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RPN for life
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Mar 18, 2021 15:32
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See, good buttons.Arsenic Lupin posted:Man, I miss those buttons. Those were great buttons. that's what I'm saying TotalLossBrain has a new favorite as of 17:02 on Mar 18, 2021 |
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Mar 18, 2021 15:39
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wa27 posted:RPN for life That's about the same model my dad used for decades. I'm sure I claimed it at some point, but I have no idea where it is now.
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Mar 18, 2021 16:10
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Explosionface posted:That's about the same model my dad used for decades. I'm sure I claimed it at some point, but I have no idea where it is now. I got this one at a Goodwill years ago. I used to think the TI-83/84 had a long lifespan but you can still buy these HP 12C's in Best Buy, for God's sake. they've been making it for 40 years with practically no changes.
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Mar 18, 2021 16:14
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wa27 posted:I got this one at a Goodwill years ago. I used to think the TI-83/84 had a long lifespan but you can still buy these HP 12C's in Best Buy, for God's sake. they've been making it for 40 years with practically no changes. If you change it, you'll have to face the wrath of every accountant older than like 45 in America, and most of the ones younger than that, too.
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Mar 18, 2021 16:17
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wa27 posted:RPN for life Man, I miss those buttons. Those were great buttons.
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Mar 18, 2021 16:49
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Neito posted:If you change it, you'll have to face the wrath of every accountant older than like 45 in America, and most of the ones younger than that, too. Pretty sure that on some of these models they changed the chipset inside, and then had to add fake slowdowns to keep them feeling the same. Doing calculations at modern speeds just didn't feel right.
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Mar 19, 2021 09:15
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wa27 posted:RPN for life These are still being made AFAIK, but what I really want is the programmer’s version.
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Mar 19, 2021 12:37
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Zopotantor posted:These are still being made AFAIK, but what I really want is the programmer’s version. I totally want one of these too, and they are way too expensive for me to buy one (from eBay or wherever) with the lack of use it would realistically get. Why can't they make them again if they can still make the 12C? I'm sure they could make a pile of cash if they re-released it.
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Mar 19, 2021 19:44
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Holy poo poo they are 200 dollars. I think HP could definitely make a new one and sell it to people into retro computing. A lot of those features seem like they would be really useful for assembly stuff on old microprocessors.
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Mar 19, 2021 19:49
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Cojawfee posted:Holy poo poo they are 200 dollars. I think HP could definitely make a new one and sell it to people into retro computing. A lot of those features seem like they would be really useful for assembly stuff on old microprocessors. 200 dollars is small change for obsolete computing hardware, compared to some other things. That's the cheapest one currently on offer. Here’s a video showing how insanely complex these are. Zopotantor has a new favorite as of 20:02 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 20:00
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That one has also been on my wishlist for years.
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Mar 19, 2021 20:04
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Cojawfee posted:Holy poo poo they are 200 dollars. I think HP could definitely make a new one and sell it to people into retro computing. A lot of those features seem like they would be really useful for assembly stuff on old microprocessors.
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Mar 19, 2021 21:03
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VictualSquid posted:They did that a few years ago. I bought one, then a year later found a great rpn calculator for my phone. They made a programming calculator a few years ago?
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Mar 19, 2021 21:59
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wa27 posted:RPN for life Ah man my granddad was a banker and I had forgotten all about this thing but he had one and showed me how to do math stuff on it as a little kid 
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Mar 19, 2021 22:09
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I have an HP 12C that got left in a computer store I worked at and I took it because it looked neat. I never use it thought because I never need to amortize loans, and it doesn't really have many functions I need. I would kill for one of those HP16Cs though.
