a reason to pick one over the other?


(again, I don't want to break any forum rules, please have patience or let me know)
What do you recommend for being not only a powerful calculator(with CAS functions), but also with mod-ability/tinkering? 

Last but not least, as a coder/tinkerer/modder(within legal boundaries), which calculator would you pick and why(between nspires:  touchpad, touchpad CAS, CX, CX CAS)?  Is there any real benefit of getting the CX series(I know it's backlit color, I know it has a rechargeable battery, it's slimmer/lighter, and I know it has more memory storage... but all these things I could live without to be honest...unless it has significantly more processing power than a non CX version...also I don't care about the gbc emulator either, lol).


Thanks in advance!