On May 1, 2011, at 5:31 PM, kai_28_2000 wrote:My father worked for HP when I was a kid. He brought home the first HP-35 ever to enter Canada when I was nine or ten, and I played with it endlessly. It's fair to say that I grew up on RPN. I've owned an HP-21 (got me through high school!), an HP-65, and HP-67, an HP-41CV, and now I have a 48GX, a 49G+, and a 50G. I can say with some authority that HP lost their mojo. The last calculator that, to me, FEELS like an HP is the 48GX, and even it is dodgy with the graphing functions. I'd love to get my 41CV back into working order.
I have a small collection of old slide rules. I'd love to start collecting old HP calculators - the REAL ones, from the great old days.
--- In 50g@yahoogroups.com, Alan Golightly <alanthegringo@...> wrote:
>
> Greg < exactly right
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Greg <gnroberts71@...>
> To: 50g@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sun, May 1, 2011 2:52:10 PM
> Subject: [50g] Re: what happed?
>
> Â
> I got my first calculator back in 1975 - and I think it was a TI. I swapped it
> out for an HP25. Since then I've had several HP calculators including the 41C, a
> 15 and my current one - the 32SII. I picked up a 50g after it came out but
> frankly don't use it.
>
> Counter-intuitive to use after having all the experiences with the other HP's.
> Someone definitely screwed the pooch during D&D - obviously neither an engineer
> or a power user had any input.
>
> you don't mess with success
>
> --- In 50g@yahoogroups.com, "Brian Denley" <b.denley@> wrote:
> >
> > In the engineering community, HP always dominated throughout the 70s, 80s
> > and 90s, even with the steeper price. The quality of those calculators was
> > outstanding.
> > Brian
> > KB1VBF
> > http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jennifer Usher" <jennisuzan@>
> > To: <50g@yahoogroups.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 7:04 PM
> > Subject: Re: [50g] what happed?
> >
> >
> > Years ago, around 1986 to be exact, one of my college professors said that
> > TI had won the interface war, that algebraic was more popular than RPN.
> > But, I pointed out at the time that people were still willing to pay
> > considerably more for an HP than a TI. No longer quite as true...but that
> > the time, TI had nothing that could touch the HP.
> >
> > Jennifer
> >
> > On Apr 24, 2011, at 5:40 PM, Alan Golightly wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > IMO the HP50g is a very powerful calculator. But extremely user
> > > unfriendly. My favorite is still my HP15C; simple, yet powerful.
> > > I think TI cornered the academic market; too bad so many people missing
> > > out on RPN. It would be nice if HP put some effort into their calculators
> > > and do what Joe said to improve the HP50g to modern standards.
> > >
> > > From: Brian Denley <b.denley@>
> > > To: 50g@yahoogroups.com
> > > Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 12:34 PM
> > > Subject: Re: [50g] what happed?
> > >
> > >
> > > Joe:
> > > Also the OS is still the same as the one in my HP-28S from 1986! Brilliant
> > > for it's day but HP should have continued and developed a MathCad type GUI
> > > with a PC application sync (may be to Mathcad). I think students and
> > > professionals migth have adopted it as a standard. Way too late now!
> > > Brian
> > > http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Joseph Colannino" <joecolannino@>
> > > To: <50g@yahoogroups.com>
> > > Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 12:24 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [50g] what happed?
> > >
> > > > The problem with the 50G was the change in the position of the enter
> > > > key.
> > > > HP blew it with the change and underestimated customer resistance to it.
> > > > Microsoft committed the same faux pas when it rearranged the Excel user
> > > > interface. For the same reason, the qwerty keyboard remains popular
> > > > despite
> > > > its shortcomings. This lesson has been repeated so often that you would
> > > > think HP would have figured it out. But it didn't, and the 50G has
> > > > declined
> > > > in popularity because of it.
> > > >
> > > > Joe
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
Message
Re: [50g] Re: what happed?
2011-05-11 by Jennifer Usher
If you have an iPhone (or an iPod Touch, there is an excellent HP 41CV emulator. There are also others available for the HP 48GX and others. I have one for the HP 16C that is very useful. I sort of regret that I missed out on slide rules. They were on the way out about the time I started. I saw an excellent exhibit on them at the Computer History Museum. I also learned how to use an abacus there. I still want to visit "the garage."
Jennifer