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Mar 19, 2021 22:55
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Space Gopher posted:The 41C... well, when NASA wanted a backup of last resort for calculating orbital mechanics in the space shuttle, so that the astronauts could still get home even if all the onboard computers failed, they went to an office supply store in Houston, bought some HP-41Cs, slapped in a timer module, replaced the rubber feet with Velcro, wrote some custom programs, and sent them into space. Most of the modules were little ROM cartridges that added functionality: plug in the module and a new menu appears on the calculator, giving you access to the functions/programs the module provides. But there were also interface and device modules, allowing you to connect the calculator to other devices. One of those interface modules was HP-IL, the HP Interface Loop, a sort of primitive forerunner to USB. It provided an I/O interface with any other device with an HP-IL interface, including HP disk drives:  This meant that you could write and save programs to disc. Or you could crunch numbers and save the data to disk. The 9114B was introduced in 1984, and that was pretty amazing poo poo to be able to do in 1984. HP also made HP-IL interfaces for some scientific lab gear (like spectroscopes) to allow you to use the 41-C for data collection. Same with engineering gear (e.g. surveying equipment). Here's a 41-CX next to a 15C and 16C for size comparison:  The 15C is one of the best handheld scientific calculators ever made. The 16C is an odd duck, a handheld calculator specifically created to assist in computer programming. In practice this just means base conversions and bitwise operations, and most of that ended up getting rolled into the basic functionality of most of HP later calculators so it's really just a historical footnote. But hey, that's what one looks like. And while we're talking about RPN calculators, I'll add a couple Soviet-era Elektronika RPN handhelds, the MK-54 and MK 52:  The Mk 52 is the only handheld calculator (that I know of) to feature programmable EEPROM memory. It's kinda like the 41-C in that it was a backup for space missions, in this case on the Soyuz TM-7. This was done by expansion module, kinda like on the 41-C:  The Elektronika calculators weren't anywhere near as well made as the HPs in terms of build quality, but the MK 52 was a very capable handheld assisted by extensive documentation (the circuit diagram in those pictures is part of the documentation that came with every one) and extensibility. They also had a long list of idiosyncrasies: a nonstandard notation of hexidecimal using a standard 7-segment LED display; the ability to do math with error codes (results larger than 1099 result in "Error" being displayed, but you can continue to use it, unless it's large enough to cause an "3rror", which copies itself onto the programming stack, allowing you to examine the value by stepping through it using the debugger), and so on.
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Mar 19, 2021 23:19
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When I was a kid, before we had a computer we had a talking electronic calculator. When you pushed a button, a very terse man would say the number or function aloud. I thought it was the coolest thing when I was like 5. I mean, it was essentially a robot. Over and over again I would push the buttons for fun. I'm sure it drove my parents nuts. The voice is forever burned into my brain. "Memory minus!" "Memory plus." "Memory minus!" "Memory plus." "Memory minus!" "Memory plus." "Memory minus!" "Memory plus." "Memory minus!" "Memory plus..." e: I think it was the Sharp Elsi Mate EL-620, though it looks like there's a lot of similar models. Just look at this beefy boy: 
feedmyleg has a new favorite as of 00:49 on Mar 20, 2021 |
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Mar 20, 2021 00:39
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Cojawfee posted:They made a programming calculator a few years ago? No, they made a "limited edition" of the -15c. It's actually a lot faster, but it still only has 448 bytes of program memory. e.: Pic 
RoastBeef has a new favorite as of 00:54 on Mar 20, 2021 |
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Mar 20, 2021 00:49
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feedmyleg posted:"Memory minus!" "Memory plus." "Memory minus!" "Memory plus." "Memory minus!" "Memory plus." "Memory minus!" "Memory plus." "Memory minus!" "Memory plus..." Does anyone remember seeing a calculator that had a memory replacement key (that's not what it was called) that allowed you to put the currently displayed number directly into memory thereby replacing whatever was there. I remember this from a book of calculator puzzles and you would use it to find the square root of a number if your calculator did not have a square root key.
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Mar 20, 2021 02:18
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Mister Kingdom posted:Does anyone remember seeing a calculator that had a memory replacement key (that's not what it was called) that allowed you to put the currently displayed number directly into memory thereby replacing whatever was there. That's not an uncommon feature. My fur hat model* Canon had it and my sister's uhh Sharp? too. *) As we say in Finland.
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Mar 20, 2021 02:19
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Man sometimes I feel like a nerd and then a real bunch of nerds gently caress me up with calculators I can't figure out. I think the only calculator I have the mathematical prowess to really handle is the Ti-108, which I remember fondly from all of public school. 
