I use a Casio. Not just calculator, but for any tool, I try to avoid using my phone. A phone is a rabbit hole. Once you pick it up, you never know what notification will interrupt your flow. Besides, for these utility apps are difficult to monetize, it's hard to find one that isn't bombarded with ads. Even if luckily you find a perfect one, the creator might lose interest and stop maintaining it next year, forcing you to change your usage habits.
Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
11–20 of 130 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#12Nope, spotlight search handles basic calculations, python repl the rest of them.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#13I'm using a HP48G. [0]
It's just a joy to use and i also like it a lot design wise.
I like that it has a big display for 4 RPN rows, but i admit that that's something software calculators would even be better at.
It definitely has a nostalgic/romantic side to it for me.
Oh and for every day stuff, i really like to use Spotlight on macOS. It's really convenient: Command+Space, then just type the expression into the search box.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#14Oh dude, no. The instant I could start using something like https://www.wolframalpha.com/ in college over a decade ago, I did. I've never, not once in my life, had any desire to use a physical calculator when I could use a full blown computer instead. I think it's inferior even for pedagogy purposes - I can't screenshot and make Anki cards out of a TI-84.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#15"Do you still physical calculators?"
Well, no. My calculators don't bounce around so I have no reason to "still" them. /s
I have a calculator app that I use 99.9% of the time. I have a physical calculator around here somewhere. I used to use it when I'd have to tabulate physical items or when I'd been doing calculations for a long time. Short bursts on my phone are fine, but over hours is kinda troublesome.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#16I think you accidentally a verb. But, yes. Casio fx-991EX. It's designed for schools, I think, but at the time it was the most advanced one they made that wasn't a graphing calculator, since I figured that if I ever wanted to draw a graph I'd just fire up "Grapher", which is still bundled with every Mac. In about a decade I think I've done that once. The Casio is great. Looks like it's discontinued now? I guess the f…
> I think you accidentally a verb.
Totally reminded me of the old meme "i accidentally a coca cola bottle, is that bad?" :D
To be more on topic: yup, Casio fx-85ES - still going strong, needs basically no maintenance at all and having tactile buttons you can mash while sitting over a piece of paper just has no comparison.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#17Yes, not for its technological features but for its single-purpose-ness. If I'm working on paper, it's nice to pull out rather than a full on computer which also has all of my email on it.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#18I have an old HP 15C RPN scientific calculator. - I know where the buttons are without looking. - It has functions my Android calculator does not have (directly or that I know of). - It has a strange satisfying tactile feedback. - It never interrupts me. Ever. - It never distracts me. Ever. I reach for it frequently.
I've never owner any other piece of technology with buttons this good.
It is really a lost art.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#19I still regularly use a TI-35, and / or an old slide rule (I have three), and / or rough mental order of magnitude guesstimates.
Otherwise I use domain software for other tasks.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use physical calculators?
#20tl;dr: RPN - ride or die. ;)
Sometimes, for vintage reminiscing, a real HP48GX.* It got me through AP Calculus BC, SAT-I, and EE/CS. And doubled as a learning TV remote & TV-B-Gone. I also have a virtual HP48 on my phone, tablets, and computers.
In middle school, I had an HP 32SII. I remember being able to hear** either the processor clock or data line(s) of each of the 32 and 48 because one or more components acted as inadvertent audio oscillators that would make noises during computation (and during idle on the 48 because it had to keep redrawing the clock).
I've used R, MATLAB, pspice, and Mathematica in the past.
I'm a fan of Xcas and Wolfram Alpha now.
* I also have a collection of HP 48[GS]X cards, the printer, and the overhead projector adapter. In lieu of the overpriced official HP 48G to computer RS-232 interface cable, one can be easily made from a Sony CD-ROM audio cable.
** With my much younger ear pressed up to it.