Technolandy

Day 33 (of 2024/25) first they came for the audio jack… next was the “C” button… @theatlantic @ibogost

I enjoyed this read from the Atlantic’s Ian Bogost… https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/10/iphone-broke-its-calculator/680271/  the loss of the “C” button in the most recent update of the calculator to iOS 18… the one that clears the input… although, from my own use of a Texas Instruments tool (wonder how many calculators are being left in lockers because of the features that they have that mimic many cell devices that themselves have amazing calculator features embedded in them without paying out an additional couple of bucks) I would tend to default to the AC because sometimes there was some lingering data when just hitting the “C” button… when I want something cleared, I want it all cleared!

But as Apple is prone to do – it gets rid of things before many users are ready. Until October 17th, the iPhone did mimic the buttons of its forebears: tapping C to clear the immediate memory (though it does have the backspace button appear in case you did do a minor input error) and much like the removal of the aux jack for headphones… some people aren’t ready for a change from predictable. But evolution is sometimes inevitable if not uncomfortable…!

Ian’s (the Atlantic writer, not me) writing is beautiful as he recounts why the C and AC buttons have existed and found their way into the design of 99%+ of calculators. And has shared “how he learned to stop worrying and love the AC” button. Is the calculator evolving? Or being fiddled with?  But if they can’t be used in the classroom anyways… this is more of a metaphorical argument until it is learned how the machines can better be used with education… and to think teachers once said we’d never have a calculator… and then a scientific calculator… in our pockets… wait till we start using Notes to solve questions that previously needed a graphing calculator!

But speaking of notes – have you seen the new AI tools embedded? Proofread, Rewrite, Summary, KeyPoints, List, Table; Friendly vs Professional vs Concise?? Oh my…. Can’t wait to find out what else I’m using that I probably don’t need to and what I’m not doing that I ought to explore!