[GTALUG] Chromebook death dates

[Stewart C. Russell]

On 29/05/2023 18.15, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
> 
> So fix the testing facilities requirements.

Easier said than done. Remember that the entire HS maths curriculum in 
the US is effectively owned by TI calculators, and their lock-in allows 
them to sell a 1980s-tech 'approved' calculator for ~$100.

Compare this to the $1 scientific calculators you can get in dollar 
stores (and supermarkets near "back to school" time). These are 
perfectly adequate, but not "approved". A retired academic friend, ex 
CalTech, introduced me to these super cheap calculators. He's done a 
whole suite of accuracy benchmarks on a number of models, and they come 
out as well as the market leaders.

> | ... so might only have a
> | short time left before they AUE.
> 
> That sounds like a fail.  An individual consumer making a bad choice
> can easily be excused.  A school board ought to do due diligence for a
> significant purchase -- that is surely someones job.

Absolutely. But do remember at the beginning of lockdown, every school 
board in the world was competing to buy Chromebooks. Prices and 
availability were uncertain, and I'm sure mistakes were made.

> ...  I admired the
> Curta Calculators advertised in Scientific American -- the only hand
> held digital calculators at that time.

I've held one, once; they are quite wonderful pieces of machinery.

  Stewart