Clever iPhone app prevents calculator pR0n

A tweet earlier today pointed me to an iPhone calculator app that really got me laughing, as well as taking me on a trip down memory lane.

When I was in high school, calculators were expensive (US$200 for a six-function calculator with memory, for example) and just starting to make it into the hands of students. In those more naive times, anything that could be construed as even mildly suggestive got a lot of chuckles. One of the more amusing pastimes was to perform certain calculations that would come up with a result like 5318008 or 3104558 which, when the calculator was turned upside down, would spell a "dirty word."

Well, TLA Systems wants to make sure that its PCalc RPN [iTunes Link, US$9.99] and free PCalc Lite [iTunes Link] calculator apps for iPhone are used only for good purposes, so they've built in a special smut filter that will block these words when the calculator is turned upside down by displaying the word "CENSORED." Their blog entry is very tongue-in-cheek, asserting that they developed the filter to avoid getting a 17+ rating in the App Store.

Personally, I think TLA Systems developer James Thomson is just brilliant at getting blogs to write about his products. Well done, James!

Tip of the Tweet to @timhaines

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Source: http://www.dragthing.com/blog/?p=285

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A tweet earlier today pointed me to an iPhone calculator app that really got me laughing, as well as taking me on a trip down memory...

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Kristanna

Hi...
This is such an informative info here.I was not having any idea regarding this article.Thanks for sharing it here.I would like to say Thinks iPhone users should go to the app store and get PING now!....
acai berry

October 05 2009 at 2:51 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

jt2552

Ok this is the dumbest think I've ever heard of. If making dirty words via numbers would give a 17+ rating why doesn't all applications which allow you to type words not get a 17+ rating. I can type Boobies in 'Notes' easily. I'm sure apple didn't impose this on them, they must have had too much extra time to code that into the program.

October 02 2009 at 11:51 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Joseph

Blazeblaster, no.

October 01 2009 at 10:21 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

blazeblaster

do they censor 77342006?
or how about 1337...

wait the last one is just me

October 01 2009 at 7:22 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Noah

I guess (big and small) kids are not smart enough to turn their heads upsidedown...

Is there an app for that?

October 01 2009 at 1:59 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

jbrown510

For just a momment I thought this $10 app cencored the built in calculator...

Frankly I'm surprised that Apple allows calculator apps, don't peoe get confused by this duplication of core functionality...

Yes. This is brilliant marketing to get people to talk about an otherwise non-noteworthy app.

October 01 2009 at 11:30 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to jbrown510's comment

Harold De Armas

Came to comment almost the exact thing, except I said in my mind:

For just a moment, I considered checking out this app, until I saw it was $10

I'm a consumer whore, but not for $10!

October 01 2009 at 5:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

brian

Happily, TSA's security can be easily defeated by setting the phone down on a flat surface and then turning it away from you, much to the delight of 4th-graders everywhere. :-)

October 01 2009 at 10:44 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

dino

kids....

the next step was the TI-83 and playing drug wars!

October 01 2009 at 10:30 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

dino

maybe i'm just dumb but wtf does 3104558 spell? BSSGOIE?

how about 55378008?

October 01 2009 at 10:14 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to dino's comment

Grant Buell

3104558 is a dumb one. 8 = A (somehow), 4 = h, 1 = L.

October 01 2009 at 10:20 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Snaab4