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Mar 20, 2021 02:37
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Wasabi the J posted:Man sometimes I feel like a nerd and then a real bunch of nerds gently caress me up with calculators I can't figure out.  (It was actually kind of fun.)
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Mar 20, 2021 02:42
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 It no poo poo plays the theme song when you slide Thomas up over the screen.
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Mar 20, 2021 02:56
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wa27 posted:RPN for life pre:File Edit Options Buffers Tools Calc Help
Welcome to GNU Emacs, one component of the GNU/Linux operating system.
Get help C-h (Hold down CTRL and press h)
Emacs manual C-h r Browse manuals C-h i
Emacs tutorial C-h t Undo changes C-x u
Buy manuals C-h RET Exit Emacs C-x C-c
Activate menubar M-`
(`C-' means use the CTRL key. `M-' means use the Meta (or Alt) key.
If you have no Meta key, you may instead type ESC followed by the character.)
Useful tasks:
Visit New File Open Home Directory
Customize Startup Open *scratch* buffer
-UUU:%%--F1 *GNU Emacs* Top L1 (Fundamental) ---------------------------
--- Emacs Calculator Mode --- |Emacs Calculator Trail
2: 420 | 420
1: 69 | >69
. |
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-UUU:%*--F1 Calc: 12 Deg All L4 |-UUU:%*--F1 *Calc Trail*
I never had any of those fancy calculators but I remember seeing all sorts of utilities for working with them, e.g.: pre:┌─────────────┬─────────────────────────┐ │ HPShell 3.12│ Freeware by Tom Wellige │ ├─────────────┴─────────────────────────┤ │ ■ Integrated Developing Environment │ │ for HP48 (S/G) Handhelds on DOS-PCs │ │ ■ Editor with Syntaxhighlighting │ │ ■ Kermit, X-, Y-, Z-Modem (external) │ │ ■ Char-Conversion PC <-> HP48 │ │ ■ Backup-Management │ │ ■ HP48- and DOS-Directory Management │ │ ■ Makros, Toolbar, Hotkeys │ │ and much more of useful functions │ │ ■ German and English version in one ! │ │ │ │ Whatch out for HPS312P! │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘
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Mar 20, 2021 03:40
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RoastBeef posted:
I had a ninja turtle one, circa 1990, that appears to have come off the very same production line as that one.  Its build quality was abysmal. It lasted less than a week in my pencil case. The TI-81 that I got just a couple of years later was hugely better. I still have it, in fact, and it still works flawlessly, though I don't take many trig exams these days and I'd need to brush up with the manual if I wanted to program a craps game into it again. 
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Mar 20, 2021 06:33
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C'mon man, you could play Drug Wars on there.
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Mar 20, 2021 07:44
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RoastBeef posted:No, they made a "limited edition" of the -15c. It's actually a lot faster, but it still only has 448 bytes of program memory. Might as well repost the family photo of all my HP Voyager calculators:  Top row is an 11C (theoretically the middle tier of the scientific calculators in the Voyager series, although the lower-end 10C was just a couple bucks cheaper so nobody bought 'em) and 16C, bottom row is an original 15C and the Limited Edition 15C. And spoilers for Zork I. The Limited Edition also feels...cheaper? lighter? more flimsy? than the original 15C. It's not a piece of poo poo or anything, but it doesn't have that solid/bulletproof feel of the original HPs in that form factor. It actually feels, in terms of heft, button response, and so on, kinda like HP's other semi-recent retro calculator, the 35S. Here's one with a bunch of other HP portrait-mode calculators:  Along the top that's the oddball HP-28S, the later version of the 28C (the first handheld that did symbolic algebra). It's also a graphing calculator, barely, on that tiny-rear end display. Next to it is the 35S, a retro-themed calculator released in 2007 to mark the 35th anniversary of the HP-35 (HP's first handheld calculator and the first scientific handheld). The second row is a 32SII, the second rev of the calculator HP introduced as the spiritual successor to the 15C. And next to that is a 42S, intended as a replacement for the HP-41C series. HP calculator nerds are generally split between those that think that the 15C is the best calculator ever made and those that think it's the 42S. The 15C ended production in 1989 and the 42S in 1995 so this is a controversy that became obsolete circa the advent of the world wide web.
