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DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

48calc.org

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Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#21

Post by linguae »

whartung wrote: post #8

Seems like a really nice effort. Nice they crammed it into the DM42 machines. But for me, the learning curve is steeper than the utility. I have no real need for an actual calculator, I rely on my phone. On there I have iHP48, and I've already gone through much of that learning curve to make it useful (back in the day with an original one). If you already have the DM42, I guess its a mostly compatible upgrade from th…

I feel the same way about not needing a physical calculator. I have an HP-48SX and an HP-15C Collector’s Edition. I enjoy these devices; they are high-quality and are exemplary products. However, as a professor I have regular access to my laptop, which can run circles around my handheld calculators. For quick calculations I open up the terminal and use the dc command, which is a command-line RPN calculator. For more involved computations, I have Python and Common Lisp REPLs, and I also sometimes use Microsoft Excel.

These days handheld calculators seem to be used the most in situations where people are restricted from using laptops and smartphones, such as during exams or in distraction-free settings. I think the reason Texas Instruments still has a viable calculator business is because TI markets heavily in the education market.

Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#22

Post by grantmnz »

roflmaostc wrote: post #2

somehow doesn't work on my Ubuntu Firefox 131.0.3 but works on my Arch 132.0.

Apparently, for security reasons, your server needs to add certain headers if you want to use SharedArrayBuffers.

https://hacks.mozilla.org/2020/07/safely-reviving-shared-mem...

Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#24

Post by nxobject »

PaulHoule wrote: post #11

I am a fan of the HP Prime https://hpcalcs.com/product/hp-prime-graphing-calculator/ But I use it in algebraic instead of RPN mode. I’ve got a 49g and a 50-something too. People say it is pricey but I managed to get one discounted that was intended for the Latin American market. So is the thing that software is supposed to run on.

I'd recommend eBay, too, if you're within the continental US. This might be sacrilege, but after using a TI-89 I shifted to an TI Nspire CAS, since it has one of the highest-resolution screens in the market and still uses AAA batteries – I paid only $25 on eBay.

Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#25

Post by Ringz »

I still have a HP48GX in perfect condition and love it. One of my first programs was to calculate how much „slower“ my time is running when I drive a car or fly in a plane compared to someone standing still on the sidewalk.

I still find it much more comfortable having a real calculator… call me old fashioned.

Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#26

Post by jwr »

The 48G was a really good calculator, but only after loading additional software. The HP50g that came much later is better in every respect, except possibly for the smaller "ENTER" key (and people used to 48G will have to change some habits and possibly redefine some keys…).

Incidentally, many young people (yes, I know how that sounds) do not know how useful a good engineering calculator can be and do not want to learn how to use one. They are missing out. Yes, there is a steep learning curve, but the rewards are significant if you do any amount of calculation in your hobby or work. No, this is not replaced by typing "python" (or "bc", or anything else, really) at your command prompt.

Also incidentally, the development of good engineering calculators pretty much died. HP Prime is largely a school-pleasing toy, HP would down their calculator division a long time ago, and nobody else produces anything good. It's kind of like with gyms: what you get is what the market wants, and since the market doesn't know much, you get gyms full of useless exercise machines, because that's what people think a good gym should have. Similarly with calculators: you get stupid "modern" graphing calculators which are useless for actual work (it takes forever to use them to calculate useful things, and graphing is much better done on a computer), but they look great and sell well.

I admire the project, although I would probably have taken a different path (emulation) to get the biggest effect with the smallest possible effort :-)

I wish there was a good HP50G emulator for iOS — there used to be one, but it was abandoned (contact me if you want to develop it and would like to get the source code, it was under the GPL and I got it from the author).

Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#27

Post by PaulHoule »

nxobject wrote: post #24
PaulHoule wrote: post #11

I am a fan of the HP Prime https://hpcalcs.com/product/hp-prime-graphing-calculator/ But I use it in algebraic instead of RPN mode. I’ve got a 49g and a 50-something too. People say it is pricey but I managed to get one discounted that was intended for the Latin American market. So is the thing that software is supposed to run on.

I'd recommend eBay, too, if you're within the continental US. This might be sacrilege, but after using a TI-89 I shifted to an TI Nspire CAS, since it has one of the highest-resolution screens in the market and still uses AAA batteries – I paid only $25 on eBay.

Those are pretty good.

I was thinking the other day about all the electromechanical devices such as Walkman cassette tapes and portable minidisc players that Sony got to work with just one AA battery as opposed to the usual two.

Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#28

Post by Mister_Snuggles »

PaulHoule wrote: post #11

I am a fan of the HP Prime https://hpcalcs.com/product/hp-prime-graphing-calculator/ But I use it in algebraic instead of RPN mode. I’ve got a 49g and a 50-something too. People say it is pricey but I managed to get one discounted that was intended for the Latin American market. So is the thing that software is supposed to run on.

I have a Prime G2 and the RPN mode is just bad. It feels like it was an afterthought, and some things just don't seem to work properly in that mode.

My 48G+ is a much, much better RPN calculator.

The Prime G2 is also missing the equation library from the 48G+, which I found weird. Maybe they expect you to download what you need instead of using space in Flash for it.

Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#29

Post by PaulHoule »

Mister_Snuggles wrote: post #28
PaulHoule wrote: post #11

I am a fan of the HP Prime https://hpcalcs.com/product/hp-prime-graphing-calculator/ But I use it in algebraic instead of RPN mode. I’ve got a 49g and a 50-something too. People say it is pricey but I managed to get one discounted that was intended for the Latin American market. So is the thing that software is supposed to run on.

I have a Prime G2 and the RPN mode is just bad. It feels like it was an afterthought, and some things just don't seem to work properly in that mode. My 48G+ is a much, much better RPN calculator. The Prime G2 is also missing the equation library from the 48G+, which I found weird. Maybe they expect you to download what you need instead of using space in Flash for it.

That's my take on the RPN mode but I like the algebraic mode and agree the 48 series is way better for RPN.

(My favorite HP calc was the 28, which I bought when the 48 was available. I discovered soon afterwards that a powerful spring will eventually break the battery door and it seemed to be a problem that no engineering student managed to solve.)

Re: DB48X: High Performance Scientific Calculator, Reinvented

#30

Post by ninalanyon »

jwr wrote: post #26

The 48G was a really good calculator, but only after loading additional software. The HP50g that came much later is better in every respect, except possibly for the smaller "ENTER" key (and people used to 48G will have to change some habits and possibly redefine some keys…). Incidentally, many young people (yes, I know how that sounds) do not know how useful a good engineering calculator can be and do not want to lea…

> No, this is not replaced by typing "python" (or "bc", or anything else, really) at your command prompt.

Why not? At least I can easily copy the results and the code to a document which avoids transcription errors. Or do you mean that there simply isn't a program that has the functions you use?

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