21–30 of 116 posts
In high school, my friends got onto the Numworks bandwagon, and we even used them on the SATs and AP tests (they were explicitly allowed). To be fair, this is before Numworks locked down their calculators and the alternative firmwares (Omega) died off, but maybe there are jailbreaks now and things are as they were before.
I still miss my 15C.
I still have mine from 1987. You can still buy the HP-15C Collector's Edition new, but it isn't as good as the originals with their perfect keyboards and the silicon on sapphire technology that gave them their incredible battery life. The SwissMicros DM-15L is also a worthwhile substitute.
I got my DM16L two weeks ago and I love it to bits!
They even upgraded it to USB-C (even though the product description still says Mini USB), which was a pleasant surprise. I only just got into RPN calculators (and programmable calculators in the first place) a month ago, loving it so far.
Honest question but who would need this these days? Would this calculator still be useful for professors/mathematicians/etc or is this more for HP calculator enthusiasts?
I work in industry automation and use for every day calculation mostly my HP 35s, even I also have a HP 50g under my desk and more than a PC on my desk. It's just for me the most easy way to calculate things with current and power for everyday use. And .. even the basic Windows calc app is so slow to start, I already finished until the app started.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I work in industry automation and use for every day calculation mostly my HP 35s, even I also have a HP 50g under my desk and more than a PC on my desk. It's just for me the most easy way to calculate things with current and power for everyday use. And .. even the basic Windows calc app is so slow to start, I already finished until the app started.
I have a 35s as well; I was made fun of for using one (you know you're sitting at a calculator that is 1000s of time more powerful right?). I still use it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its ~300 USD. I wonder who the target audience is.
There is a community of folks who are really into this firmware, and a lot of those people buy SwissMicros other models of calculators, (e.g. DM42 or DM32) and put keyboard stickers on it. This allows them to buy the model with the correct key legends up front. The low volume and the relatively high build quality involved pushes the prices up.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I work in industry automation and use for every day calculation mostly my HP 35s, even I also have a HP 50g under my desk and more than a PC on my desk. It's just for me the most easy way to calculate things with current and power for everyday use. And .. even the basic Windows calc app is so slow to start, I already finished until the app started.
I have a 35s as well; I was made fun of for using one (you know you're sitting at a calculator that is 1000s of time more powerful right?). I still use it.
There was a time when I would have salivated over this. But now I can run iPython on my phone, and have numpy, sympi, scipy, astropy and countless other packages. Physical keyboards are great for calculators - much better than virtual keyboards on phones. But the keyboard advantage seems to me most valuable for quick calculations, not elaborate things like this calculator offers. If I'm going to do matrix calculation…
True but a dedicated device has its own advantages (and disadvantages). Despite high availability I dislike spending too much time on my phone beside quick uses.
There was a time when I would have salivated over this. But now I can run iPython on my phone, and have numpy, sympi, scipy, astropy and countless other packages. Physical keyboards are great for calculators - much better than virtual keyboards on phones. But the keyboard advantage seems to me most valuable for quick calculations, not elaborate things like this calculator offers. If I'm going to do matrix calculation…
This sort of reminds me of the Numworks, except this feels a bit more artisan (and expensive). In high school, my friends got onto the Numworks bandwagon, and we even used them on the SATs and AP tests (they were explicitly allowed). To be fair, this is before Numworks locked down their calculators and the alternative firmwares (Omega) died off, but maybe there are jailbreaks now and things are as they were before.
The difference (as far as I know) is that Numworks (and Casio, etc.) are mainly used by students, while SwissMicros (and HP) are used for very quick problem-solving on the job.