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Mar 20, 2021 09:52
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I'm not a calculator enthusiast but I very much appreciate that you posted them on top of an InivisiClues Zork I map. edit: Actually I lied, slightly. A few years ago I did pick up a Canon sexagesimal calculator, which does time calculations:  Apparently they were popular with pilots back in the day, the one I got had a "property of TWA" sticker on the back. Porfiriato has a new favorite as of 10:45 on Mar 20, 2021 |
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Mar 20, 2021 10:37
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wa27 posted:RPN for life Hells yeah! My 12C is sitting to my left. I've had it for about 20 years. At the time, it was $95 which seems excessive. I've dropped it off racking 15 feet high onto concrete in a warehouse, it's been soaked in coffee, it's disappeared for months at a time but it always comes home. I've replaced the battery once in 20 years. It was still working, I just replaced it on principal. I read the entire manual. Did all the exercises and everything. At one point, I had a program written to calculate discount on standard, OS1, OS2, and OS3 shipping rates with UPS. It was pretty slick. It also included discounts for 2nd Day air and 3 day express if you selected them. Then UPS changed to straight dim weight and the program no longer worked. Pointless story I suppose, but I love my 12C.
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Mar 20, 2021 10:42
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Wasabi the J posted:Man sometimes I feel like a nerd and then a real bunch of nerds gently caress me up with calculators I can't figure out. standardized test flashbacks over here
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Mar 20, 2021 17:14
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nishi koichi posted:standardized test flashbacks over here Which of these is a rock?
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Mar 20, 2021 17:16
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Tech Tangents did a nice video on the HP 12C a while back and he explains RPN and does some programming on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot6rgGJv46E Programming calculators is something I've never had a use for, and probably never will. It's neat though.
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Mar 20, 2021 17:52
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It bothers me that we haven't all moved on to either a faster keyboard layout than querty, or we haven't gotten a universal single handed typing device. I always thought the Data-hand would be that breakthrough that changed keyboards but it was not meant to be.   fake edit, oh snap someone has revived the concept: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX1ifYxzr3M
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Mar 22, 2021 16:20
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There are plenty of single handed keyboard designs out there, though these days they're either 3D printed dealies or expensive accessibility items. I suspect the real answer to faster or single handed typing is to learn to chord.
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Mar 22, 2021 16:24
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Wasabi the J posted:Man sometimes I feel like a nerd and then a real bunch of nerds gently caress me up with calculators I can't figure out. I have not even thought about the existence of these in a long rear end time
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Mar 22, 2021 16:31
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I thought the speed benefits of non-qwerty layouts had shrunk to near insignificance after closer study?
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Mar 22, 2021 17:01
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Computer viking posted:I thought the speed benefits of non-qwerty layouts had shrunk to near insignificance after closer study? It was always nerdy circle-jerking. "QWERTY? How pedestrian. I use DVORAK" (well, more like "i ufe DRoRAK" because I never knew anyone who actually got good at an alternate keyboard layout). Besides, it's extremely rare for me to be constantly typing at top speed for any length of time. If I'm coding, I'm usually stopping to think about what comes next, picking variable names, etc. If I'm writing prose, then I'm stopping to think about what the hell I'm writing. I spend far more time not-typing than I do typing, and I type way more than most people do. Maybe alternate layouts would have made more sense back when "typist" was still a job and you could spend your whole day transcribing words verbatim from another document.
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Mar 22, 2021 17:14
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Pham Nuwen posted:It was always nerdy circle-jerking. "QWERTY? How pedestrian. I use DVORAK" (well, more like "i ufe DRoRAK" because I never knew anyone who actually got good at an alternate keyboard layout). Nobody has ever used a DVORAK keyboard for anything except writing 10,000 word blog posts about how they use a DVORAK keyboard.
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Mar 22, 2021 19:31
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| # ? May 27, 2024 15:59 |
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i had really high hopes for this: https://www.amazon.com/Tap-Bluetooth-Wearable-Controller-Smartphone/dp/B07BW6QNF5 when i first heard about it but you have to learn a whole other way to touch type with chords so nope
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Mar 22, 2021 19:33
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